Why Can't I Get Better? Solving the Mystery of Lyme and Chronic Disease


Richard I. Horowitz - 2013
    It can mimic every disease process including Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, Fibromyalgia, autoimmune conditions like MS, psychiatric conditions like depression and anxiety, and cause significant memory and concentration problems, mimicking early dementia. It is called the “Great Imitator,” and inaccurate testing—combined with a fierce, ongoing debate that questions chronic infection—makes it difficult for sufferers to find effective care.When Dr. Richard Horowitz moved to the Hudson Valley over two decades ago to start his own medical practice, he had no idea that he was jumping into a hotbed of Lyme disease. He would soon realize that many of the chronic disease diagnoses people were receiving were also the result of Lyme—and he would discover how once-treatable infections, in the absence of timely intervention, could cause dis­abling conditions. In a field where the number of cases is growing exponentially around the world and answers remain elusive, Dr. Horowitz has treated over 12,000 patients and made extraordinary progress. His plan represents a crucial paradigm shift, without which the suffering will continue.In this book, Dr. Horowitz:• Breaks new ground with a 16 Point Differential Diagnostic Map, the basis for his revolutionary Lyme treatment plan, and an overarching approach to treating all chronic illness.• Introduces MSIDS, or Multiple Systemic Infectious Disease Syndrome, a new lens on chronic illness that may prove to be an important missing link.• Covers in detail Lyme’s leading symptoms and co-infections, including immune dysfunction, sleep disorders, chronic pain and neurodegenerative disorders – pro­viding a unique functional and integrative health care model, based on the most up-to-date scientific research, for physicians and health care providers to effectively treat Lyme and other chronic illnesses.Cutting through the frustration, misinformation and endless questions, Dr. Horowitz’s enlightening story of medical discovery, science and politics is an all-in-one source for patients of chronic illness to identify their own symptoms and work with their doctors for the best possible treatment outcome.

Slow Death by Rubber Duck: How the Toxic Chemistry of Everyday Life Affects Our Health


Rick Smith - 2009
    Smith and Lourie ingested and inhaled a host of things that surround all of us all the time. This book exposes the extent to which we are poisoned every day of our lives. For this book, over the period of a week - the kind of week that would be familiar to most people - the authors use their own bodies as the reference point and tell the story of pollution in our modern world, the miscreant corporate giants who manufacture the toxins, the weak-kneed government officials who let it happen, and the effects on people and families across the globe. Parents and concerned citizens will have to read this book.Key concerns raised in Slow Death by Rubber Duck:• Flame-retardant chemicals from electronics and household dust polluting our blood. • Toxins in our urine caused by leaching from plastics and run-of-the-mill shampoos, toothpastes and deodorant.• Mercury in our blood from eating tuna.• The chemicals that build up in our body when carpets and upholstery off-gas.Ultimately hopeful, the book empowers readers with some simple ideas for protecting themselves and their families, and changing things for the better.From the Hardcover edition.

Meditate Your Weight: Your 21-Day Retreat to Shed Pounds, Feel Great, and Lighten Up


Tiffany Cruikshank - 2016
    Meditate Your Weight is a 21-day weight-loss plan that employs a daily journaling and meditation practice to coach readers through the various mental blocks, thoughts, habits, and behaviors that stand in their way of living in strong, healthy, and well-loved bodies.

Beautiful Bodies: A Memoir


Kimberly Rae Miller - 2017
    And trying. And trying some more. She's been at it since she was four years old, when Sesame Street inspired her to go on her first diet. Postcollege, after a brief stint as a diet-pill model, she became a health-and-fitness writer and editor working on celebrities' bestselling bios—sugarcoating the trials and tribulations celebs endure to stay thin. Needless to say, Kim has spent her life in pursuit of the ideal body.But what is the ideal body? Knowing she's far from alone in this struggle, Kim sets out to find the objective definition of this seemingly unattainable level of perfection. While on a fascinating and hilarious journey through time that takes her from obese Paleolithic cavewomen, to the bland menus that Drs. Graham and Kellogg prescribed to promote good morals in addition to good health, to the binge-drinking-prone regimen that caused William the Conqueror's body to explode at his own funeral, Kim ends up discovering a lot about her relationship with her own body.Warm, funny, and brutally honest, Beautiful Bodies is a blend of memoir and social history that will speak to anyone who's ever been caught in a power struggle with his or her own body—in other words, just about everyone.

