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BRAIN-CARE
BASICS

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What Every Brain Owner

Should Know
ABOUT FRANKLINCOVEY
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COPYRIGHT AND TRADEMARKS
© Franklin Covey Co. and Daniel Amen. All rights reserved. The Change Your Brain, Change Your Life and related intellectual property and expressions as
contained herein are owned and are the sole copyright of Daniel Amen and are used by FranklinCovey under license.
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Medical Disclaimer: Franklin Covey does not endorse any recommendation in this program as medical advice for any specific individual. The ideas given in the
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exercise program or adopting any specific health-related content in this program, especially if they are currently unhealthy or under medical care.

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Introduction

The key technology of the modern world is your brain. This module helps you establish
a brain-healthy lifestyle so you have the mental energy to make better choices and
transform your whole life for the better.

To use this module:

1 Watch the video Brain-Care Basics on the Take-Home Tools & Bonus Modules DVD.

2 Use the Brain-Care Action List on the next page to identify one to two actions you
want to incorporate into your personal “Fuel the Fire” plan through your Weekly and
Daily Q2 Planning.

3 Work on these one to two actions until they become a habit.

4 Return to the list and pick one or two more actions and repeat the process.
5 Over time you will build a new pattern of brain-healthy living.
Detail for the material on the checklist, as well as an overview of key brain areas, is provided
in the pages that follow.

About the Expert: Daniel Amen, MD, is a leading authority on brain health
and founder of the Amen Clinics, which conduct innovative research and
practice in brain health, neuroscience, and the diagnosis and treatment
of a wide variety of neuropsychiatric, behavioral, and learning roblems.
He is the author of 29 books and a frequent media expert. This
module is based on material from the best-selling book Change Your
Brain, Change Your Life, as well as his most current clinical research.
Additional resources can be found at www.theamensolution.com.

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1
Brain-Care
Action List

The first step is to develop “brain envy.” 1 Eat Right

You’ve got to want to have a better brain.
Then, pick one or two of the areas below a Eat High-Quality Calories
and identify specific actions you will take
to improve. Incorporate them into your b Stay Hydrated and Drink Plenty
Weekly and Daily Q2 Planning until they of Water
become a habit. After you’ve made this
c Eat High-Quality Protein
successful change, come back to this list
and pick one or two more actions. Step
d Focus on Complex
by step, you will transform your pattern
Carbohydrates
of living and build a brain-healthy lifestyle.
Details on the items below are found on e Use Healthy Fats
pages 4–7.
f Eat From the Rainbow

2 Exercise

3 Focus on Positive, Hopeful, Helpful

Thoughts

4 Use Simple Supplements (Vitamin

D and Fish Oil)

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The specific actions I will incorporate into my Weekly and Daily Q2 Planning are:

Specific Actions (Round 1) This now a habit.

1
2
(Round 2)

1
2
(Round 3)

1
2
(Round 4)
1
2
(Round 5)

