Medicine

What is really happening in your brain when you use your phone, and how to harness it.

Humans are often fearful of the day the world will be ruled by machines, but have they not already taken over? The average person spends 4-5 hours a day on their phone, about a third of the time they are awake. We self-interrupt our work and social lives, forgo sleep, procrastinate important tasks and opt for digital distraction when we’re bored or feel uncomfortable.

NHS neurology doctor and neuroscientist Faye Begeti describes what is happening in our brain when we use our phones and why we have formed so many fixed and negative habits around them. She reflects on both deliberate choices and automatic behaviours, whilst also challenging myths around digital ‘addiction’, how dopamine actually works and the harmfulness of blue light.

Rather than recommending a quick fix digital diet, or total abstinence – unviable for most people – The Phone Fix offers a practical guide, based on neuroscientific techniques, on building supportive digital habits. Technology is not inherently bad or frightening and by better understanding what is happening in our brains, we can replenish our willpower and improve our focus, forming a healthier relationship with our phones ­- and therefore the real people around us.

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Chosen by the SUNDAY TIMES, GUARDIAN, FT and DAILY MAIL as one of their BEST SUMMER BOOKS OF 2023

‘If you only read one diet or nutrition book in your life, make it this one’ Bee Wilson

‘A devastating, witty and scholarly destruction of the shit food we eat and why’ Adam Rutherford

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An eye-opening investigation into the science, economics, history and production of ultra-processed food.

It’s not you, it’s the food.

We have entered a new ‘age of eating’ where most of our calories come from an entirely novel set of substances called Ultra-Processed Food, food which is industrially processed and designed and marketed to be addictive. But do we really know what it’s doing to our bodies?

Join Chris in his travels through the world of food science and a UPF diet to discover what’s really going on. Find out why exercise and willpower can’t save us, and what UPF is really doing to our bodies, our health, our weight, and the planet (hint: nothing good).

For too long we’ve been told we just need to make different choices, when really we’re living in a food environment that makes it nigh-on impossible. So this is a book about our rights. The right to know what we eat and what it does to our bodies and the right to good, affordable food.

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We all know that as a nation our mental health is in crisis. But what most don’t know is that a critical ingredient in this debate, and a crucial part of the solution – what we eat – is being ignored.

Nutrition has more influence on what we feel, who we become and how we behave than we could ever have imagined. It affects everything from our decision-making to aggression and violence. Yet mental health disorders are overwhelmingly treated as ‘mind’ problems as if the physical brain – and how we feed it – is irrelevant. Someone suffering from depression is more likely to be asked about their relationship with their mother than their relationship with food.

In this eye-opening and impassioned book, psychologist Kimberley Wilson draws on startling new research – as well as her own work in prisons, schools and hospitals around the country – to reveal the role of food and nutrients in brain development and mental health: from how the food a woman eats during pregnancy influences the size of her baby’s brain, and hunger makes you mean; to how nutrient deficiencies change your personality.

We must also recognise poor nutrition as a social injustice, with the poorest and most vulnerable being systematically ignored. We need to talk about what our food is doing to our brains. And we need decisive action, not over rehearsed soundbites and empty promises, from those in power – because if we don’t, things can only get worse.

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Live better for longer with this ultimate guide to longevity from the Sunday Times bestselling author of How Not to Die and founder of NutritionFacts.org.

We all want to stay healthy as we age but, with so many different claims out there, it can be hard to know the best advice to follow. In How Not to Age, Dr Michael Greger digs into the top peer-reviewed anti-aging research to deliver a complete and optimal guide with simple steps to extend your lifespan and slow the adverse effects of aging.

Inspired by the dietary and lifestyle patterns of the world’s centenarians and residents of ‘blue zone’ regions where people live the longest, Dr Greger presents easy, evidence-based ways to preserve the body functions that keep us feeling youthful, both physically and mentally. Can an apple a day really keep the doctor away? What’s better for your longevity, jogging for four hours or eating two handfuls of nuts twice a week? And are carrots or berries more beneficial to your eyesight?

Brimming with expertise, How Not to Age lays out practical strategies for living your longest, healthiest life – and for enjoying every moment of it.

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Pre-order your copy of The Good Bite’s High Protein, Meal Prep Manual now, for food as tasty as it is good for you.

Niall Kirkland, founder of The Good Bite, is on a mission to bridge the gap between healthy and delicious. In this book, he shares 80 calorie-counted, meal-prep, air fryer and slow cooker recipes – with a photo for every one – that will help you fill your fridge with mouth-watering, high-protein dishes that take the stress out of mealtimes.

• PB&J Protein French Toast
• Peri-peri Rice Bake with Grilled Corn
• Sticky Korean Popcorn Chicken
• Slow Cooker Sweet Potato Shepherd’s Pie
• Creamy Peanut Noodles with Prawns
• Hot Honey Halloumi Pittas with Harissa-Lime Mayo
• Creamy Tuscan Butter Beans
• Cookie Dough Bites

With chapters covering breakfast, lunch, dinner, desserts and snacks – as well as essential advice on calculating your ideal protein intake, full nutritional breakdowns and barcodes that feed directly into your food-tracking app for each recipe – this is the ultimate resource for anyone looking to harness the power of protein. Inside you’ll find delicious, nourishing meals packed with flavour, to keep you eating strong all week long.

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