Brain Candy: Boost Your Brain Power with Vitamins, Supplements, Drugs, and Other Substance [Paperback]

Where Are My Keys?
Keep forgetting where you put your keys? Wish you could get through the crossword faster? Experiencing too many intellectual pauses ? Then this is the book for you.
Brain Candyis an authoritative, comprehensive, and above all, cutting-edge look at what you can take to rev up your brain -- enhance memory, think faster, sharpen creativity, focus better. The only authors yet to tackle this subject who are experts in both brain function and drug action, Theodore Lidsky and Jay Schneider explain in plain English what the effects of these substances are on the body. Do they really work? Are they safe? Are they readily available? Topics include:

• How to tell if a drug is worth taking
• The neuropsychology of forgetting
• Why drugs can help you think better
• What you can take: smart drugs, amino acids, hormones, vitamins
• And much more

For aging baby boomers -- and for anyone else who wants a quicker wit --Brain Candyhas all the answers.Theodore I. Lidsky, Ph.D.,specializes in research on the brain and behavior. Currently he is director of the Laboratory of Electrophysiology at the New York State Institute for Basic Research in Developmental Disabilities.Introduction

We got the idea for this book when one of us -- Ted Lidsky -- developed an aching, arthritic back. As I was unable to get more than partial symptom relief from aspirin, ibuprofen, and acetaminophen, my treating physician suggested an alternative: St. John's Wort. (For reasons that are poorly understood, drugs that are normally prescribed for depression will, if given in very low doses, alleviate certain types of chronic pain.) This herb, now so well known, was unfamiliar to me at that time. My doctor explained that it was a naturally occurring antidepressant that should, like the prescription antidepressants, be effective in treating chronic pain. It was effective; after a few days of taking St. John's Wort, lóP