• Genius Foods

  • Become Smarter, Happier, and More Productive While Protecting Your Brain for Life
  • By: Max Lugavere, Paul Grewal
  • Narrated by: Max Lugavere
  • Length: 9 hrs and 50 mins
  • 4.7 out of 5 stars (2,606 ratings)

Prime logo Prime members: New to Audible?
Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.
Genius Foods  By  cover art

Genius Foods

By: Max Lugavere,Paul Grewal
Narrated by: Max Lugavere
Try for $0.00

$14.95/month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $25.19

Buy for $25.19

Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.

Publisher's summary

Discover the critical link between your brain and the food you eat, change the way you think about how your brain ages, and achieve optimal brain performance with this powerful new guide from media personality and leading voice in health Max Lugavere.

After his mother was diagnosed with a mysterious form of dementia, Max Lugavere put his successful media career on hold to learn everything he could about the workings of the human brain and his mother's condition. For the better half of a decade, he consumed the most up-to-date scientific research, talked to dozens of scientists and clinicians around the world, and visited the country's very best neurology departments.

Now, in Genius Foods, Lugavere uncovers the stunning link between our dietary and lifestyle choices and our brain health, revealing how the foods you eat directly affect your ability to focus, learn, remember, create, analyze new ideas, and maintain a healthy, balanced mood. He presents ground-breaking science and distills the latest research, including:

  • How food is like software for our endlessly capable minds;
  • How select nutrients can actually boost working memory and processing speed;
  • How slowing down the cognitive aging process is just as much about the foods you omit from your diet as the superfoods that you consume;
  • And how easy it is to modulate the quality of your thoughts and mood by food.

In the vein of groundbreaking best sellers such as David Perlmutter's Grain Brain, Tim Ferriss' Four Hour Body, and Dave Asprey's Bulletproof Diet, Genius Foods presents a comprehensive, practical roadmap to optimizing the brain's health and performance today - and decades into the future.

Supplemental enhancement PDF accompanies the audiobook.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the supplemental reference material will be available in your Library section along with the audio.

©2018 Max Lugavere (P)2018 HarperCollins Publishers

What listeners say about Genius Foods

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    2,108
  • 4 Stars
    373
  • 3 Stars
    82
  • 2 Stars
    25
  • 1 Stars
    18
Performance
  • 5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    1,832
  • 4 Stars
    319
  • 3 Stars
    57
  • 2 Stars
    17
  • 1 Stars
    14
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    1,743
  • 4 Stars
    347
  • 3 Stars
    94
  • 2 Stars
    22
  • 1 Stars
    15

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

I have learned nothing

A simple Google search would have gave me this information in a damn chart. It wasn't presented in a fun or interesting way. I am so bored. Let me sum it up for you. Eat Extra virgin olive oil, Blueberries and Dark Chocolate. Avoid processed food.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

123 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

One of my all-time FAVE health books!!

The timing could not have been more perfect for this book. I started the keto diet in January, and while the ketogenic way of eating offers real weight loss results, I just didn't feel so great on it. I was tired and lethargic, and caught a horrible cold/virus that lasted nearly three weeks, and had a tough time accepting that a daily diet of cheese and meat and fats (even the healthy ones) was right for me. I love salads and veggies, but the keto "police" limits them to very small portions. I just didn't feel that I was giving my immune system and microbiome all the proper nutrition they required. Yet I totally understood and agreed with the science behind keeping insulin low and training your brain and body to use ketones for energy instead of glucose. I struggled with a way to connect keto with "clean" eating. While managing my weight as a middle-age woman is certainly important, it's more important to me to feel my best, look my best, and to avoid becoming a victim of disease. Having lost my mother to aggressive cancer over a decade ago, I didn't want to fall into the same trap. Vitality, vigor, and robust health were my main goals, and I set out to find the answer.