1
2

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1 Eat Right
a. Eat High-Quality Calories
Calories are important, but it is
not as simple as the number of
calories in versus the number of
calories out. Think about eating
mostly “high-quality calories.”
One cinnamon roll can cost you
720 calories and will drain your
brain, whereas a 400-calorie
salad made of spinach, salmon,
blueberries, apples, walnuts, and
red bell peppers will supercharge
your energy and make you smarter.
High-quality energy comes from
fueling your body and brain in a
healthy way.
b. Stay Hydrated and Drink Plenty of
Water
Your brain is 80 percent water.
Anything that dehydrates it, such
as too much caffeine or too much
alcohol, decreases your thinking
and impairs your judgment. To stay
adequately hydrated, drink plenty
of water every day.
A rule of thumb is to drink 8–10
glasses of water a day.
c. Eat High-Quality Protein
High-quality protein helps
balance your blood sugar, boosts
concentration, and provides the
necessary building blocks for
brain health. Great sources of
4 © Franklin Covey Co. and Daniel Amen. All rights reserved.
protein include fish, skinless turkey
or chicken, beans, raw nuts, low-fat
or nonfat dairy, and high-protein
vegetables such as broccoli and
spinach.
d. Focus on Complex Carbohydrates
Complex carbohydrates keep your
blood sugar balanced because
they take longer to metabolize.
Think of low-glycemic, high-fiber
carbohydrates. Low-glycemic means
carbohydrates that do not raise your
blood sugar. Fiber is essential to
keep your digestive tract moving.
The reason to avoid most fast food
is that it is mostly fiberless food.
Low blood-sugar levels are
associated with lower overall brain
activity. Low brain activity means
more cravings and more bad
decisions. Simple carbohydrates
or high-sugar, high-fat foods spike
your blood glucose and then drop it,
harming your brain and your body.
They also work on the addiction
centers of your brain.
Eating in a balanced way with
complex carbohydrates and lean
proteins in consistent intervals
during the day keeps your blood
sugar moderated and provides you
with constant energy throughout
your day. If you need help in this
area, find some healthy, non-sugary
snacks (like nuts or fruit) and keep
them with you. When you have a
desire to eat, eat those.
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e. Use Healthy Fats
Fat has gotten a bad rap. Many
myths and misconceptions
surrounding dietary fat have led
many of us to fear that eating any
kind of fat is bad for our health and
will make us fat. This isn’t true. In
fact, we all need some fat in our
diets. Our brains need fat too. In
fact, 60 percent of the solid weight
of your brain is fat.
There are three main categories of
fat—bad fat (saturated fats), really
bad fat (trans fats), and good fat
(unsaturated fats).
Diets high in saturated fats have
long been associated with long-
term health risks such as heart
disease. They damage your blood
flow and damage your brain. But
much worse are trans fats. They are
artificial and have been chemically
altered by adding hydrogen. On
food labels, you will find these
fats listed in the ingredients as
“partially hydrogenated” oils. The
food industry uses these artificial
fats because they help foods have
a longer shelf life. But they harm
your body and brain.
Unsaturated fats, however, are
good for your health and can
actually lower cholesterol. There
are two basic types of good
fats: monounsaturated fats and
polyunsaturated fats. Foods high
in monounsaturated fats include
avocados, olive oil, canola oil,
peanut oil, and nuts (such as
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almonds, cashews, and pistachios).
Foods high in polyunsaturated
fats include safflower oil, corn oil,
and some fish. By putting healthy
fats in your diet, you are providing
your body and brain with essential
nutrients and avoiding the harm
that comes from saturated and
trans fats.
f. Eat From the Rainbow
This means eating fruits and
vegetables of many different
colors—eat blue foods
(blueberries), eat red foods
(pomegranates, strawberries,
raspberries, cherries, red bell
peppers, and tomatoes), eat
yellow foods (squash, yellow bell
peppers, small portions of bananas
and peaches), orange foods
(oranges, tangerines, and yams),
green foods (spinach, broccoli,
and peas), purple foods (plums),
and so on. This will ensure that
you are getting a wide variety of
antioxidants to nourish and protect
your brain. Eating from the rainbow
does not mean eating multicolored
candies or jelly beans.
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2 Exercise
Exercise increases your brain’s
ability to regulate insulin and
sugar—maintaining blood-
sugar stability. It is helpful in
the prevention and treatment of
addiction, including food addiction.
Physical activity actually reduces
