Customer Reviews

The Checklist: What You and Your Family Need to Know to Prevent Disease and Live a Long and Healthy Life

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Wading through web pages of information about health care can be cumbersome and confusing. Too often books deal with one illness or issue, but fail to offer the holistic perspective crucial to wellness. Physician visits can be necessarily brief and lead to more questions about how to prioritize follow up. Presented with the wisdom and humor which are the hallmarks of Dr. Manny, The Checklist offers a road map to health throughout the life stages. Sage, expert advice is delivered in a clear format making this not only a MUST READ, but an enjoyable and valuable MUST HAVE. As a clinician specializing in women's reproductive mental health,I especially appreciated Dr. Manny's inclusion of postpartum depression and other mental health issues across the lifespan.

Most books written by doctors are written in a language that only a doctor can understand...this book was written so that anyone can understand. I have reccommended it to all of my friends and family members. It is a must have!!

I have purchased many books to practice preventive health. Finally this book talks to me in a language I can understand plus it covers a million and one questions I've never been able to get an answer on. I have bought several copies to use as gifts to my friends. Easy reading is what we all want from a health oriented/informative book. Kudos to Dr. Manny.

I am a single mother of two boys; I am so pleased to have finally found a book that will help me to keep them healthy and at the same time focus on my own decade and my own maladies. As a single mom, it's hard not to squander money on unneccessary doctor's visits or tests simply because we don't know what is wrong with our children. Who knew that a daily spoon of honey coul keep your allergies away! This book pinpoints exactly what I need to do and when I need to do it. This will become my healthcare Bible; I recommend this book to families, but feel it is priceless for single parent households to own.

This book is easy to understand, and very informative. I had a hard time finding a book that I could rely on as a reference guide, but this is it! This book addresses issues of all ages and is very user friendly.

Just finished reading, "The Checklist", by Dr. Manny Alvarez. This book is a must have! Clear and effective, as a decade by decade health guide for the entire family, you and your family will reference it, time and time again. While reading "The Checklist", you might imagine he is there with you as a friend of the family for Sunday dinner, a healthy one at that, as he dispenses with information that not only makes you feel good, but will help you to feel good. I recommend everyone put "The Checklist" on their checklist.

As a wife, mother and grandmother I can say that I have finally found a medical guide that serves all members of my family. Horray to Dr. Manny - what a masterful job. Easy to read and he gets right to the heart of the matter for every phase of life. Now if I could only get my husband to follow his recommendations!!!!!!!!!

There's been a ton of books written on preventive healthcare. I know, I own most of them. However, this book was obviously written with one objective, to educate families on how to stay on top of their health-track. The book provides a simple plan on being healthy and staying healthy; it is easy to read and you just have to go to the decade of your interest to find the right answers. Thank you Dr. Manny.

A 37-year old businessman has to leave work early to pass a kidney stone. A 62-year old grandmother keeps turning the television up louder and louder to hear it while her grandkids cover their ears. A sad and despondent teenager thinks she is too fat and begins throwing up to help her lose weight. An expectant mother-to-be has high blood pressure and wonders how that will impact the health of her baby.

If there was a way to prevent these everyday moments in life from happening, would you want to know about it? If somehow you inherently knew what was about to happen to your health in the next 5, 10, even 50 years, then how would that change the way you live your life? What if there was some sort of manual to provide guidance and direction about how to stay ahead of the curve and actually prevent the most common ailments from afflicting you before they happen?

Well, that's exactly what the new book by Dr. Manny Alvarez entitled The Checklist: What You And Your Family Need To Know To Prevent Disease And Live A Long And Healthy Life has set out to do! Whether you are 3 months, 3 years, 33 or even 93, this book tells you exactly what you can expect in terms of your health based on the decade of life you are currently living in.

Most people know "Dr. Manny" from his fantastic work as a health correspondent on the FOX News Channel. Seeing a void in the health market for a book explaining what happens to the typical person at various stages of their life, Dr. Manny decided to write The Checklist so that people won't be caught off guard when calamity hits.

