cover image Brainfood Pa

Brainfood Pa

Brian L. G. Morgan. Perigee Books, $7.95 (0pp) ISBN 978-0-89586-558-8

According to the Morgans, the brain's ""voracious appetite for energy'' determines many nutritional preferences (for example, overweight people crave fatty foods, the authors claim, because their brains have higher endorphin levels; a successful diet, therefore, must derive 30% of its calories from fat). The husband-and-wife authorsboth affiliated with the Institute of Human Nutrition at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeonspresent mostly conservative dietary information about how to eat to promote peak mental function and how to cope with such problems as obesity, premenstrual syndrome and stress. Unfortunately, the lines in this well-researched, scientifically sound and often fascinating book blur between established factual information and promising experimentation. An appendix on how common prescription and over-the-counter drugs can drain the body of nutrients essential to proper brain function is welcome. Illustrations not seen by PW. Prevention Book Club main selection. (May 11)