Faith's Tangible Benefits for Brain Health and Well-being

Key Quotes

"If you're, if you go to church on a regular basis, if you get sick, you get better faster. It lowers your risk of mental health issues. And obviously, people who are Christian or Muslim or Jewish, they have mental health issues, but having the belief and the community associated with it is protective."

Dr. Daniel Amen argues that regular church attendance is associated with faster physical recovery and a reduced risk of mental health issues. He explains that while individuals of any faith can experience mental health challenges, the presence of belief and community offers a protective effect.

"There's neurotransmitter benefits to that belief. Was there ever a time in your life where you didn't believe in God? No. Really? Yeah, there were times I was scared of God. I grew up Roman Catholic and I wrote a book, I think you interviewed me for it, on happiness. And I start the book with happiness is a moral obligation, which I got from my friend Dennis Prager. And there was that was nowhere in my childhood. That happiness was a moral obligation. It was more about long suffering. No, I've always believed in God."

Dr. Daniel Amen shares that belief itself has neurotransmitter benefits, and he has always believed in God, though he experienced fear of God in his Catholic upbringing. He contrasts this with his friend Dennis Prager's idea that happiness is a moral obligation, a concept absent in his childhood where long suffering was more emphasized.

"And I prayed that Sunday that God would use me to change the culture of food at church. Yeah, which is usually It's not good food. It's not good food. And I haven't, well, you know me, I have a sort of an attitude. And I'm praying that and I'm like, it's the dumbest prayer you've ever prayed. And I'm like, God, it's my prayer. You do it with it. Whatever you want. That's my prayer."

Dr. Daniel Amen recounts praying for divine intervention to alter the unhealthy food culture at his church, acknowledging the prayer's unconventional nature. He expresses a willingness to let God direct the outcome of this prayer, despite his own reservations about its simplicity.

"Two weeks later, Rick Warren, the senior pastor at Saddleback Church, one of the largest churches in the world, called me and said, I'm fat. My church is fat. Will you help me? And I had never met Pastor Warren. He's sold like 30 million books or something crazy, right? 50 million. 50 million books for a purpose-driven life or a mission-driven life. Yeah. And 15,000 people signed up the first week. The first year, they lost a quarter of a million pounds."

Dr. Daniel Amen describes how his prayer to change church food culture was answered when Pastor Rick Warren contacted him for help with his congregation's health. This collaboration led to the "Daniel Plan," which saw significant participation and a substantial collective weight loss within the first year.

"And I just say I feel incredibly blessed to be part of the conversation and getting the world healthy through churches. I don't know if we ever talked about Mark Hyman and I did the Daniel Plan with Pastor Rick Warren. So in 2010, I just finished my second book on the connection between physical health and mental health, change your brain, change your body."

Dr. Daniel Amen expresses gratitude for his role in promoting health through churches, referencing his work on the Daniel Plan with Pastor Rick Warren. He connects this to his book, "Change Your Brain, Change Your Body," which explores the link between physical and mental well-being.