The Cure for Everything
Untangling Twisted Messages about Health, Fitness, and Happiness
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3.4 • 5 Ratings
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- $13.99
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- $13.99
Publisher Description
A researcher boldly wades through commercialized health and fitness fads to bust pervasive myths—and reveal the true science—behind what it means to live a healthy life.
In this era of health-science research, rarely a day goes by without a public pronouncement of some exciting health-enhancing discovery: a new diet, a new fitness routine, a new drug or alternative therapy, the miracles achieved by genetic mapping. And we are told—by the media, health-care experts, even government—that we should use this information to live a healthier life. But what information can we trust?
In The Cure for Everything, health policy expert and fitness enthusiast Timothy Caulfield wades through the tides of health crazes, misleading data, and well-meaning gurus in a quest to sort out real, reliable health advice. Seamlessly switching between his sweatsuit and his lab coat, Caulfield doesn’t just pore over the research and interview the professionals; he gets his t-shirt sweaty and his meridians aligned, testing out the scientific validity of some of the health and fitness crazes of our day.
Science is everywhere, but what passes through most people’s field of vision is often wrong, hyped, or twisted by an ideological or commercial agenda. And without good scientific data, bad decisions are made—by doctors and governments, by you and me. Caulfield demonstrates, alas, that there are no quick fixes or simple steps to flat abs; that you will never be able to eat all you want; that no “natural” supplements will lead to better health; that knowing your genetic map will not save you from almost anything. The Cure for Everything ends with 5 simple, scientifically sound—and, yet, difficult—steps to take in order to lead a longer, healthier life.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
We're mercilessly bombarded with advice and products aimed at getting us to look good and feel better. In this entertaining and thought-provoking slam at Big Food, Big Pharma, and our own delusions, Canadian health law and policy researcher Caulfield immersed himself in the world of health science to weed fact from fantasy. He "exercised like a maniac" including with a trainer-to-the-stars who dished on the unenviable regimes of Tinseltown's most gorgeous celebs and went on an impossibly strict diet during which he shed 23 pounds. Caulfield, a dedicated sprinter, also got his genes tested and "sulked for days" because they made him an "unlikely sprinter"; he visited an acupuncturist and tried out a variety of naturopathic and homeopathic "remedies" including one to soothe his motion sickness only to discover that nothing works as promised. But Caulfield's often hilarious, always fascinating journey unearths a few simple truths: intense exercise is best; eating fewer calories, more fruits and veggies, and no junk is better than any fad diet; and that you need to be "skeptical, scientific, self-aware and patient" to decipher greed-fueled mixed messages from food, drug, and diet conglomerates. No one says it's easy, Caulfied notes, but the truth never is.
Customer Reviews
To the point
When logic hits you in the head leaving a trail of clarity, so does Timothy leave you thinking with a fresh undiluted mind on how to stay healthy and look great!