I owe an enormous debt of gratitude to many people who helped bring this project to fruition. First, thanks to our research team and colleagues who, over the years, have shaped fundamental concepts of health and nutrition: Mark Sklar, MD; Andrew Nicholson, MD; Gabrielle Turner-McGrievy, PhD; Joshua Cohen, MD; Kavita Rajasekhar, MD; Ulka Agarwal, MD; Suruchi Mishra, PhD; Paul Poppen, PhD; Susan Levin, MS, RD; Joseph Gonzales, RD; Jia Xu, PhD; Heather Katcher, PhD; Lisa Gloede, RD; Ernest Noble, MD; Jill Eckart, CHHC; and Amber Green, RD.
Thanks also to the many investigators at other research centers whose work has brought to light the power of foods to affect health in general and the brain in particular. I am particularly grateful to Martha Clare Morris, ScD, of Rush University Medical Center, whose painstaking work has opened up new possibilities for protecting the brain. David J. A. Jenkins, MD, PhD, of the University of Toronto, continues to lead groundbreaking nutrition research with direct benefits for countless people.
Christine Waltermyer and Jason Wyrick used their considerable culinary skills to turn the scientific concepts in this book into wonderful recipes.
John McDougall, MD, and Mary McDougall have been constant inspirations and fountains of information, and answered many questions along the way.
Special thanks to the physicians, scientists, and others who critically reviewed the manuscript: Lawrence A. Hansen, MD; Erika D. Driver-Dunckley, MD; Travis Dunckley, PhD; Leonid Shkolnik, MD; Clifford Schostal, MD; Nikhil Kulkarni, MD; Hope Ferdowsian, MD; Caroline Trapp, MSN, APRN, BC-ADM, CDE; Edie Broida, MS; Brenda Davis, RD; Doug Hall; Lynn Maurer; Shaina Chimes; and Jillian Gibson.
Thank you to Ellsworth Wareham, MD, and Duane Graveline, MD, for allowing me to share their experiences and profit from their wisdom. Thank you to Cael Croft for his excellent illustrations and to Chris Evans, PhD, of the University of Glamorgan, Wales, for helping me color the manuscript with historical facts.
Huge thanks to my editor, Diana Baroni, and my literary agent, Debra Goldstein, for their enthusiastic support and expertise in transforming concepts and ideas into a tangible tool that can be put to work for better health.
And finally, thank you to everyone at the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine for your boundless innovation and energy in spreading the word about good health.