cravings for addictive foods like
sugary sweets and high-calorie,
high-fat food. Working out helps
you manage stress by immediately
lowering stress hormones, and it
makes you more resistant to stress
over time. Engaging in exercise
on a routine basis normalizes
melatonin production in the brain
and improves sleeping habits.
Exercise improves your heart’s
ability to pump blood throughout
your body, which increases blood
flow to your brain, which equals
better overall brain function.
Exercise also increases brain-
derived neurotrophic factor
(BDNF), which is involved with the
growth of new brain cells. As such,
it promotes learning and memory
and makes your brain stronger.
Specifically, exercise generates
new brain cells in the temporal
lobes (involved in memory) and the
prefrontal cortex (PFC, involved in
planning and judgment). Exercise
also reduces depression and
soothes feelings of anxiety.
Aerobic exercise, activities that
require a high amount of physical
coordination, and resistance
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(weight) training have all been
found to help your brain. If you do
not have a good exercise program,
start by walking 45 minutes a day.
3 Focus on Positive, Hopeful,
Helpful Thoughts
Positive thoughts help your brain.
Negative thoughts harm your brain.
When negative thoughts enter
your mind, get them out of your
head and replace them with better
thoughts that focus on what you
can do, learn, or achieve. Negative
thoughts create stress and damage
your brain. They interfere with
good decision making and drain
your energy. Controlling your
thinking is a critical part of caring
for your brain.
If you have trouble controlling your
negative thoughts, try this simple
process. Write down your negative
thoughts on a piece of paper (this
gets them out of your head), then
question whether or not they are
true (for example: is it really true
that I have no ability to influence
my work environment?), write
alternate views of the situation (for
example: I actually do have some
influence, or I can at least control
my own work patterns to make
things better). Often, you will find
alternate views that are just as
likely to be a correct interpretation
of a situation. Since our minds
often go to the negative first, we
often interpret things in ways that
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 are not true at all, and we don’t
even consider alternate views that
are not only more positive, but are
also more accurate.
4 Use Simple Supplements
(Vitamin D and Fish Oil)
Vitamin D is often called the
sunshine vitamin because it is
affected by exposure to sunlight.
It is an essential vitamin for brain
health, mood, memory, and skin.
Low levels of Vitamin D have been
implicated in depression, bipolar
disorder, and memory problems,
including Alzheimer’s disease.
Vitamin D activates receptors on
neurons in regions of the brain
important in the regulation of
behavior, and it protects the brain
by acting in an antioxidant and
anti-inflammatory capacity.
Other benefits of Vitamin D
supplementation include reducing
the risk of bone diseases and
fractures, improved muscular
function, improved metabolic
and cardiovascular function, and
increased protection from diabetes
and cancer. Unfortunately, Vitamin
D deficiencies are becoming more
and more common, in part because
we are spending more time
indoors and using more sunscreen.
Research shows that many adults
do not get enough Vitamin D. You
should get your level of Vitamin D
checked by a doctor and increase
your exposure to sunshine and/or
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take a supplement if it is low.
Fish oil is a great supplement
because it is high in omega-3 fatty
acids. These are essential fatty
acids (EFAs) and our body needs
them. When we don’t have enough
of these EFAs in our system, it can
cause problems for our brains.
For example, research has found
that omega-3 fatty-acid levels
tend to be low in people with
ADD, depression, and Alzheimer’s
disease; low in those who have
trouble thinking; and low in those
who attempt suicide. Studies show
that a diet rich in omega-3 fatty
acids may help promote emotional
balance and positive mood, two
things that can reduce a tendency
to overeat. It can help memory and
decrease your risk for dementia
and stroke.
Even though your body needs
EFAs, it can’t produce them itself,
so you must get them through the
foods you eat. Getting adequate
amounts of omega-3 fatty acids
from your diet isn’t easy. EFAs
tend to be scarce in many of the
processed foods and fast-food
meals we eat on a regular basis.
Eating fish two to three times a
week helps, but a daily fish-oil
supplement can be very helpful
to get the levels of omega-3 fatty
acids you need.
© Franklin Covey Co. and Daniel Amen. All rights reserved.
7
Overview
of Your Brain

