The Omni Diet:The Dovetailing Duo of Dr Daniel Amen (MD) and Wife Tana Amen (BSN, RN) for Brain/Body and Mental Health

"Eat like a gorilla" Tana Amen advises, along with her well-known husband Dr Daniel Amen, on a PBS show about The Omni Diet. (PBS has tons of programs on their website, so you might look for it on your television program guide if you have television or online if you are more computer-based). 

They present interesting information about captive gorillas, Beback and Mokolo, who were inadvertently being harmed by the nutritional cookies provided by their "keepers" in a U.S. zoo. So "eat like a gorilla in the wild". Not only did they have physical problems, it was reflected in their behaviors.

When provided a diet congruent with what gorillas eat in the wild, their issues reversed. However, our intestinal tracts are not as long as gorillas', so in their opinion, we cannot eat only plants for optimal wellness, the facts are we're set up to require fish and animal proteins, but they underscore the quality of the products. Free range, grass fed, wild caught from fresh waters and eating what they would normally 'in the wild' as well. 

This took me back to my first hour of class within the occupational therapy program at Colorado State University, which focused on the similarities and differences between human and non-human primates. I always like to educate people that famous primatologists Jane Goodall and Diane Fossey were occupational therapists by training/education.

The Omni Diet - (as in omnivore), is now a bestseller, after being released this winter/spring. Written by Tana Amen, BSN, RN. This is a 'diet' (which simply means what you consume) you don't do "for a while", you embrace this for a lifetime. They humorously point out that what diet is best for people is as much a hot topic causing fights when people are together, in addition to the age-old religion and politics! So I like to  remind people that everyone's entitled to their opinions, there are many, many other sources to look at, but this is, in my opinion at this time, the top thing I'd be suggesting to people.

It's congruent with others I've covered such as Mark Hyman, MD and The UltraMind Solution, which is about functional medicine and suggests a diet that isn't as 'right on' as this one yet is a great place for people to get going (and was published years before). I worked in supportive information from Wheat Belly's author, William Davis, MD, on my coverage of The UltraMind Solution to bolster the importance of gluten-free, particularly from the modern version of wheat that has been devised in the last decades to be very different than in the past. Our bodies simply are designed to eat the stuff from long ago. 

They underscore the influence it has on children so that they grow up with good eating habits, getting brain-boosting and not brain (and other body systems) drain. Important to note that they included medical issues that included skin problems, inflammation that was noted frequently as joint pain, and digestive system problems, including irritable bowel syndrome, ALL resolved, and rapidly, by the program. This is what I found in the mid 90s when I initially found out about food allergies/sensitivities causing inflammation, it was incredible how fast there were results. In Tana's case with her sister who finally reached out for advise, she asked for a two week trial before starting on three prescription medications the doctor had prescribed and said would be required for the remainder of her life. None were ultimately needed.

The Omni Diet is basically paleolithic, though they never said that word. Talking about non-human primates though, is a great way of reminding us of our primal past as human primates without wading into the belief-systems of people's religious beliefs about evolution. Considering I've utilized an evolutionary psychiatrist's work extensively as reference material at Lumigrate.com related to diet and mental and physical health, I don't sidestep that issue but do wish to state again, opinions are what all experts offer, based on what the facts are, to the best of our abilities to know. 

And naturally, there were many before and after photos of people whose size and shape had changed, with many happy-looking faces both in the audience and in the photos of the people who had put in the efforts to embrace the change to The Omni way. 

Their exercise/activity recommendations are straightforward, the foods are 70% plants (mostly vegetables, some fruits), 30% high quality proteins. No grains. And there are recipe books, journals, Internet-based supportive services, and it dovetails with what husband Dr Daniel Amen, a psychiatrist and notorious progressive brain researcher professes for brain health.

The Amen Solution at Home is the new revolutionary brain testing and exercise 'brain gym' which is available 24/7 online. There are guided imagery and relaxation components, and brain-boosting activities can be done in just 10 minutes a day. They underscore the word "easy" with The Omni Diet, and they set you up with a plan and a lot of supportive information and offer bundles and packages and add-ons at the websites. I'm providing both links and encourage you to follow them out and look around their websites.

They do recommend individuation of supplements, but for everyone there are five things, and this is consistent with what our experts at Lumigrate have always suggested. So all the way around, this was something that was adding up to me as 'GRATE' information to set up and suggest people to consider following/doing. I like the way they address progress, that will be an overall uphill as you go along in the future implementing the changes. You'll make mistakes, you'll do well. When you make a mistake, do like the navigator on a car, don't berate yourself, just do the next right turn and get back on track.

They underscore that it's not 'restrictive', you're eating more quantity and quality, and it's ultimately more satisfying. And it's not about 'calories in and calories out', it's about WHAT you're eating. It has much to do with what your genes are set up to thrive with and be positively influenced by, versus what will damage. This has an impact not only on you, but your children, grandchildren and even great-grandchildren, the study of epigenetics shows.  

One of my personal advisors, Dr Blaine Chambers (Ed.D), President of Nutra Perfect, Inc., www.nutraperfect.com, advised me to never let anyone tell me vegan is the way to go -- after a handfull of years the body will require re-introduction of some meat or fish protein source. He and Dr Amen disagree about alcohol, with Dr Chambers finding positive influence from a glass or two of wine with dinner and before, as long as it is consumed long before bed/sleeptime. He created an innovative way of looking at live blood cells with clients which, for me, has been similarly helpful to things like Dr Amen does with brain function scans and data from your brain -- it is simply helpful for people to 'see it and then believe it'. That helps with buy-in and compliance for many people. 

The link for Tana Amen's website and the information from the 'about' for you to get 'teased' enough to go to see the rest of the website:  www.tanaamen.com/the-omni-diet