An accessible read with a title designed to catch the attention of worried mothers and a message that will be vigorously...
Medical professionals join the debate over the safety of our food supply with the claim that toxic foods are causing hard-to-diagnose chronic health problems in children.
Pediatrician Perro, former director of the pediatric emergency department at New York’s Metropolitan Hospital and attending physician at Oakland Children’s Hospital, and Adams (Vice Chair, Medical Anthropology/Univ. of California, San Francisco; Metrics: What Counts in Global Health, 2016, etc.) team up to document this phenomenon and to argue that the solution is a new model of eco-medicine that promotes the treatment value of healthy food. Genetically modified foods come in for especially close scrutiny. Perro’s practice provides clinical case studies illustrating the many health problems of children—allergies, asthma, rashes, gastrointestinal issues, autoimmune disorders, and cognitive malfunction—that frustrated parents have brought to her attention and that she has successfully treated. The authors also delve into the rise of agrochemical technologies and the current practices of industrial food production, especially with regard to GMO crops. They explore what biomedical sciences are beginning to learn about the connection between pesticides and organ systems, and they question the effectiveness of American Medical Association guidelines for medical practice, which they assert do not reflect scientific information. Physicians, they write, must think beyond the pill. The eco-medicine model calls for a recognition that our internal ecosystems can only be as healthy as our external environmental ecosystems. In their demand for a revolution in our food production system, as well as in our medical approach to chronic disorders, the authors acknowledge the need for scientists, educators, politicians, health professionals, and farmers to become involved, but they single out mothers as powerful agents of change.
An accessible read with a title designed to catch the attention of worried mothers and a message that will be vigorously challenged by a host of agribusiness and pharmaceutical industry spokespeople and segments of the medical profession.Pub Date: Dec. 6, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-60358-757-0
Page Count: 272
Publisher: Chelsea Green
Review Posted Online: Oct. 9, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2017
Light entertainment from a witty woman.
A breezy little volume by an actress facing old age with aplomb.
Now in her late 60s, Keaton, an Academy Award winner in 1977 for her role in Woody Allen’s Annie Hall, sprinkles memories of her long career, including her friendships and more with certain leading men, into a mishmash of thoughts about childhood, beauty and parenting. The author’s attitude toward her own physical flaws—drooping eyes, a less-than-perfect nose, thinning hair—is meant to be reassuring to self-critical female readers. There is a rationale behind the omnipresent hats, tinted glasses and turtlenecks that other women might consider, but Keaton’s message is that everyone should do their own thing. Never married, she is raising two adopted children, now teenagers, who figure prominently in the narrative. Even movie stars, it seems, have ordinary parenting problems and bad days. Woven into the domestic scenes are recollections of film roles and fellow actors. Readers looking for chitchat about celebrities will be gratified; Keaton drops plenty of names, although at times, they seem to be somewhat forcefully injected into her narrative. The author is generous in her comments about others, giving full credit to her longtime friend Allen for launching her career and speaking well of the leading men in her life. For the record, Keaton reports that Warren Beatty, her co-star in Reds, had a pretty face, but Al Pacino, with whom she acted in the Godfather films, had a beautiful one. There are no illustrations; however, Keaton’s eye for detail makes them unnecessary. One caveat: The text is exceedingly brief, an afternoon’s read at best. The type is heavily leaded to fill out the pages, giving the impression that there’s more than is being delivered.
Light entertainment from a witty woman.Pub Date: April 29, 2014
ISBN: 978-0-8129-9426-1
Page Count: 224
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: May 26, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2014
BOOK REVIEW
Useful but disappointingly commonplace tips.
In a follow-up to The End of Illness (2012), which explored how technological advances will transform medicine, Agus (Medicine and Engineering/Univ. of Southern California) restates time-tested but too often overlooked principles for healthy living.
The author outlines simple measures that average citizens can take to live healthier lives and extend their life spans by taking advantage of modern technology to develop personalized records. These would include a list of medical tests and recommended treatments. Agus also suggests keeping track of indicators that can be observed at home on a regular basis—e.g., changes in energy, weight, appetite and blood pressure, blood sugar and general appearance. He advises that all of this information be made available online, and it is also helpful to investigate family history and consider DNA testing where indicated. Along with maintaining a healthy weight, Agus emphasizes the importance of eating a balanced diet, with plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables and a minimum of red meat. Avoid packaged vitamins and food supplements, and if possible, grow your own vegetables or buy frozen vegetables, which will generally be fresher than those on supermarket shelves. The author also warns against processed foods that make health claims but contain additives or excessive amounts of sugar or fat. Regular mealtimes and plenty of sleep, frequent hand-washing and oral hygiene are a must; smoking and excessive time in the sun should also be avoided. Agus recommends that adults should consider taking statins and baby aspirin as preventative measures. He concludes with a decade-by-decade checklist of annual medical examinations that should be routine—e.g. blood pressure, diabetes and cholesterol screenings, from one’s 20s on; colonoscopies, prostate exams and mammograms later—and a variety of top-10 lists (for example, “Top 10 Reasons to Take a Walk”).
Useful but disappointingly commonplace tips.Pub Date: Jan. 7, 2014
ISBN: 978-1-4767-3095-0
Page Count: 128
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Sept. 30, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2013
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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