Book picks similar to
Ecology of Care: Medicine, Agriculture, Money, and the Quiet Power of Human and Microbial Communities by Didi Pershouse
culture-theory-activism
environment
non-fiction
pret-biblio
Red Blanket: An uncensored memoir that reveals the underbelly of surgical training
John Harch - 2020
The Checklist Manifesto: How to Get Things Right
Atul Gawande - 2009
Longer training, ever more advanced technologies—neither seems to prevent grievous errors. But in a hopeful turn, acclaimed surgeon and writer Atul Gawande finds a remedy in the humblest and simplest of techniques: the checklist. First introduced decades ago by the U.S. Air Force, checklists have enabled pilots to fly aircraft of mind-boggling sophistication. Now innovative checklists are being adopted in hospitals around the world, helping doctors and nurses respond to everything from flu epidemics to avalanches. Even in the immensely complex world of surgery, a simple ninety-second variant has cut the rate of fatalities by more than a third.In riveting stories, Gawande takes us from Austria, where an emergency checklist saved a drowning victim who had spent half an hour underwater, to Michigan, where a cleanliness checklist in intensive care units virtually eliminated a type of deadly hospital infection. He explains how checklists actually work to prompt striking and immediate improvements. And he follows the checklist revolution into fields well beyond medicine, from disaster response to investment banking, skyscraper construction, and businesses of all kinds.An intellectual adventure in which lives are lost and saved and one simple idea makes a tremendous difference, The Checklist Manifesto is essential reading for anyone working to get things right.
Worried Sick: A Prescription for Health in an Overtreated America
Nortin M. Hadler - 2008
Although necessary health care should be available to all who need it, he says, the current health-care debate assumes that everyone requires massive amounts of expensive care to stay healthy. Hadler urges that before we commit to paying for whatever pharmaceutical companies and the medical establishment tell us we need, American consumers need to adopt an attitude of skepticism and arm themselves with enough information to make some of their own decisions about what care is truly necessary. Each chapter of Worried Sick is an object lesson regarding the uses and abuses of a particular type of treatment, such as mammography, colorectal screening, statin drugs, or coronary stents. For consumers and medical professionals interested in understanding the scientific basis for Hadler's arguments, each topical chapter has an accompanying source chapter in which Hadler discusses the medical literature and studies that inform his critique. According to Hadler, a major stumbling block to rational health-care policy in the United States is contention over the very concept of what constitutes good health. By learning to distinguish good medical advice from persuasive medical marketing, consumers can make better decisions about their personal health and use that wisdom to inform their perspectives on health-policy issues.
Prepare for Surgery, Heal Faster
Peggy Huddleston - 2002
Mind-Body techniques that will help a patient: feel calmer before surgery, recover faster, have less pain after surgery, strengthen the immune system, use less pain medication, and save money on medical bills.
Fat-Burning Man: Intro to the Paleo Diet
Abel James - 2012
At roughly 44-pages, this Introduction to the Paleo lifestyle is a brief, easy-to-read, and informative resource to help you rolling right away.Abel James, host of the wildly-popular Fat-Burning Man Show, covers a brief history of the natural human diet, paleo fitness, meal ideas, 9 delicious recipes, a shopping list, and a complete paleo-in-a-page resource to get you started (or back on track) right away.Take a look at “Paleo in a Page” if you’re in a hurry to get started.Learn where the concept of Paleo came from and where it’s going.See why you don’t need to buy expensive supplements, miracle fat loss potions, or do endless hours of cardio to lose weight and improve your health.Find out principles that spur fat loss by supercharging your metabolism and muscle growth.Eating less and exercising more is not necessary. A calorie is not a calorie. You do not need to tether yourself to a treadmill. When you embrace the Paleo lifestyle, you can be lean and enjoy life. It’s a piece of (gluten-free) cake.
First Aid for the USMLE Step 2 CK
Tao Le - 1999
Written by medical students and reviewed by top faculty, this unique book provides practical, tested advice for acing the USMLE Step 2 CK.
Relearning to See: Improve Your Eyesight -- Naturally!
Thomas R. Quackenbush - 1996
Quackenbush (who teaches the Bates method in California and Oregon) describes how eyesight can improve naturally, at any age and regardless of heredity. This book is a wonderful tribute to the genius of Dr. Bates, who was a pioneer in discovering how vision becomes blurred and how it restores itself naturally to clarity and acuity. Now 80 years later, his findings and teachings remain light years ahead of our contemporaries. His approach to treating vision problems was truly holistic and the theme throughout this book is very much an extension of that holistic approach. Dr. Quackenbush is to be commended for his dedication in getting the truth out and keeping the torch burning in this "bible" on vision improvement.
