Beacon Press: The Cure for Everything
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The Cure for Everything

Untangling Twisted Messages about Health, Fitness, and Happiness

Author: Timothy Caulfield

As technologies and research in the health sciences have advanced, we have come to lead longer, healthier, even health-obsessed lives. 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 debunks the mythologies of the one-step health crazes, reveals the truths behind misleading data, and discredits the charlatans in a quest to sort out real, reliable health advice. He takes us along as he navigates the maze of facts, findings, and fears associated with emerging health technologies, drugs, and disease-prevention strategies, and he presents an impressively researched, accessible take on the production and spread of information in the health sciences.

Seamlessly switching between his lab coat and his sweat suit, Caulfield doesn’t just pore over the research and interview the professionals; he also gets his t-shirt sweaty and his meridians aligned to test out the scientific validity of some of the most influential health and fitness crazes of our day. Bravely using himself as a guinea pig, he goes on a strict diet, endures a rigorous exercise routine, swallows bottles of “natural” remedies, and has needles inserted all over his body. His research and tests pay off, illuminating some solid paths to better health, along with the dead-end detours.

Science is everywhere, but what passes through most people’s fields 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. There are no rose-colored lenses here. Caulfield proves that healthy isn’t easy and fit isn’t a freebie. Facing the facts, he concludes with five simple, scientifically sound-yet challenging-steps to take for a longer, healthier life. The Cure for Everything is a tough-love tour through the fads, ads, and five-minute abs to discover the truth about our health.
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The Cure for Everything

ISBN: 978-080702205-4
Publication Date: 4/24/2012
Pages: 256
Size:6 x 9 Inches (US)
Price:  $24.95
Format: Cloth
Availability: In stock.
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