b'B ookr eviewBY MARGIE MILLER, RNWhy Isnt My Brain Working?A Revolutionary Understanding of Brain Decline and Effective Strategies to Recover Your Brains Health By Dr. Datis Kharrazian, Ph.D. (ISBN-13: 978-0985690434, Elephant Press; illustrated edition, 2013, paperback, 624 pages, $24.00)I would usually save any criticism forpany, he does not promote any products the end of my review, but I must ad- in his book. The supplements he does rec-dress the title first, as it is put beforeommend are usually named generically or the reader and is, in my opinion, inappro- by their actual constituents, i.e., the name priate on two levels. This book is about soof an amino acid, not the name of a prod-much more than the brain; it delves intouct containing them.the functional neurology, endocrinology,To summarize the content of this book neurotransmitters, autoimmunity, nutri- in one sentence, I would say Dr. Kharra-tion, and physiology of the entire being. Izianlinksautoimmunity,immunology, also object to the title for another reason endocrinology,nutrition,neurochemis-who would want to be seen reading a booktry, and metabolism with brain function. with this title? Honestly, I am all for a littleBut, he also stresses the importance of the self-disclosure; but this title is a billboard,connection between the brain, the gut, and and an inaccurate one at that!Lastly, I amthe adrenals, and how these functional not fond of the illustrations in this book.relationships depend upon each other for They look like childish drawings and areoptimal delivery. In Chapter Two, Dr. not on par with the text. That being said,Kharrazian reminds us that the brain has please read on. plasticity, and it has the capacity to be re- Several years ago, I attended a three- molded. The remainder of Chapter Two day,post-graduateseminarbyDr.used by mainstream physicians are misin- delvesintonegativeandpositivebrain Kharrazian on the thyroid gland. (Dr.terpreted and usually incomplete.plasticity.Itookthefollowingexcerpt Kharrazians credentials and research areI would like to point out several fea- from the text to illustrate Dr. Kharrazians all listed at the beginning of the book andtures of this book that I personally ap- writing style. I also chose this excerpt to are impressive.) I had studied the thyroidpreciate. Dr. Kharrazian provides caseprovide the reader with a typical example while preparing to become a nurse prac- studies in each chapter that pertain to the(one of many) found within the text:titioner and I thought I was fairly well- topic, which were written either by him orAn all-too-common example of nega-versed on the topic. What I found outby another practitioner who has used histive plasticity can occur with children who instead was the NP schooling I had re- treatment protocol. I also appreciate theplay video games constantly and never ex-ceived was the bare bones of informationsummary at the end of each chapter thatercise. For instance, a 10-year-old boy who needed to accurately diagnose and treatmakes this book a great reference guide.has been playing video games since the age thyroid dysfunction. Not only that, butAnd, finally, although Dr. Kharrazian isof five for hours every day after school. many of the standard thyroid study testsa paid consultant for a supplement com- These games are violent and require look-H ealtHF reedomN ews /w iNter2022 29'