The Concussion Crisis: Anatomy of a Silent Epidemic
Linda Carroll - 2011
On playing fields across America, lives are being derailed by seemingly innocuous jolts to the head. From the peewees to the pros, concussions are reaching epidemic proportions. This book brings that hidden epidemic and its consequences out of the shadows. As frightening as the numbers are—estimates of sports-related concussions range from 1.6 million to 3.8 million annually in the United States—they can’t begin to explain the profound impact of a hidden health problem that can strike any of us. It is becoming increasingly clear that concussions, like severe head traumas, can rob us of our memory, our mental abilities, our very sense of self. Because the damage caused by a concussion is rarely visible to the naked eye or even on a brain scan, no one knows how many millions might be living lives devastated by an invisible injury too often shrugged off as “just a bump on the head.” This book puts a human face on a huge public health crisis. Through narratives that chronicle the poignant experiences of real people struggling with this invisible and often unrecognized brain injury, Linda Carroll and David Rosner bring home its potentially devastating consequences. Among those you will meet are a high school football player whose college dreams were derailed by a series of undiagnosed concussions, a hard-driving soccer star whose own struggles with concussions pushed her to crusade for safety reform as a coach and soccer mom, and an economist who lost her career because of lingering concussion symptoms from a fender bender. The Concussion Crisis weaves these human dramas with compelling stories of scientists and doctors who are unraveling the mysteries of how an invisible injury can wreak such havoc. It takes readers into the top labs, where scientists are teasing out what goes wrong in the brain after a jolt to the head, and into the nation’s leading concussion clinic, where patients get cutting-edge management and treatment. Carroll and Rosner analyze the cultural factors that allowed this burgeoning epidemic to fester unseen and untreated. They chronicle the growing public awareness sparked by the premature retirements of superstars like NFL quarterbacks Troy Aikman and Steve Young. And they argue for an immediate change in a macho culture that minimizes the dangers inherent in repeated jolts to the head. The Concussion Crisis sounds an urgent wake-up call to parents, coaches, trainers, doctors, and the athletes themselves. The book will stand as the definitive exploration of this heretofore-silent health crisis. It should be required reading for every parent with a child playing sports—in fact, by everyone who has ever suffered a hard bump on the head.
Keto Answers: Simplifying Everything You Need to Know about the World's Most Confusing Diet
Anthony Gustin - 2019
You’ve done your research, but nothing makes sense. There’s so much confusion! Do you count total or net carbs? Should you eat a lot of protein or not? Is keto safe long term? What happens when you fall off the wagon?Combined, we've spent well over a decade using keto to battle our own health issues and to help thousands of patients and clients lose fat and regain their health. We’ve done the work so you don’t have to. We have the answers to what works and what doesn’t.Don’t worry, you can be successful with the ketogenic diet. You can finally lose that fat. You can take control of your brain. You can reclaim your life and restore your health. And it’s simpler than you think…
The Depression Cure: The 6-Step Program to Beat Depression without Drugs
Stephen S. Ilardi - 2009
Alongside this lifestyle, depression rates have skyrocketed: approximately 1 in 4 Americans will suffer from major depression at some point in their lives. Where have we gone wrong? Dr. Stephen Ilardi sheds light on our current predicament and reminds us: our bodies were never designed for the sleep-deprived, poorly nourished, frenzied pace of twenty-first century life. In fact, our genes have changed very little since the days of our hunter-gatherer ancestors and are still building, in effect, Stone Age bodies. Herein lies the key to breaking the cycle of depression.Inspired by the extraordinary resilience of aboriginal groups like the Kaluli of Papua New Guinea (who rarely suffer from depression), Dr. Ilardi prescribes an easy-to-follow, clinically proven program that harks back to what our bodies were originally made for-and need. Here you can find the road back to lasting health by integrating the following 6 elements into your life: an omega-3 rich diet; exercise; plenty of natural sunlight; ample sleep; social connections; and participation in meaningful tasks that leave little time for negative thoughts-all things that our ancestors had in abundance.Already, The Depression Cure program has delivered dramatic results, helping even those who have failed to respond to traditional medications. Interweaving the stories of many who have fought-and won-the battle against this debilitating illness, this groundbreaking book can illuminate the path to lifting the fog once and for all for you or a loved one.
A Life on Our Planet: My Witness Statement and a Vision for the Future
David Attenborough - 2020
Then make it better.I am 94. I've had an extraordinary life. It's only now that I appreciate how extraordinary.As a young man, I felt I was out there in the wild, experiencing the untouched natural world - but it was an illusion. The tragedy of our time has been happening all around us, barely noticeable from day to day - the loss of our planet's wild places, its biodiversity.I have been witness to this decline. A Life on Our Planet is my witness statement, and my vision for the future. It is the story of how we came to make this, our greatest mistake - and how, if we act now, we can yet put it right.We have one final chance to create the perfect home for ourselves and restore the wonderful world we inherited.All we need is the will to do so.
