The Dr. Dharma Library · No. I
TheFour Foundations of aSharp Mind
A lifelong method for a clear, sharp mind.
drdharma.com
Before you begin
A doctor who learned it first in his own life
Board-certified anesthesiologist · Chief resident at UC San Francisco
Author of Brain Longevity, Meditation as Medicine and Food as Medicine
After his residency in anesthesiology, Dr. Dharma walked into a yoga class in New Mexico on a stranger’s recommendation. He had struggled with focus his whole life. Within weeks of a daily practice, his own mind felt sharper and steadier than it ever had.
That was the beginning of a simple idea he has spent his career on. How you live shapes how well your mind holds up. Not one pill, and not one habit. The whole person. He organized what he learned into four foundations, and this guide gives you each one in plain words, with a few things you can start today. Read one foundation a day. Your one-week checklist is on the last page.
- 1978Begins the daily practice that changed his own focus
- 1993Founds a nonprofit foundation for brain research
- 1997Publishes Brain Longevity with Warner Books, later translated into a dozen languages
- 2001Publishes Meditation as Medicine
- 2003Testifies before the United States Congress on how the way we live shapes the aging mind
- 2011The twelve-minute practice his foundation studied goes into trials at UCLA, Penn and West Virginia University
“Your work in the field of memory loss should now be considered mainstream.”
Foundation one
01Nourish it
Food is information your body reads at every meal.
The brain is a small part of your body that uses a large share of its fuel. It notices what you feed it. Dr. Dharma’s advice needs no calorie counting. Make your plate look like a rainbow. Deep greens, reds, golds and purples each bring different nutrients, so more color means a wider range.
Add the good fats the brain is partly built from, the omega-3s in fish, walnuts and flax. Choose whole foods your grandmother would recognize, and let them crowd out the rest. And because even a good diet has gaps, he keeps a daily multivitamin underneath it all as a floor.
Feed the brain well, and it has what it needs for everything else.
Try this today
- Count the colors on your plate at lunch. Aim for four.
- Have fish, or a handful of walnuts, twice this week.
- Swap one packaged snack for a piece of fruit.
- Drink a full glass of water before your morning coffee.
From his formulas
- Gold Multi-Vitamin
His daily floor beneath good eating. Each day’s serving gives you 1,000 IU of vitamin D3, 200 mcg of B12, 200 mg of magnesium and 800 mcg of folate, with a full range of minerals.
- Brain Caps
Includes vegan DHA from algae, the omega-3 the brain is partly built from.
Foundation two
02Calm it
Stress is not only a feeling. It is a force on the brain.
When we are under pressure, the body releases a hormone called cortisol. In a real emergency it helps. When it never switches off, it wears on us. Dr. Dharma saw this in his patients early in his career.
So calm is not a luxury. It is maintenance. The most reliable tool is also one of the oldest. A few quiet minutes each day, following your breath, gently coming back each time the mind wanders. Ten minutes is enough to begin. Good sleep matters just as much, because rest is when the brain does its housekeeping.
Protect the calm, and you protect the mind.
Try this today
- Sit for ten quiet minutes. Breathe slowly in and out through the nose.
- When your mind wanders, come back. That is the practice.
- Finish your last meal a few hours before bed.
- Keep the same bedtime all week, weekends too.
From his formulas
- Memory Caps
Includes ashwagandha (100 mg) and rhodiola (5 mg). Both are adaptogens, herbs traditionally used to help the body handle everyday stress.
- Gold Multi-Vitamin
200 mg of magnesium a day, a mineral your body uses for hundreds of jobs, including the ones that help you rest.
Foundation three
03Train it
The mind responds to practice, just like the body.
We accept that muscles grow stronger with use. Dr. Dharma teaches that attention and memory work the same way. Ask something of them and they answer. Let them idle and they fade.
Two kinds of training matter. The first is ordinary challenge. Learn something new, take an unfamiliar route, choose the harder crossword. The second is the one he has studied most closely, a simple twelve-minute meditation you can do in a chair. In 2011 his foundation’s work on it went into randomized trials at UCLA, the University of Pennsylvania and West Virginia University. He recorded it so you can follow along, free, at drdharma.com.
