Genius Foods: Become Smarter, Happier, and More Productive While Protecting Your Brain for Life (Genius Living, 1)

Genius Foods is another in a long line of recent books touting the benefits of a ketogenic diet. Each of these books has a twist. The Genius twist is a focus on brain health with three principles: eat mostly fat, but eat lots of fiber too, and do intermittent fasting. Author, Max Lugavere, notes the key to excellent brain health is avoiding inflammation, overfeeding, nutrient deficiencies, toxic exposure, chronic stress, physical stagnation, and sleep loss. The book then runs through each of those maladies with proposed solutions, including lifestyle choices like regular exercise and lots of sleep. While the book’s theme is brain health, the book focuses on health generally. Follow the Genius Foods lifestyle, the book sells, and you’re pretty much guaranteed not just brain health, but heart and gut health too. Lugavere gives us 10 super “Genius Foods” to maximize brain processing and minimize brain decline: (1) extra-virgin olive oil, (2) avocados, (3) blueberries, (4) dark chocolate, (5) eggs, (6) grass-fed beef, (7) dark leafy greens, (8) broccoli, (9) wild salmon, and (10) almonds. The book alternates between a chapter discussing an important health topic—like the importance of sleep or fasting, for example—and a brief chapter about a specific Genius Food. The first key to Genius Foods is eating mostly fats. Extra virgin olive oil reduces inflammation, protects your brain against decline, and is shown to stop your body from converted excess carbs into stored fat. The book also points out the importance of DHA and EPA, which is mostly found in beef, eggs, and fish. If you don’t eat those foods, the book recommends a fish-oil supplement. And there’s lots of talk about MCT oil, which is shown to go straight to liver to produce ketones and can slow down Alzheimer’s progression. But in any event, according to Genius Foods, eat lots and lots of fat. When eating leafy greens like spinach or kale, for example, you must eat fat because it helps greens’ nutrients get to the brain. And saturated fats from animals are best and most chemically stable. But never combine fat and carbs. Genius Foods says if you look at nature you’ll see fat and carbs aren’t ever combined, except in breast milk which is designed to make a baby fat. Plants have carbs and protein but rarely fat. Meat has protein and fat, but no carbs. If you go against nature by combining them, you will get fat and reduce brain health. The second key to Genius Foods is fiber from vegetables, which is linked to better cognition, sleep, and a longer life. In fact, fiber consumption determines healthy aging more than any other variable including sugar consumption! Those who eat the most fiber are 80% more likely to be free of hypertension, diabetes, dementia, depression, and disability.. The third pillar of Genius Foods is fasting, which promotes a longer life and restoration. Fasting causes growth-hormone development, improved decision making, antioxidant production and cell repair, increased cholesterol recycling, and the ability to grow new brain cells. Fasting leads to ketosis, which is gets rid of toxins. 16 hours of fasting, and eight hours of feeding, stimulates fat burning and cell regeneration. Other types of fasting, like starving for one full day and eating all day the next, have similar effects. Find the fasting that works best for you and incorporate that fasting into your life for maximum brain health. The book goes through all the usual keto rhetoric, like cholesterol isn’t an important predictor of heart disease. There’s recent data, it says, suggesting that higher cholesterol protects against dementia. Studies show that people with higher cholesterol perform better on cognitive tests than people with lower cholesterol. Like the author of Big Fat Surprise (https://www.amazon.com/gp/customer-reviews/RV7PR2274EKAX?ref=pf_ov_at_pdctrvw_srp), which Genius Foods cites, Max Lugavere is a journalist rather than a health professional. So, the writing is similarly compelling, and articulated in a way that anyone can understand. The thesis behind Genius Foods is the same as other books coming before it, like The Paleo Diet (see https://www.amazon.com/gp/customer-reviews/R2G2574G7FO9VM?ref=pf_ov_at_pdctrvw_srp), which Genius Foods discusses. With that said, Genius Foods is a fun, enjoyable read and reinforces what we should be eating and doing to maintain a healthy lifestyle. I very much enjoyed Genius Foods and highly recommend it as another great keto adventure. Five Stars.