Of course, he is not so presumptuous to think that people can only be stricken with certain diseases and health complications during a given decade. We all know that we are susceptible to just about anything given the circumstances, so this book is merely a guide of what COULD happen in the future or maybe even sooner. That's why it's probably an excellent idea for you to go ahead and skip to the chapters ahead of your current age so you can prepare yourself and even ward off what for many is the inevitable.

I love the breakdown Dr. Manny provides for each of the major life stages:

Prenatal
The "Most Important" Decade (Ages 0-9)
The "Beautiful" Decade (Ages 10-19)
The "Real World" Decade (Ages 20-29)
The "Living Responsibly" Decade (Ages 30-39)
The "Cadillac" Decade (Ages 40-49)
The "Keeping Up With The Joneses" Decade (Ages 50-59)
The "Only Just Begun" Decade (Ages 60-69)
The "Beauty Of Age" Decade (Ages 70+)

As I was reading page by page of The Checklist, I couldn't help but be reminded of the perennial bestselling book for new mothers called What To Expect When You're Expecting. Dr. Manny's book is written in much the same manner, except it's a "What To Expect When You're Living Life" kind of book.

Dr. Manny really packs a loaded punch in chapter after chapter because he wants you and your family to know what's coming around the next corner of life. His philosophy is if you are prepared for the health issues that hit most people, then you can be ready for whatever comes your way and quite possibly head it off at the pass so that it never happens to you. What a noble effort and I appreciate that a book like this was not only imagined, but was actually brought to fruition.

For those whose attention span is about as far from here to there, Dr. Manny provides a convenient "checklist" for each decade (thus, the name of the book!) at the end of each chapter. It's very important to go straight down the list of health markers and have those tests and vital signs conducted at the frequency he recommends so you know where your health stands. If you follow Dr. Manny's advice now, then you'll save a lot of pain (in your body and wallet!) in the years to come.

As someone who has lost nearly 200 pounds and kept it off for three years, I was a bit put off by Dr. Manny's "Freedom Diet" plan that oversimplifies the obesity problem. Here's his plan in a nutshell: eat less and exercise more. Hmmm, it seems we've tried to spread that message for decades, Dr. Manny, but with little to no success. In fact, the number of overweight and obese people has actually INCREASED since the low-fat, low-calorie lie has been perpetrated on the American people.

I'm all for joining you in spreading the word about how to fight obesity, but the widening disconnect between the health message you are promoting and the public embracing it has never been greater. Rather than dismissing low-carb programs like the Atkins and South Beach diets as "low-calorie nutrition plans disguised by clever marketing gimmicks," how about encouraging people to find what works for them and follow through with that customized plan? Doesn't that sound more reasonable than dismissing these plans altogether as "gimmicks?"

The fact is I've eaten around 2500-3000 calories per day on my low-carb lifestyle--a daily total that would cause the eyes of many nutritionists and health "experts" to bug out. But I don't worry about calories as long as I am avoiding such garbage carbohydrates as sugar, white flour, processed foods, fast food, junk food, starchy veggies, and high-sugar fruits. Instead, I eat high-quality and nutritious carb sources--namely non-starchy green leafy vegetables and low-glycemic fruits.

Nevertheless, Dr. Manny weaves an easy-to-read writing style with solid facts and a sprinkling of humor to make The Checklist a worthwhile read. Don't forget to read the special "Living Long" chapter where he provides a comprehensive "master checklist" of every test and vaccination you can think of to let you know why you need it, when you should have it done, what results you can expect from it, and what that will mean to your future health. If for no other reason than to have this invaluable list, then get this book!

I have the highest amount of respect for what Dr. Manny Alvarez does to further the cause of healthy living to the masses. It is a mutual respect, too, as he named my "Livin' La Vida Low-Carb" blog among the top ten health web sites on the Internet in 2006. We need more people like Dr. Manny who are willing to share what they know about health in order to give others hope for a long, happy, and healthy life. Get The Checklist and begin taking this journey for yourself!

Neat stuff, if you have kids, to check on age related health issues to be aware of. Most of the adult stuff is real shallow and you most likely know about it already....wait for paperback.