Customer Reviews

The Balance Within: The Science Connecting Health and Emotions

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(1)
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I'm an academic bioscientist but not trained in the immune system. I have always been interested in the brain-immune connection (for personal as well as professional reasons), and I have always appreciated getting the history of a scientific field's evolution -- something that we find less and less time to discuss in the college classroom, much to the detriment of the next generation of scientists. I am a huge fan of this book and this year I am incorporating it into my university courses and seminars. I've recommended it highly to colleagues who also find it valuable. It's fun to read and contains fascinating historical notes about medical science in general. Sternberg discusses how the work of many people contributed bits and pieces to an important emerging story. It gave me what felt like an eyewitness perspective on the birth of neuroimmunology, as well as a fountain of information about the brain-immune connection. It is a must-read for anyone wondering how science comes up with "breakthroughs", as well as anyone interested in the topic. Thank you, Dr. Sternberg and colleagues in the field.

Dr. Esther Sternberg from the outset tells us that she wrote this book "out of a question" that "seemed ostracized from the rest of the scientific community." Clearly, it seems that the information in "The Body Within" is a daring challenge to present new brain-immune connection information to the lay public, and is determined to not let it stagnate only among the doctoral elite. I found all 11 chapters fascinating and richly detailed, gloriously free of slanted opinions and filled with highly intelligent questions. All 250 pages inform, with its interesting anecdotes and illustrations, and my gratitude goes out to Dr. Sternberg for ensuring that some of us, even though we do not have a "Ph.D" attached to our name, are nonetheless able to grasp concepts as the workings of the brain, the immune system and the role of various hormones and neurotransmitters.

As a result, in Highliner: The Nature, Philosophy and Science of Automobile Driving, I learned much about neurochemistry and neuroscience from Dr. Sternberg who helped me make irrefutable connections between foods, moods, hormones and neurotransmitters. This means that everything that is taken into the body, or not taken into the body (e.g., starvation diets, which are extremely dangerous), affects how people drive or just behave in general. So there is a definite link between drivers education and neuroscience, although not readily apparent to the layperson. "The Balance Within" is solidly founded in irrefutable facts "collected from rigorously performed experiments." It is a real treat to read about such things as Chapter 5, "It's a Two-Way Street: The Immune System Talks to the Brain and the Brain Talks Back" and Chapters 6 and 7, "When the Brain-Immune Communication Breaks Down" and "Can Stress Make you Sick?" I could easily spoil the conclusions of this book, which I dare not out of pure respect for Dr. Sternberg, especially when she so adeptly investigates such ideas as "Can Believing Make You Well?"

Gradually the walls between the public and the scientific community are crumbling down, allowing us to make up our own minds and deciding what is right for our own bodies. This book is groundbreaking, indispensable and should not be out of your hands for another second. You may encounter resistance at first, as the author put it, "Whenever a new field comes into being, it comes up against the older dogmas. So the resistance that we felt was real and steeped in traditions going as far back as Galileo, Copernicus, and beyond...Whenever one tries to change prevailing opinion, resistance is inevitable..." Esther, I want to party with you, sister. A little less I talk, a little more I listen.

I am a writer who is currently at work on a book on my living through colon cancer. I was diagnosed at age 47 with Duke's C-3 colon cancer. Because of the early onset of my disease, I was three years too young to be considered for routine colon cancer screening, which doctors are supposed to offer to patients when they reach age 50. I was lucky. Even with one year of chemotherapy (due to minor lymph node involvement) medical textbooks and doctors said my chances of surviving five years (a five year colon cancer survivor is considered "cured") were about 35 percent. Now, seven years later, I can say that Esther Sternberg's work validates some key elements of the survival strategy I developed for myself that links health and wellness and emotions.

Sternberg flies in the face of conventional medical wisdom by providing proof that stress can make you sick. She provides evidence that the immune system can be trained, citing the work of Bob Ader and Nick Cohen. And she offers evidence that nerve chemicals or hormones can affect immune-cell function in a physiological way.

This is ironic considering that when you ask a psychiatrist or even a psychopharmachologist how the latest generation of SSRI anti-depression/anti-anxiety drugs (Prozac, Zoloft, Paxil, Celexa etc.) work, the answer is that they are not exactly sure.

The medical establishment in the US tends to hive off the debate about health and emotions (the mind-body connection) to the area of alternative medicine. New age healing and some of the Eastern approaches tend to overlook the scientific connection. Sternberg taps history and science to frame the issue and if it were simpled down to the level of a mass market audience her book would be a best seller.

Brilliant scientific exploration of the mind-body connection expressed in compelling, animated realism. I enjoyed this delightful learning experience. Dr. Sternberg not only demonstrates outstanding knowledge and expertise in the field of psychoneuroimmonology, but she does so through the eyes of a sensitive, caring human being. A true inspiration to read many times over. Especially recommended for anyone who is looking for a way to enhance their health and well-being....

Unfortunately, I have read Sapolsky's "Why Zebras Don't Get Ulcers" 3rd ed. prior to reading this book. If I hadn't have done that, I would have given this book 5 stars-- it is well researched, well written, and is accessible for anyone regardless of science background. However, it is difficult to compete with Sapolsky, a prominent figure in the stress research field, in writing style with all his wit, charm, random anecdotes and the like. Also, Sapolsky's book is more up-to-date, has greater breadth, and, I feel, it is a little more substantial. However, I do feel like Sternberg's book may be a little more accessible to someone with no science background, while Sapolsky's may be difficult to follow, especially when he gets carried away with scientific terminology (though, I would still recommend sticking through those difficult parts, of which there are few, because the author never ceases to return from the heavily scientific woods with a quick and easy-to-grasp summary of the main points).

This book is useful for students, scientists, and those who are otherwise interested in integrative medicine. Sternberg augments her explanation of the stress-immune connection with interesting and relevant research studies. I found it useful as a student studying neuroscience and as an individual trying to understand and manage stress in my life.

This well written & interesting book became my bible in learning how stress can influence and/or cause an autoimmune attack. Understanding the connection between mind and body, and learning to cope with stress, is paramount to a complete recovery, so well explained by Dr. Sternberg.

Most of us believe that emotions have an impact on health--emotional stress often leads to illness and bad environments definitely changes our moods and our health. But...just how do immune defenses work, does the brain really send messages to our body to protect it from the impact of stress or lead us to get sick? How do we get the balance of healthy performance and stress right? This extraordinarily well-written book describes the mechanisms relying heavily on current research and does so with exquisite references to history and descriptions of real situations. Sternberg writes so well that many of the emotions she discusses are evoked for the reader. It challenges mainstream linking without promoting simple-minded extreme new age therapies. It shows how a balanced life can be the healthiest lifestyle. This delightful journey through the body is a must-read for anyone who wants to understand how stress and immune responses really work.

This is a delightful and fascinating book. While it is meticulously researched and technical in spots, it is extremely readable. Sometimes even amusing, and even touching. I heard Dr. Steinberg interviewed on "Speaking of Faith" on NPR, and this is what motivated me to purchase her book. I am glad I did.

This is a beautifully well-written book. Mind body-books can be arrogant or too ethereal.
Dr Sternberg succeeded to write a thoroughly researched and referenced book that is also a fun book to read. This book is really helpful to understand how your mind functions. It is worth reading and re-reading.