How to Be Sick: A Buddhist-Inspired Guide for the Chronically Ill and Their Caregivers


Toni Bernhard - 2010
    And it can also be the perfect gift of guidance, encouragement, and uplifting inspiration to family, friends, and loved ones struggling with the many terrifying or disheartening life changes that come so close on the heels of a diagnosis of a chronic condition or even a life-threatening illness.The author, who became ill while a university law professor in the prime of her career, tells the reader how she got sick and, to her and her partner's bewilderment, stayed that way. Toni had been a longtime meditator, going on long meditation retreats and spending many hours rigorously practicing, but soon discovered that she simply could no longer engage in those difficult and taxing forms. She had to learn ways to make "being sick" the heart of her spiritual practice and, through truly learning how to be sick, she learned how, even with many physical and energetic limitations, to live a life of equanimity, compassion, and joy. Whether we ourselves are sick now or not, we can learn these vital arts of living well from How to Be Sick.

There Is a Cure for Diabetes: The Tree of Life 21-Day+ Program


Gabriel Cousens - 2008
    Conventional wisdom calls it incurable, but renowned Dr. Gabriel Cousens counters that claim with this breakthrough book. There Is a Cure for Diabetes lays out a three-week plan for reversing the negative genetic expression of diabetes to a physiology of health and well-being. Dr. Cousens’s method, widely tested at his famous Tree of Life centers, is to reset the DNA through green juice fasting and a 100% organic, nutrient-dense, vegan, low-glycemic, low-insulin-scoring, and high-mineral diet of living foods in the first twenty-one days. Both practical and inspirational, the book explains how to abandon the widespread “culture of death”–symbolized by addictive junk food–that fosters diabetes in favor of a more natural, nurturing approach. The program renders insulin and related medicines unnecessary within four days as the blood sugar drops to normal levels; and the diabetic shifts into a non-diabetic physiology within two weeks. The third week focuses on live-food preparation, featuring 100 delicious raw recipes. Dr. Cousens emphasizes regular consultations, monitoring blood chemistries, and emotional support, and includes a one-year support program to help maintain a diabetes-free life.

Chasing My Cure: A Doctor's Race to Turn Hope into Action


David Fajgenbaum - 2019
    But things changed dramatically when he began suffering from inexplicable fatigue. In a matter of weeks, his organs were failing and he was read his last rites. Doctors were baffled by his condition, which they had yet to even diagnose. Floating in and out of consciousness, Fajgenbaum prayed for a second chance, the equivalent of a dramatic play to second the game into overtime.Miraculously, Fajgenbaum survived--only to endure repeated near-death relapses from what would eventually be identified as a form of Castleman disease, an extremely deadly and rare condition that acts like a cross between cancer and an autoimmune disorder. When he relapsed while on the only drug in development and realized that the medical community was unlikely to make progress in time to save his life, Fajgenbaum turned his desperate hope for a cure into concrete action: Between hospitalizations he studied his own charts and tested his own blood samples, looking for clues that could unlock a new treatment. With the help of family, friends, and mentors, he also reached out to other Castleman disease patients and physicians, and eventually came up with an ambitious plan to crowdsource the most promising research questions and recruit world-class researchers to tackle them. Instead of waiting for the scientific stars to align, he would attempt to align them himself.More than five years later and now married to his college sweetheart, Fajgenbaum has seen his hard work pay off: A treatment he identified has induced a tentative remission and his novel approach to collaborative scientific inquiry has become a blueprint for advancing rare disease research. His incredible story demonstrates the potency of hope, and what can happen when the forces of determination, love, family, faith, and serendipity collide.