Give the brain real work, and it rises to meet it.
Try this today
- Learn ten words of a new language, or one new song.
- Take a different route on your next walk or drive.
- Brush your teeth with the other hand all week.
- Follow his free twelve-minute practice once.
From his formulas
- Brain Caps
Phosphatidylserine (100 mg), part of the membranes of brain cells, and ginkgo biloba (80 mg), known for supporting healthy circulation.
- Memory Caps
Huperzine-A, vinpocetine and blueberry in one capsule. He takes Brain and Memory together, his foundation pair.
Foundation four
04Nourish the spirit
A mind needs something worth staying sharp for.
The last foundation is the one conventional medicine talks about least, and the one Dr. Dharma considers essential. He calls it spiritual fitness. He does not mean anything you have to believe. He means the things that give a life its weight. Purpose. Connection. Gratitude. Belonging to something larger than the day’s worries.
People with purpose and close relationships tend to age better, in mind as well as body. Loneliness wears on us. Meaning steadies us. And the bridge he returns to again and again is stillness, the same quiet minutes that calm the body.
Tend your reasons for living, and the mind has something to stay sharp for.
Try this today
- Call someone you have been meaning to call.
- Write down three things you are grateful for tonight.
- Give an hour to something larger than yourself this week.
- Name one reason you get out of bed, large or small.
From his formulas
- Super Rejuvenation
Resveratrol (300 mg), CoQ10, alpha lipoic acid and acetyl L-carnitine. Nutrients your cells use to make the energy you need to show up for your life.
- Inner Healing
Turmeric (95% curcuminoids), milk thistle and N-acetyl L-cysteine, for the body that carries you.
The way he takes them
His Regimen
Five formulas, paired the way Dr. Dharma takes them himself every day.
Patients used to arrive at his office carrying bags of bottles. A dozen brands, no plan. He made his formulas to be the opposite. Five of them, every ingredient and amount printed on the label, no proprietary blends. He has taken them every day since 2002. Begin with the Core Regimen.
Core Regimen
Brain Caps + Memory Caps. His foundation pair.
$79.95 a month
about $2.67 a day
Free bottle of Inner Healing in your first box
His choiceDr. Dharma’s Regimen
Brain Caps + Memory Caps + Super Rejuvenation. The three he takes each morning.
$139.95 a month
about $4.67 a day
Free bottle of Inner Healing in your first box
The Complete Regimen
All five formulas, including Gold Multi-Vitamin.
$232.95 a month
A bottle of Inner Healing to give a friend in your first box
- Free US shipping on every order
- 60-day empty-bottle guarantee on the first bottle of each formula. Return the bottle even empty, and we pay the return postage.
- Made in the USA from domestic and imported ingredients
- No proprietary blends
- Monthly delivery you can change or cancel anytime
- 2% of profits fund brain research
The foundation is independent and does not endorse our products.
“One of the best supplements on the market I’ve been using for last 20 years”
Dilbag J., February 2024
drdharma.com/products/core-regimen
Keep this by your coffee
Your four foundations, every day
You do not have to change your whole life. Tend each foundation a little, every day. Tick the boxes for one week and notice how you feel.
A note from David, Customer Care. I look after Dr. Dharma’s customers, and I read every reply. If you have a question about this guide or his formulas, write back to any of my emails or call me at (800) 651-5650. I am glad you are here.
Please read. This guide is for education only and is not a substitute for advice from your own doctor. Please talk with your healthcare provider before starting any supplement, especially if you are pregnant or nursing, take medication, or have a medical condition. Memory Caps is not for women who are pregnant, may become pregnant, or are nursing. If you take a blood thinner or a medicine that affects acetylcholine, or have surgery scheduled, check with your doctor before using it.
These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. These products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. The foundation is an independent nonprofit and does not make, sell, or endorse these products.
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