You, Happier by Daniel G. Amen MD

Author:Daniel G. Amen, MD [MD, Daniel G. Amen,]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: SELF-HELP / Emotions, PSYCHOLOGY / Mental Health
ISBN: 9781496454553
Publisher: Tyndale House Publishers
Published: 2022-03-02T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 11

THE YOU, HAPPIER DIET

Happy Foods vs. Sad Foods

One cannot think well, love well, sleep well, if one has not dined well.

VIRGINIA WOOLF

Eating crappy food isn’t a reward—it’s a punishment.

COMEDIAN DREW CAREY

The Super Bowl is one of the biggest eating days of the year, when Americans consume an estimated 1.33 billion chicken wings, 11 million slices of Domino’s pizza, and $227 million worth of potato chips.[1] There’s nothing “super” about consuming mass quantities of foods that sap your energy and contribute to depression and obesity. In fact, I think it should be called the “Unhappy Bowl.” It’s part of the reason why I have an ambivalent relationship with football.

As a child, teen, and young adult, I loved it. I was a huge Los Angeles Rams fan and played flag football in middle school, tackle football in high school, and intramural football in college and medical school. I loved watching football, like many boys and young men. That all changed when I started to look at the brain in my thirties and saw the damage football did to high school, college, and professional football players. Then my relationship with the game became very uncomfortable. It’s hard to watch a game where I know it can be ruining the brains of players and subsequently causing emotional stress and pain in their families. I’ve scanned and treated more than 300 NFL players and have had many long discussions with their wives and children about the stress they have experienced. I would never support my grandchildren playing the game. Yet I still treat active players and make the excuse that I have to watch a few games a year to keep up with them (it’s a rationalization, I know). I tell my active players, “If you are going to have a brain-damaging job [own it], you must do everything else right. You should always be rehabilitating your brain.” Tom Brady is an incredible example of what to do if you decide to play a brain-damaging sport.

Like nearly 100 million other people, I sat down on February 7, 2021, to watch the Super Bowl between the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Kansas City Chiefs. It was billed as the greatest quarterback in the game (Patrick Mahomes) versus the greatest quarterback of all time (Tom Brady). Forty-three-year-old Brady clearly outplayed the 25-year-old Mahomes, and the Buccaneers won 31-9. In football years, 43 is considered ancient, but I knew Brady’s secret. In his book, The TB12 Method, Brady explains that, on most days, he wakes up around 5:30 a.m. and downs 20 ounces of electrolyte water followed by a smoothie filled with bananas, blueberries, nuts, and seeds. After a morning workout (the first of several), he guzzles more water infused with electrolytes and a protein shake to help with post-workout muscle recovery. Breakfast consists of eggs and avocados. Lunch is usually fish and either vegetables or a salad with nuts. When the football legend snacks, he reaches for guacamole, hummus, or mixed nuts. For dinner, it’s chicken and more vegetables.

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