If Our Bodies Could Talk: A Guide to Operating and Maintaining a Human Body


James Hamblin - 2016
    Now, in illuminating and genuinely funny prose, Hamblin explores the human stories behind health questions that never seem to go away—and which tend to be mischaracterized and oversimplified by marketing and news media. He covers topics such as sleep, aging, diet, and much more: • Can I “boost” my immune system?• Does caffeine make me live longer?• Do we still not know if cell phones cause cancer?• How much sleep do I actually need?• Is there any harm in taking a multivitamin?• Is life long enough? In considering these questions, Hamblin draws from his own medical training as well from hundreds of interviews with distinguished scientists and medical practitioners. He translates the (traditionally boring) textbook of human anatomy and physiology into accessible, engaging, socially contextualized, up-to-the-moment answers. They offer clarity, examine the limits of our certainty, and ultimately help readers worry less about things that don’t really matter.If Our Bodies Could Talk is a comprehensive, illustrated guide that entertains and educates in equal doses.

Fat for Fuel: A Revolutionary Diet to Combat Cancer, Boost Brain Power, and Increase Your Energy


Joseph Mercola - 2017
    But what if cancer isn’t a genetic disease after all? What if scientists are chasing a flawed paradigm, and cancer isn’t a disease of damaged DNA but rather of defective metabolism as a result of mitochondrial dysfunction? What if that startling truth could revolutionize our understanding of other diseases as well—and show us a radical new path to optimal health?In this groundbreaking guide, the first of its kind, New York Times best-selling author and leading natural-health practitioner Joseph Mercola explains how nearly all disease is caused by defective metabolic processes. Then he reveals what’s really causing your metabolism to go haywire: damage and dysfunction in the mitochondria, thousands of which are at work in nearly every cell in your body, generating 90 percent of the energy you need to stay alive and well. When mitochondria become damaged in large numbers, it is impossible to stay healthy.Dr. Mercola shows you that you can to take control of your health simply by giving your body the proper fuel—and it’s not what you’ve likely been led to believe. A ketogenic diet, very low in carbohydrates and high in healthy fats, is the way to optimize the biochemical pathways that suppress disease and support healing. And the benefits can be astonishing—not only in treating or preventing serious illness, but in boosting your brainpower, increasing your energy, helping you lose weight and keep it off, and much more.As you read this book, you’ll learn in clear, rational terms how your body works at a molecular level. You’ll finally understand the type of fuel it’s designed to burn in the most efficient way possible. You’ll find detailed guidelines for starting and sticking with a ketogenic eating plan. And you won’t have to wait a decade or two for metabolic mitochondrial therapy to make its way into the mainstream. You can build a healthier body and brain at the cutting edge of this exciting new discipline, starting right now.

Just Eat: One Reporter's Quest for a Weight-Loss Regimen That Works


Barry Estabrook - 2021
    . . This will completely change your ideas about what you should be eating."--Ruth Reichl, author of Save Me the PlumsInvestigative journalist Barry Estabrook was often on the receiving end of his doctor's scowl. Realizing he had two options--take more medication or lose weight--Estabrook chose the latter, but was paralyzed by the options. Which diet would keep the weight off? What program could he maintain over time? What diet works best--or even at all?Over the course of three years, Estabrook tried the regimens behind the most popular diets of the past forty years--from paleo, keto, gluten-free, and veganism to the Master Cleanse, Whole30, Atkins, Weight Watchers--examining the people, claims, and science behind the fads, all while recording his mental and physical experience of following each one. Along the way, he discovered that all the branded programs are derived from just three diets. There are effective, scientifically valid takeaways to be cherry-picked . . . and the rest is just marketing. Perhaps most alarming, Estabrook uncovered how short-term weight loss can do long-term health damage that may go undetected for years. Estabrook contextualizes his reporting with an analysis of our culture's bizarre dieting history, dating back to the late 1800s, to create a thorough--and thoroughly entertaining--look at what specific diets do to our bodies, why some are more effective than others, and why our relationship with food is so fraught.Estabrook's account is a relatable, pragmatic look into the ways we try to improve our health through dieting, revealing the answer may be to just eat.