Lo and behold, seemingly out of nowhere, the answers definitely came in the form of this book. I absolutely loved it!!! First of all, it was amazing to me that the author read his own work exceptionally well. Typically, most authors (especially health and wellness ones) are terrible narrators, and it almost always diminishes the value of the content. But in this case. Mr. Lugavere was a fantastic narrator. I loved his sad, personal story about his mother and his quest to seek out answers, and he reads with an engaging tone and cadence that truly makes this book a pleasure to listen to. (He even cracks some funny jokes that had me laughing!) Also, I was pleased to discover how well it was written! Like he literally wrote it with me in mind. Enough science to intrigue me and provide a solid background to his findings, but not so science-y that it was way over my head. This book gave me the permission to still incorporate keto and intermittent fasting in my daily eating plan, while making it clear that I don't need to (nor should I want to!) give up my blueberries or leafy greens or cruciferous veggies -- even if it means going over my low carb allotment. In fact, I learned that going very low cab for extended time periods may not be the healthiest option for me. This book focuses on health and wellness and optimal mental well-being, which is exactly what I had been looking for. I'll probably end up listening to it more than once, because I don't want to miss even one suggestion. It all makes sense, and I know it will affect me in many positive ways. I look forward to more from this author. (I'd love to see a whole series on this topic, like Genius Exercise and Fitness, Genius Biohacks, and maybe even a deeper dive into Genius Superfoods, for those of us who really want to take things to the next level.) Five stars across the board!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

46 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Fantastic Listen and Learn!

1. Max has an awesome voice and sense of humor, making this likely the most enjoyable and funny nutrition book in the history of the universe.
2. Science. All the science. Max used his journalistic integrity and genuine heart to find the truth in our understanding of food as genetic information, rather than touting fad diets.
3. Definitely need to buy the physical book! While it is a great listen, I found myself wishing I could highlight and flag pages in what will soon be a favorite reference text in my medical library.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

45 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Life changing!

My mother has Alzheimers and my father has Parkinsons. After extensive research, this book provides the most hope I have found for helping them both... and also trying to safeguard my brain & health as much as possible. This should be required reading for all - doctors included! Incredible material.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

39 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Good book.

It is produced very well, easy to listen too and Lots and Lots of "food for thought". I crack myself up... seriously good stuff.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

29 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

A Great Guide to Overall Health and We’ll Being

Great insights on how certain foods and lifestyle choices that can positively affect your life. While some of these things were already known before listening, I really learned a lot about things to look out for. I’ve made several life style changes based on this book. I really enjoyed listening to this book and have recommended it to countless family members and friends.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

23 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Great information

Every chapter is full of good medical information (in words a non-medical person can understand) on health and how the food we eat affects our body and brain. This book will make it easy to change the sugar and carb cravings because I now understand how my body and brain will be helped or HURT by them. The author's voice is very pleasant and I'll listen to this book often.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

20 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Some good information and some bad

A lot of good info but there’s a lot of pseudoscience too. Gluten isn’t bad unless you are intolerant or have celiacs disease which makes up about 1% of the population. GMO’s are not bad at all and he never defined his definition of organic. Organic typically is anti gmo and he pushes organic a lot which is not something that should be pushed. Organic is fine but it’s also an anti gmo word. Also when it comes to “super foods” take it with a grain of salt. There really is no such thing as a super food. Just something foods are better than others. He doesn’t really say super foods but he strongly implies it. All in all take this book with a grain of salt. He’s not a dietitian. Plus he says he speaks to nutritionists which is a red flag because dietitians have to be certified, anyone can claim to be a nutritionist. He also use the phrase “just a theory” which if you are scientifically literate, you know that’s a bad usage of the word “theory”. So there is a lot of good in this book but don’t take it a gospel.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

16 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

This book inspired me!

My mind has been opened to the possibilities for better brain health as we age! Max tells his personal story in his own voice... which is a very nice voice to listen to btw. I have changed the way I eat and have become more aware of my environmental toxins. I even switched to a natural makeup after listening to this book. Currently I'm a 3rd year medical student and have been trying to decide my chosen specialty. While listening to this, the author would cite different studies and papers to support claims made in the book. For the first time ever, I was excited to go look up the research papers and read them in completeness. I even started reading a neurology text book, listening to neuro pod casts, and started another audible book about why we sleep (Another neuro related topic with is really interesting for brain health). I was so inspired by this book to live better and have conversations with the patients I see in clinic every day about brain health. I've decided I want to become a neurologist and even got accepted to do research this summer at the NIH in neurology!!!!! This book changed my life. Let it change yours.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

13 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

A bunch of bull*it

Eat fiber, vegetables and fat. All of that book could have been said in one sentence.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

10 people found this helpful