Quick and dirty auto-bio story: Life long morbidly obese, sugar-addicted, diabetes type 2 a few years ago. I've managed to lose tons of weight for short stints, but was always "skinny-fat" and would gain it all back shortly. Never understood what I was doing wrong. Tried reading articles and books and whatever I could find for help over the years, talking to doctor and nutritionist many times, etc. I always HATED how contradictory all the information would be and none of the advice ever helped me sustain anything healthy, and in fact I think I always felt even worse off in the end when I would gain all the weight back. Last few years with sugar-addiction I've had a constant brain-fog, intense sleep problems, and miss a lot of work as a result. Okay, so done with the background, here's my point: this book is the BEST I have ever encountered. The book is chalk FULL of science, research and talking points from the experts in the field. BUT, at the same time somehow, incredibly, manages to be EASY to read. I've never read a non-fiction book so fast. I mean it. I could read a chapter a night even with brain fog. I bought the kindle version first, then later bought the hardcover book because the kindle can make it a little harder, in my opinion, to flip quickly to pages I wanted to mark (okay, I'm kind of new to the kindle). Max's book gives you the consensus on what the nutrition science has to offer. When there is doubt among the experts, Max lets you know that and gives you his best opinion, and the expert's best opinion, on how to proceed. Each chapter chips away at a new subject that will, if you are like me, probably revolutionize your understanding of nutrition science. The book is complete, when you are done you will FEEL READY to proceed with a nutrition plan that works. Along the way you will get a very understandable education on how to optimize your sleep and exercise. You'll understand both HOW and WHY these things are important. I told my folks about the book, they've bought it and are digging into it now, too. I'm honestly so grateful that Max (and Dr. Paul) took on this monumental task of making this book, and they succeeded, in every way. I'm a couple of months into the process of implementing the changes found in the book. Lost quite a bit of weight, sleeping better and exercising most days of the week. Brain fog lifting and I can actually get stuff done during the day that I never would before. I've NEVER been in a position like this before, of feeling CONFIDENT that I have enough information to sustain healthy living. It's quite the empowering feeling. In the past, even when I thought I was making some progress, I still felt "in the dark" and full of anxiety that the progress would not last. This is the first time IN MY LIFE that I don't feel that way. Thank you Max, so much. FYI I had read most of Dr. Mark Hyman's book "Food, what the heck do I eat?" just prior to Max's book. I loved that book, too, and felt the two complemented each other so well. Dr. Hyman did a great job of creating a simple blueprint that I felt Max's Genius Foods was able to expand upon and really complete for me. Either book is amazing stand alone, and as much as I loved Dr. Hyman's book, IF I had to choose just one, you NEED to pick up Genius Foods. But if you can afford both, do it. Max references his website a couple of times, but I honestly found it a bit disappointing. This is not worth docking a star or anything, the book is BEYOND 5 stars by itself, but it'd be nice if the official website was a little more interactive or updated regularly. Lastly, I just hope that Mr. Lugavere will make a Genius Foods 2.0 update in a few years to keep up with any changes in nutrition science. Shoot, I'd reserve a copy of that the moment I heard about it.

First of all, I highly recommend this book! It is definitely now on the top of my required reading list for my nutrition clients as an easy to understand, comprehensive, educational source of information. Max's writing style is personable and relevant, with a nice sprinkling of modern cultural references just for fun. This work contains clear, concise, applicable and well sourced nutritional concepts that challenge not just the status quo and the (not so well researched) government dietary standards, but also highlights new information that could shift some recommendations made by nutritionists and other health professionals. One of my favorite things about Max's work, which is strongly represented in this book, is his unique ability to take current scientific research, process it, assimilate it, and then give it to us in a truly comprehensive way, without "dumbing it down". You will walk away from this book with practical, usable information to immediately apply to your diet, and a strong desire to share it with everyone important in your life. It is a great read for both the person who has very little knowledge of food and the body, AND for the well educated nutritional professional. Some of my favorite highlights include: Field Notes at the end of each chapter break down weighty concepts into bite-sized tweetable/quotable/memorable nuggets. The genius foods highlighted throughout the book list specific superfoods that quite literally feed your brain. FAQ's at the end of some sections immediately address real life questions that come up after concepts are presented. It brings it back home after a challenging idea is shared. Doctor's Notes- the book was coauthored by a functional MD who adds the medical perspective in applicable snippets. Bioindividuality- the authors are careful to recognize that for every trend there are outliers that don't fit, whether for genetic or environmental reasons. There is still no such thing as a one size fits all food model and I appreciate that this was addressed. With that awareness though, I truly believe that by applying the concepts covered in this book, almost anyone will see improvements in their overall health.