The Psychobiotic Revolution: Mood, Food, and the New Science of the Gut-Brain Connection


Scott C. Anderson - 2017
    This groundbreaking book explains the revolutionary new science of psychobiotics and the discovery that your brain health and state of mind are intimately connected to your microbiome, that four-pound population of microbes living inside your intestines. Leading medical researchers John F. Cryan and Ted Dinan, working with veteran journalist Scott C. Anderson, explain how common mental health problems, particularly depression and anxiety, can be improved by caring for the intestinal microbiome. Science is proving that a healthy gut means a healthy mind—and this book details the steps you can take to change your mood and improve your life by nurturing your microbiome.

10% Human: How Your Body's Microbes Hold the Key to Health and Happiness


Alanna Collen - 2015
    For every one of the cells that make up the vessel that you call your body, there are nine impostor cells hitching a ride. You are not just flesh and blood, muscle and bone, brain and skin, but also bacteria and fungi. Over your lifetime, you will carry the equivalent weight of five African elephants in microbes. You are not an individual but a colony.Until recently, we had thought our microbes hardly mattered, but science is revealing a different story, one in which microbes run our bodies and becoming a healthy human is impossible without them.In this riveting, shocking, and beautifully written book, biologist Alanna Collen draws on the latest scientific research to show how our personal colony of microbes influences our weight, our immune system, our mental health, and even our choice of partner. She argues that so many of our modern diseases—obesity, autism, mental illness, digestive disorders, allergies, autoimmunity afflictions, and even cancer—have their root in our failure to cherish our most fundamental and enduring relationship: that with our personal colony of microbes.Many of the questions about modern diseases left unanswered by the Human Genome Project are illuminated by this new science. And the good news is that unlike our human cells, we can change our microbes for the better. Collen's book is a revelatory and indispensable guide. It is science writing at its most relevant: life—and your body—will never seem the same again.

Hooked: Food, Free Will, and How the Food Giants Exploit Our Addictions


Michael Moss - 2021
    Our bodies are hardwired for sweets, so food giants have developed fifty-six types of sugar to add to their products, creating in us the expectation that everything should be cloying; we've evolved to prefer fast, convenient meals, hence our modern-day preference for ready-to-eat foods. Moss goes on to show how the processed food industry--including major companies like Nestlé, Mars, and Kellogg's--has tried not only to evade this troubling discovery about the addictiveness of food but to actually exploit it. For instance, in response to recent dieting trends, food manufacturers have simply turned junk food into junk diets, filling grocery stores with "diet" foods that are hardly distinguishable from the products that got us into trouble in the first place. As obesity rates continue to climb, manufacturers are now claiming to add ingredients that can effortlessly cure our compulsive eating habits. An account of the legal battles, insidious marketing campaigns, and cutting-edge food science that have brought us to our current public health crisis, Moss lays out all that the food industry is doing to exploit and deepen our addictions, and shows us why what we eat has never mattered more.From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Salt Sugar Fat comes a powerful exposé of how the processed food industry exploits our evolutionary instincts, the emotions we associate with food, and legal loopholes in their pursuit of profit over public health.

Shoulder Pain? The Solution & Prevention


John M. Kirsch - 2010
    Kirsch, M.D., an Orthopedic Surgeon for the common man. It is the result of 25 years of research into a new and simple exercise to prevent rotator cuff tears and impingement syndrome in the shoulder, as well as treating these conditions and frozen shoulder. Testimonials and research CT scan images are included as well as images of the exercises performed by models and patients.

Dreamland: Adventures in the Strange Science of Sleep


David K. Randall - 2012
    Randall never gave sleep much thought. That is, until he began sleepwalking. One midnight crash into a hallway wall sent him on an investigation into the strange science of sleep.In Dreamland, Randall explores the research that is investigating those dark hours that make up nearly a third of our lives. Taking readers from military battlefields to children’s bedrooms, Dreamland shows that sleep isn't as simple as it seems. Why did the results of one sleep study change the bookmakers’ odds for certain Monday Night Football games? Do women sleep differently than men? And if you happen to kill someone while you are sleepwalking, does that count as murder?This book is a tour of the often odd, sometimes disturbing, and always fascinating things that go on in the peculiar world of sleep. You’ll never look at your pillow the same way again.