V.I., 44
Insurance Administrator

“I thought I’d write you with an update of how I’m feeling now that it’s been almost a month since the sessions…

I still haven’t had a drink, though to be honest I feel as though I’m looking forward to an occasional glass of wine with dinner.  We’ll see – I’m going to test the waters in a week or so.  Who knows I may not like it at all!  : )

The most incredible difference that the [Brainwave Optimization with RTB™] has made in my life is that it has helped me to facilitate major lifestyle changes.  I am doing kundalini yoga most everyday after work and sometimes even before work (if I get up early enough).  I also started a colon & heavy metal cleanse that is going well.  I am feeling pretty exhausted during the day – even though I feel my sleep patterns are better.  I’m not sure what the utter exhaustion is all about…

Well, I saved the best and most incredible for last… I quit smoking on the 15th.  Today is my 22nd day without a cigarette.  I’m using a very low dosage patch.  I’ve used the patch before, but I always had horrific cravings that were difficult to shake.  After Brain State, quitting smoking has been such a breeze, I can hardly believe it.  I haven’t had a single craving.  Not even one!  The first week, thoughts about smoking would come into my head but then they went out of my head immediately.  They didn’t linger and nag at me.  Basically, I just had to get through the habitual part – after a meal, in the car, etc.  I chewed gum to help.  Now, I rarely have to chew gum and days go by without the thought of a cigarette even entering my field.  It’s truly amazing.  I really attribute it all to Brain State.  I’ve never heard of anyone else having such an easy time of it.  And I really know that I’m done with smoking.  It’s wonderful.

Other than all the above, my life feels pretty normal.   Well who knows, it hasn’t even been a month – I think you said that I’d see changes occurring for the first 2 months.   I must admit, I do actually miss the sessions and the euphoric feeling that I had during that week!  : )

I really can’t thank you enough, I feel very blessed to have been able to experience this.

trained by Scott Meredith
Brain Harmonizer
Sacramento, CA

John S.

“I just realized that it has been a whole year since I started working with you and I want you to know I am very please with my results and I haven’t had an alcoholic beverage, which was not the reason I came for, but a whole year has gone by and I am looking at the TV seeing all those people lined up at the liquor store and beer store and I just think to myself “how lucky I am” to have met you, how much money I have saved and how valuable of service you offer! I want you to know that I am profoundly grateful!”

trained by
Elizabeth Verge
Brain Possibilities
Mind: your own business.
416-251-9070

New research has shown that people who drink a lot of alcohol have smaller brains.

Carol Ann Paul and colleagues studied data obtained from 1,839 adults who took part in the Framingham Offspring Study to examine the association between total cerebral brain volume (TCBV) and 5 categories of alcohol consumption (abstainers, former drinkers, low, moderate, high).

Analysis of the data led the researchers to discover a “significant negative linear relationship between alcohol consumption and total cerebral brain volume.” In other words, the more a person drinks the smaller his or her brain volume, thus suggesting that alcohol consumption shrinks the brain.

Results also showed that the association between alcohol consumption and brain volume was greater in women than in men. The researchers suspect that this could be due to the fact that women are generally more susceptible to the effects of alcohol than men.

The researchers conclude: “The public health effect of this study gives a clear message about the possible dangers of drinking alcohol. Prospective longitudinal studies are needed to confirm these results as well as to determine whether there are any functional consequences associated with increasing alcohol consumption. This study suggests that, unlike the associations with cardiovascular disease, alcohol consumption does not have any protective effect on brain volume.”

Paul CA, Au R, Fredman L, Massaro JM, Seshadri S, DeCarli C, Wolf PA. Association of Alcohol Consumption With Brain Volume in the Framingham Study. Arch Neurol. 2008;65:1363-1367.

1 or 2 glass of red wine is recommended for cardiovascular health. How often:

• 2 to 3 times per day.
• 1 time per day
• 1 time per week
• 1 time per month

Well, the answer is 1 time per week. Alcohol is NOT beneficial for the user if done more often or if done in greater quantities.

Recently a new report was issued from the University of Pittsburgh (abstract below). Alcohol kills our ability to think by stopping the blood flow. If you are highly cognitive functioning and wish to stay that way, avoiding alcohol is wise. Avoiding alcohol while training your brain is a must-do to get the full benefit. Brain training increases blood flow to the brain. Alcohol slows it. In that alone we can see the exact opposite activity is taking place. Brain training is greatly slowed by alcohol use and therefore it will require much longer to achieve the same result if someone uses ANY amount of alcohol while training or for at least three or four weeks following training.

Christie IC, Price J, Edwards L, Muldoon M, Meltzer CC, Jennings JR. Alcohol consumption and cerebral blood flow among older adults. Alcohol. 2008 Jun;42(4):269-75.  Department of Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh

A substantial epidemiological literature now supports the existence of a J or U-shaped association between alcohol consumption and a broad range cardiovascular health outcomes including stroke. Although it is well documented that alcoholics exhibit both global and regional cerebral hypo perfusion in the sober state, little is known regarding the effects of a broader range of alcohol consumption on cerebral blood flow (CBF). The present study employed positron emission tomography with H(2)(15)O to assess quantitative global and regional CBF in 86 participants (51 men and 35 women; mean age 60.1) as a function of self-reported weekly alcohol consumption (none, <1, 1 to <7, 7 to <15, and >15 drinks per week). Analyses controlling for age, gender, and vascular health (carotid intima-media thickness) revealed that, relative to the weighted population mean, global CBF was greater in the lightest alcohol consumption group (<1 per week) and lower in the heaviest (>15 per week). Effects did not vary across regions of interest. This report is the first to describe an inverted J-shaped relationship between alcohol consumption and CBF in the absence of stroke.