A detailed and appealing work on wellness.
A book about blending Eastern and Western medicine for heart health.
In the newest book in their series, medical doctors Kuhn and Kurosu (True Wellness: The Mind, 2019, etc.), who now practice holistic healing, examine cardiac health from an integrative perspective, combining different approaches to health care. As in their previous installments, the authors blend divergent tenets of Eastern and Western medicine—Kurosu trained in Canada and the United States and Kuhn, in China—into a cohesive wellness approach. They note some surprising parallels and highlight beneficial practices from each type of medicine and walk readers through ways to make them work together. This book specifically focuses on prevention and treatment of cardiac illnesses, combining traditional medicine with practices involving acupuncture, herbs, yoga, and qi gong and rounding the regime out with tips on exercise, nutrition, meditation, and sleep. Their goal is educational, so the opening chapters aim to give readers a grounding in some of the science, history, and philosophy behind various treatments. They also include an in-depth examination of common cardiovascular problems, including hypertension, coronary artery disease, heart attacks, arrhythmias, and valve problems. Not all sections will apply to all readers, obviously, so some sections may be challenging to wade through. For instance, the book extensively details how blood vessels function, which sometimes requires the use of scientific language that casual readers may find difficult to grasp. However, the book also dispenses a good dose of general information about everyday lifestyle choices that are easy for anyone to comprehend and implement, and the authors liven up the concepts with examples from their own lives and practices. “Homework,” including mental exercises as well as instructive diagrams and illustrations, will help readers customize their own wellness plans. The authors support their advice with exhaustive citations, which makes the book feel more comprehensive than other, similar works.
A detailed and appealing work on wellness.Pub Date: April 1, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-59439-735-6
Page Count: 160
Publisher: YMAA Publication Center
Review Posted Online: Oct. 27, 2019
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
An easily understood reference to vitamin, mineral, and herbal supplements—what they are and how they work—that soundly emphasizes the need to hook up with a knowledgeable health care practitioner. The Prevention Health Book editors set out the basics of nutritional supplementation: explaining the differences between adequate and optimal nutrition and emphasizing safety with supplements” (always start treatment with a low dose, “consult a knowledgeable physician or heatlh practitioner” before taking supplements, avoid all supplements while pregnant or nursing). They then describe 61 separate substances, from the now-familiar vitamins, St. John’s Wort, and saw palmetto to the relatively obscure, such as cayenne (because of its diaphoretic action, “it was an herbal mainstay for general cleansing of the body, breaking fevers, and fighting infection”), and Royal Jelly—food for bee larvae in nature, but also treatment for human infants who fail to thrive. In Part three of this guide, “Fighting Disease with Supplements,” the authors examine potential help for disorders from Alzheimer’s disease to yeast infections. The possibilities are myriad and complex (hence, work with a health care practitioner who has a sound knowledge of the field); those struggling with menopausal problems, for instance, can pick and choose among soy isoflavones, dong quai, black cohosh, licorice, natural progesterones, vitamins E and C, and ginseng for symptom relief and problem prevention. A reliable guide, then, to what is currently understood about nutritional supplements.
Pub Date: Aug. 23, 1999
ISBN: 1-57954-028-7
Page Count: 704
Publisher: Rodale
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 1999
No go-with-the-flow aging for Joan Rivers. Fight it every way you can, she exhorts: diet, exercise, makeup, clothes, plastic surgery, sex with younger men. Comedienne, talk-show host, QVC jewelry marketer, and actress, Rivers (Enter Talking, 1986), nearing 70, has been there, done that, and doesn’t plan to stop exploring what life has to offer. “Aging sucks,” she announces flatly on page one, but she advises to “go through it with dignity.” Here’s the strategy, definitely not PC, but crammed with sound bites that translate to a battle plan. Look “the best you can for your age,” advises Rivers, laying out tips on clothes, makeup, exercise, diet, and even home decorating. For instance, up-to-date wardrobes can be a “little trashy” but not “TRASHY”; go easy on the short-short skirts and the low-low necklines. Jokes about the power of gravity on breasts and butt are interspersed with discussions of symptoms of aging that are usually reserved for doctors or hairdressers (wear sexy underwear, but be especially careful to keep it clean; when hair starts to thin, use hair pieces or even hair restorers; when facial hair becomes a problem, get rid of it—Oprah Winfrey did). Face lifts are no longer a feminist no-no: Letty Cottin Pogrebin had one, Rivers reports. In other advice: exercise, eat well but lightly, have young friends, have sex regularly, never visit anyone at a place called . . . Leisure anything,” and keep your mind active. Celebrity friends and acquaintances (Kim Basinger, Lauren Hutton) offer advice throughout the book, and as usual, Rivers takes a swipe at Elizabeth Taylor, a favorite target. She even quotes Robert Browning and Emily Dickinson. Each chapter winds up with a menu of one-liners: “Never admit that your back goes out more than you do.” Old saws given new bite in the sharp-tongued Rivers mode. (Author tour; TV satellite tour)
Pub Date: April 1, 1999
ISBN: 0-06-018383-7
Page Count: 288
Publisher: HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 1999
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
© Copyright 2026 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
