Helpful, accessible information about a broad variety of health concerns.
Up-to-date, easily understandable answers to common medical questions.
With the assistance of former Medco executive Lotvin and Fisher, Chopra (Medicine and Continuing Education/Harvard Medical School; The Liver Book: A Comprehensive Guide to Diagnosis, Treatment, and Recovery, 2001, etc.) presents a quasi-reference book in five parts: food and drink; drugs, vitamins and supplements; medicine; alternative medicine; and health risks. Each part includes a half dozen or more questions, such as “Is Wine the Best Medicine?” “Does Aspirin Prevent Cancer” and “Should Children be Immunized?” While most are about common concerns, others, such as “Is Restless Leg Syndrome Really a Billion-Dollar Disease?” read more like a headline from a tabloid. In a brief discussion of each issue, the authors present science-based evidence to support the answer, or in some cases, an examination of the lack of evidence currently available. Sidebars highlight key points in the discussion so that readers looking for a specific answer can readily find it without reading the entire section. Chopra adds a coda to each discussion in which he sums up the take-home message in a paragraph or two. Although the preface and the introduction stress that the doctors will be presenting only evidence-based answers, this is not, strictly speaking, always the case. Chopra inserts his personal experience with acupuncture (“I know it works. I’ve seen it. More important, I’ve felt it”) and with prayer (“I personally pray for my sick patients and encourage their family and friends to do so”), even though the text has made clear that the scientific evidence isn’t there. The introduction’s explanation of clinical trials and of epidemiological and longitudinal studies is clearly written and contains useful information for anyone attempting to assess a medical claim. The concluding chapter outlines the healthful lifestyles of the two doctors along with the gentle suggestion that readers learn from them. Includes a foreword by Mehmet Oz.
Helpful, accessible information about a broad variety of health concerns.Pub Date: Dec. 21, 2010
ISBN: 978-0-312-37692-5
Page Count: 448
Publisher: Dunne/St. Martin's
Review Posted Online: Sept. 7, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2010
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
Oncologist Agus (Medicine and Engineering/Univ. of Southern California) predicts that the application of advanced technology for modeling complex systems will transform 21st-century medicine.
The author writes that a remark Nobel Laureate Murray Gell-Mann made to him in 2009—“Look at cancer as a system"—transformed the way he views his own specialty and the entire field of preventative medicine. It made him realize that “[r]ather than honoring the body as the exceedingly complex system that it is, we keep looking for the individual gene that has gone awry, or for the one ‘secret’ that can improve our health.” Agus writes that although the ability to sequence the entire human genome is a great step forward, it is insufficient for achieving a significant breakthrough. Even though it may start with a mutation, cancer “is a dynamic process that's happening…far from the confines of a static piece of DNA”—it involves the body's immune system, its ability to regulate cell growth, metabolism and more. Agus directs his university’s Center for Applied Molecular Medicine and is the co-founder of two personalized medicine companies, Applied Proteomics and Navigenics. His hope is that their research will contribute to developing better analytical tools for preventative medicine and for the treatment of cancers. These will address the functioning of the body as a whole, applying digital technology already used by physicists to provide virtual models of cancers and model the action of proteins that regulate cell communication in the body. He also hopes to develop tools that will provide information on the concentration of different proteins in a drop of blood taken from a patient, which may reveal the onset of disease. The author also includes some guiding principles and warnings about certain healthy practices that may not be so healthy. A refreshing change of pace in the medical field, but by venturing beyond his field of expertise to pontificate on a wide range of subjects, Agus makes his otherwise intriguing narrative difficult to follow.
Pub Date: Jan. 1, 2012
ISBN: 978-1-4516-1017-8
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Free Press
Review Posted Online: Nov. 5, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2011
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
© Copyright 2024 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.
bookshelf