OUTSIDE VIEW OF THE BRAIN

3. Parietal
1. Prefrontal Lobe
Cortex

4. Occipital
Lobe

2. Temporal
Lobe 5. Cerebellum

INSIDE VIEW OF THE BRAIN

3. Parietal
Lobe

4. Occipital
1. Prefrontal Lobe
Cortex
6. Deep
8. Anterior Limbic
Cingulate System
Gyrus 7. Basal
Ganglia

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Overview
of Your Brain
1. Prefrontal Cortex (PFC)
The PFC is the CEO of your brain.
Situated at the front third of your
brain, it acts like a supervisor for
the rest of your brain and body. It is
involved with attention, judgment,
planning, choosing impulse control,
follow-through, and empathy. Low
activity in the PFC is linked to a short
attention span, impulsivity, a lack of
clear goals, and procrastination.
2. Temporal Lobes
The temporal lobes, located
underneath your temples and
behind your eyes, are involved with
language, short-term memory, mood
stability, and temper issues. They are
part of the brain’s “what pathway,”
because they help you recognize
and name what things are. Trouble
in the temporal lobes often leads to
memory problems, mood instability,
and temper problems.
3. Parietal Lobes
The parietal lobes toward the top
back part of the brain are involved
with sensory processing and
direction sense. The “where pathway”
in the brain, they help you know
where things are in space, such as
navigating your way to the kitchen at
night in the dark. The parietal lobes
are one of the first areas damaged
by Alzheimer’s disease, which is why
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people with this condition tend
to get lost. They have also been
implicated in eating disorders
and body-distortion syndromes,
such as with anorexics who think
they are fat.
4. Occipital Lobes
Located at the back of the brain,
the occipital lobes are involved
with vision and visual processing.
5. Cerebellum
Located at the back-
bottom part of the brain, the
cerebellum is involved with
physical coordination, thought
coordination, and processing
speed. There are large
connections between the PFC
and the cerebellum, which is why
many scientists think that the
cerebellum is also associated
with judgment and impulse
control. When there are problems
in the cerebellum, people
tend to struggle with physical
coordination, slow processing,
and trouble learning. Alcohol is
directly toxic to this part of the
brain. Improving the cerebellum
through coordination exercises
can improve your prefrontal
cortex and also help your
judgment and your body.
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9
Overview
of Your Brain

6. Deep Limbic System (DLS) 8. Anterior Cingulate Gyrus (ACG)

Lying near the center of the brain, The ACG is the brain’s gear
the deep limbic system is involved shifter. It runs lengthwise through
in setting a person’s emotional the deep parts of the frontal
tone. When this area is less active, lobes and allows us to shift
people tend to be more positive our attention, be flexible and
and hopeful. When it is overactive, adaptable, and change when
negativity can take over and lower needed. When there is too much
motivation and drive, decrease self- activity in this area, people tend
esteem, and increase feelings of to become stuck on negative
guilt and helplessness. Abnormalities thoughts or actions; they tend
in the limbic brain have been to worry, hold grudges, and be
associated with mood disorders. oppositional or argumentative.
It also may make them more
vulnerable to being obsessive
7. Basal Ganglia or struggle with compulsive
Surrounding the deep limbic system, behaviors, and has been linked to
the basal ganglia are involved with eating disorders such as anorexia.
integrating thoughts, feelings, and
movements. This part of the brain
is also involved in setting a person’s
anxiety level. When there is too
much activity in the basal ganglia,
people tend to struggle with anxiety
and physical stress symptoms, such
as headaches, stomachaches, and
muscle tension. With low activity
here, people tend to lack motivation.
This area is also involved with
feelings of pleasure and ecstasy.
Cocaine works in this part of the
brain. Cookies, cakes, and other
treats also activate this area.

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7 Brain-Care
Principles

1 Your brain is involved in everything you do.

2 When your brain works right, you work right.

3 There is nothing as complex as the human brain.

4 Your brain is very soft, your skull is hard.

5 You can decelerate the aging process.

6 Brain imaging changes everything.

7 You can change your brain and change your life.

For additional resources from Dr. Amen, visit www.theamensolution.com.

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NOTES

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NOTES

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NOTES

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