Schwarzbein Principle, the Program: Losing Weight the Healthy Way
Diana Schwarzbein - 2005
. . and never count calories again!If you are following a popular diet -- whether it is low-carb, low-fat, food combining or limited calories -- it is killing you. It is breaking down every component of your body, causing destruction of your healthy muscle tissue and aging everything from your brain cells to the skin on your face.But there is an alternative. You can have the body you want without dangerous diets, unproven supplements and punishing workouts. Dr. Schwarzbein's revolutionary program uses the body's metabolic system to help you postpone or reverse the degenerative effects of aging and lose weight for life by:Balancing carbohydrates and fat - without eliminating food groups or counting calories Managing stress and getting a great night's sleep Tapering off and reversing cravings such as tobacco, alcohol, caffeine and sugar Switching from strenuous cardio exercise to moderate resistance training and stretching Balancing your hormones with the right kind of hormone replacement therapy This is the book Dr. Schwarzbein's hundreds of thousands of fans have been waiting for -- a simple straightforward program that will finally break the cycle and give you longer life, permanent weight loss and increased energy . . . the healthy way."In the sea of diet/lifestyle books, The Schwarzbein Principle is one of the most balanced, sensible and effective programs . . . I applaud Dr. Schwarzbein's revolutionary yet realistic approach to food." - Christiane Northrup, M.D., author of The Wisdom of Menopause
Introduction to Kettlebells: A Minimalist's Guide to Blasting Fat and Boosting Muscle
Pat Flynn - 2019
You simply move more deeply into them. For anyone - the kettlebell novice to the 15-year veteran - this short (read: just 30 page) ebook provides the perfect foundation or refresher of the fundamental kettlebell techniques, including the kettlebell swing, goblet squat, snatch, Turkish get up, clean, and military press. Each movement has detailed instructions plus step-by-step photos to help the reader understand the movements as well as safely and effectively execute them. After we discuss the hows of each of the basic movements, we move into applying what we've learned with a simple, straightforward kettlebell program for strength, muscle, mobility, conditioning, and (for those who want it) weight loss. This 7-day program can be run through just once as a refresher or for up to six weeks as a standalone program. This book includes: *The following kettlebell exercises: Kettlebell swing, goblet squat, snatch, Turkish get up, clean, and military press. *Each kettlebell exercise features a detailed description of the movement, step-by-step photos and key points. *A straightforward and simple 7-day program (repeatable for up to 6 weeks) to help the novice acclimate to kettlebell training or for the kettlebell veteran hone their technique and skills.
Grow a New Body: 21 Days to Releasing Self-Doubt, Cultivating Inner Peace, and Creating a Life You Love
Alberto Villoldo - 2019
We know it, but we tend to ignore it until something brings us up short--a worrying diagnosis, a broken relationship, or simply an inability to function harmoniously in everyday life. When things are a little off, we read a self-help book. When they're really bad, we bring in oncologists to address cancer, neurologists to repair the brain, psychologists to help us understand our family of origin. This fragmented approach to health is merely a stopgap. To truly heal, we need to return to the original recipe for wellness discovered by shamans millennia ago.Drawing on more than 25 years of experience as a medical anthropologist--as well as his own journey back from the edge of death--acclaimed shamanic teacher Alberto Villoldo shows you how to detoxify the brain and gut with superfoods; use techniques for working with our luminous energy fields to heal your body; and follow the ancient path of the medicine wheel to shed disempowering stories from the past and pave the way for rebirth. Using the principles and practices in this book, you can feel better in a few days, begin to clear your mind and heal your brain in a week, and in six weeks be on your way to a new body--one that heals rapidly, retains its youthful vitality, and keeps you connected to Spirit, to the earth, and to a renewed sense of purpose in your life.
Catching Babies
J.D. Kleinke - 2011
Two ends of the same spectrum. And sometimes the only person standing between is a tired, overworked resident with personal problems of her own.Welcome to the world of Catching Babies. In the halls of a busy metropolitan teaching hospital, a group of OB/GYN doctors complete their residencies and embark on ambitious careers, all while trying to hold their lives together at the seams. Jay is running from a life he’s tried to leave behind, while Katie sacrifices everything she has to serve an endless parade of needy patients. Anna is out trying to save the world, while Tracy is trying to save twins dying in utero. Based on true stories from delivery rooms and labor decks, Catching Babies spins the doctors’ stories into a gripping mosaic of the obsessions, the anxieties, and the heroism of doctors who have chosen to preside over life’s greatest medical drama—high-risk childbirth.