Critical thinkers acknowledge there are far too many nutritional fads and fallacies in the marketplace today. Chief among them are when a product is for sale, or when the purveyor of a product or fad promises to let you in on a “secret” or something which is “hidden” or entices with claims of “they don’t want you to know” about a life-changing fantasy — all for the low, low price of $______. Chief among the dozens of credulous ideas accepted by our semi-scientifically illiterate public is the “alternative medicine” and similar crazes when it comes to diet and nutrition. When looking at the cover of Max Lugavere’s “Genius Foods: Become Smarter, Happier, and More Productive While Protecting Your Brain for Life” (with Paul Grewal, MD), we could hopefully be forgiven for thinking this tome was chock full of “woo”, a.k.a. “bunk”. But since science and proper scientific inquiry qualifies and corrects itself, the use of precise wording regarding several scientific studies here provides a refreshing look at health and nutrition. Throughout the 389 pages of this book, I found several mentions of “science is not settled” about something where Lugavere was unwilling to make foundational claims, and he even places multiple qualifications about the progress of some medical studies into areas touched in the book. He points out the strength of the science he attests to hold to in the introduction with “Science is always unfinished business; it’s a method of finding things out, not an infallible measure of truth.” That is one of the foundational strengths of this book. His mother, falling into a state of Alzheimer’s/dementia, gave him impetus to worked for years with dozens of medical professionals to put together a book about brain health, because – as he points out throughout this book – brain health is health. Nearly everyone who would benefit from this book has several questions, including: — Why do modern diets have “plentiful calories with poor nutrient content and toxic additives”? — What are the differences between ‘executive function’ and ‘processing speed’ for mental health? — Why the following: “…it’s not the amount of fat you consume; it’s the type”? — Why are canola, corn and soybean oils bad news for health and brain health? — What is the most powerful way to boost neuroprotective hormones, and which food and dietary/life styles work symbiotically to keep you healthier? — Why is high fructose corn syrup so dangerous? Throughout, Lugavere does us a favor in the ways he provides verbiage that creates visual myriad complex processes in the body as it absorbs and breaks down ingested food and uses it at the cellular and molecular level. He works hard to make the reader understand why something is as it is, and to this he does so with near perfection, suffering us with just a few odd metaphors and similes. In several instances, he discusses in detail a scientific study from such medically peer-reviewed sources as ‘The New England Journal of Medicine’, ‘Endocrine-Related Cancer’, ‘Neurotherapeutics’, ‘Behavioral Pharmacology’, ‘Journal of Nutrition’, ‘Nature’, ‘Science’, and ‘Journal of the American Medical Association’, among dozens more. It is clear from the numerous references that Max did his homework. While telling you why something is the way it is, or why a certain chemical does what it does, his attempts to also explain “how” lead to one of the few criticisms in reviews; that it is too technical. IMHO, let me tell those critics that nearly every semi-complex component to the understandings in this book are explained elsewhere in the book, and the index can verify this. Also, has anyone heard of a dictionary or Google? I had only one word I had to look up, and if my patience allowed a few more pages, that search would not have been needed. Another criticism of the book is one I’ll agree with. Throughout, he discusses an endless plethora of dietary components, and when it comes to the recipe section, there are only 11 entries. An expansion of cross-references would have been helpful, also. When it comes down to it, I’ll mark this one with a strong 4.5 out of 5, as probably the most informative and engaging book on diet/lifestyle/nutrition I’ve had the pleasure of enjoying. And now it’s time for me to order his follow up book “The Genius Life: Heal your Mind, Strengthen Your Body, and Become Extraordinary”. If it’s as good, it also will prove to be a guide to using the idea of protecting the health of the brain as a way to provide overall health, with sensible and accessible information we can all benefit from knowing.

At last, here is the book that I can highly recommend to my clients and friends. There are many references out there (and I think I have read most of them) that delve deep into the science and come out with radical plans for eliminating life as most people know it. As a life and wellness coach, my clients need a place to start that isn’t so overwhelming. Genius Foods is a book that they will not only read and enjoy but that will help them understand the why behind life style changes. The authors write with personality and wit. The analogies that help explain complex topics are always on point, and the clever cultural references keep coming. So many of these books leave you feeling that there is nothing left to eat, but Genius Foods keeps adding wonderful nutritious foods. They are not creating a need for a product that they happen to have formulated. While the focus is on keeping the brain healthy now and in the future, the rest of the body certainly will benefit. This book is a labor of love. Max Lugavere weaves the compelling story of how he came to explore these topics throughout the book. His search to understand and find answers to his mother’s illness led him to immerse himself in brain health research. We benefit from his exhaustive study of how our health is constructed (or destroyed) and what we can do to be at our healthiest today and in the future. He writes, “Because a healthier brain enhances our experience of the world, it allows us to be the truest and most expressed version of ourselves, capable of feeling, learning, loving, and connecting in ways that make life worth living.” If your Mom can’t thank you, Max, then let this mom tell you how much I appreciate your work. I might even dare to hand this book to my own thirty-somethings. The Genius Plan leaves the toxic foods behind and highlights many of the foods that are essential for our present and future well-being. You won’t go hungry on this plan, nor will you miss your cravings and those extra pounds. Sleep, exercise, stress and digestion are also addressed.This is a plan for life, for living and for preserving your precious brain. How can you resist that?

YOU ARE WHAT YOU EAT BEST FOODS FOR IMPROVING MEMORY AND SHARPNESS AND PREVENTING AGING OF THE BRAIN , FEED YOUR BRAIN A good quality diet is paramount to maintaining a healthy brain , optimum nutrition for the mind . Feed your brain through diet , everyday foods to combat the aging process to the brain from inside and out . This book identifies the different aspects of health that are needed to safeguard vitality and a healthy brain , the best foods and worst foods , the foods that will help and those you should avoid . After reading this book , there is no turning back , it will reframe your understanding of nutrition science and inspire you to take your health and future into your hands . It offers the most effective and safe way to prevent and treat cognitive conditions , power foods for the brain , an effective way to protect your mind and strengthen your cognitive health . A brilliant read , imagine what your brain could do under complete control , a must read . If you need an incentive to start eating more healthy , here it is , get smart , eat smart and improve your health . Food is medicine , you are what you eat and this book offers you a simple approach that will assist in taking charge of your brain health and body . Learn what defines genius foods and how they help by eating right could improve brain function and reduce the possibility of disease , avoid the ingredients and toxins that damage the brain . This book does a great job of explaining the science behind the theory , your brain will thank you for it , putting yourself in the drivers seat . Every bite you take is either fighting disease , or feeding it , this book puts all the confusion and conflicting information out here regarding health and nutrition to rest . Training your brain and body for optimal health and performance at any age , happy brain , happy life . This book covers gut health which is considered the second brain , your gut has a mind of its own . A must read , thanks Max Lugavere Giving this book the attention it deserves _ game changer , ღ from MELBOURNE

Genius Foods by Max Lugavere is one of the most insightful, actionable, and well-researched health books I’ve ever read. Lugavere does an exceptional job of breaking down complex nutritional science into clear, engaging, and relatable explanations without dumbing anything down. What makes this book stand out is not just the wealth of information, but how practical it is. Lugavere doesn’t just tell you what to eat — he explains why certain foods support brain health and overall longevity, backed by credible research and expert interviews. The book covers everything from reducing brain fog and improving memory to preventing long-term cognitive decline. I especially appreciated the “Genius Plan” at the end, which makes it easy to start incorporating these brain-boosting foods into daily life. It’s empowering, encouraging, and makes healthy eating feel accessible rather than overwhelming. If you care about your mental clarity, energy, and long-term well-being, Genius Foods is a must for your bookshelf. I’ve already recommended it to family, friends, and coworkers, and I’ll probably be rereading it again soon!

There are so many conflicting theories about what to eat and what not to eat it can make your head spin, and this book may make your head spin even more. The authors are adamant about certain things: olive, coconut, and avocado oils, along with grass-fed animal sources of saturated fats are healthy; sugar is not; carbs from wheat are not; even carbs from non-wheat whole grains are iffy, and polyunsaturated oils like soy, corn, canola, and seed oils are disastrous. The book presents considerable research that supports the authors’ positions, and while I agree that regularly eating from the authors’ “genius foods” list is generally a good idea, as is balancing your Omega 6 intake with the only type of Omega 3 your body can actually utilize and avoiding empty calories and ultra-processed foods, the authors’ hardcore positions on carbs and sugar seem a bit extreme, especially since other studies indicate that a more moderate approach might be warranted. The authors also fail to address the sad fact that a lot of what is sold as extra virgin olive oil is tainted with seed oils, but not labeled as such, and that some of the foods on the “genius foods” list are high in oxalates which are bad for certain people. Also, the authors’ list of foods that should be eaten only if they are organic isn’t long enough. So even though there is certainly a lot of sound information in this book, some of what is presented as indisputable fact might not actually be fact, and of course, no studies that might weaken any of the authors’ proclamations are included. Overall, I would say the book is worth reading, but with a critical eye.

Wonderfull writing by a NON -MEDICAL author,,,Doctors not reading and updating and advicing patients,, such wisdom must feel ashamed...

It's a exceptional book. We know that we can't eat sugar, that the alchool is not good for our body and the vegetables are healthier. But understand why give you power to continue with your healthy food style. Super book

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I have read many of the most renowned self-help books on nutrition and with each I learn something new. This book is outstanding. Having worked in the pharmaceutical industry I know the importance of evidence-based medicine. The bibliography alone in this book is staggering. I don't know if any scientific papers have been referred to more than once as it would be too great a task to verify. What I do know is that the subject matter is complex but the authors have managed to make it quite accessible. For anyone who has a relative showing signs of dementia this book is an absolute must. For all others it is essential as a preventive measure. The link between nutrition and good health is now impossible to refute and this book explains it very clearly. The fact which has made a lasting impression is the value of coconut oil in brain health and obviously the immense value of a ketone producing diet.

A great resource for people who want to know more about what they're consuming and what to eat for optimal health. Easy to follow, well researched and interesting. I keep re reading and always find something I missed the first time. I've lost 1.2 kms in the time it's taken me to read the whole book, so that is a pretty good reason to implement his suggestions Right Away! Max also has a really interesting podcast called genius life. I listen to it while I walk the dog.