Customer Reviews

Evolution Rx: A Practical Guide to Harnessing Our Innate Capacity for Health and Healing

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Dr. Meller does an amazing job of weaving in how our bodies were designed based on our Stone Age living with the modern challenges we face. The book offers practical advice on how to live life better and actually embrace some human conditions (ADHD) as good rather than bad. The vitamin and sun exposure coverage made me question much of my recent "healthy" practices. I definitely recommend this book to anyone who wants to live life in a fuller yet simpler fashion.

This book is fabulous! I had my second daughter a month and a half ago, and was struggling to squeeze back into my jeans. I thought I'd never get there, but after following the simple and clear nutrition advice in this book for only a week, they fit! I'm thrilled. It was so easy to do because the book explains not just how you should eat to lose weight, but WHY it works. Another bonus, now my girls and I take our vitamin D sunshine baths whenever we can, and it feels great. Cheers and many thanks to Evolution Rx.

Loved this book. Should have wide circulation. It is a condensation of wisdom gleaned from many scientific fields and expressed in words that can be easily understood. It should be in school curriculums and somebody should tip off Oprah for an interesting interview

The hysteria in the media about all the things that are bad for you can be overwhelming. Dr. Meller's book was a refreshing look at good living and health.

Dr Meller has attempted to connect several problems with modern living to our prehistoric past. This is not totally novel but Meller is more careful than most and often convincing, particularly in the area of over eating. The sections on low-fat and high-carb diets and why they are not necessarily all that effective or good for you seems to jibe with my personal experience as well as some other reading (the fact that the Atkins diet did NOT result in the dire problems that were predicted, for example). The sections on sunscreens and germs were also convincing.

But sometimes Meller seems to push his process a bit much. I'm not sure that we know if our Cro-Magnon forebears had myopia or not and the section on sex was OK but not all that impressive.

All in all this book is a good antidote for some of the health dogma repeated endlessly by Dr Oz and the "Health" section of your local newspaper and in men's and women's magazines. Worth a read -- just don't treat it as gospel.

Evolutionary Rx sheds light on many important medical issues of our day. Taking an evolutionary perspective provides a revealing and entertaining counterpoint to the demands of how to optimally understand and care for our health in the 21st century. Besides grounding its many suggestions and perspectives in solid empirical evidence, Evolutionary Rx offers countless practical approaches to diagnosing and treating an incredibly wide range of ailments.

This book presents a very interesting concept and framework through which to view human health and the practice of medicine. As a psychologist with a strong background in anthropology/archeology I find that the views presented here are consistent with what I have learned about the role of evolution in human behavior in general. This book has confirmed much of what I have come to believe and added a great deal of practical knowledge which I will utilize. I recommend it without reservation.

Just as Michael Pollan radically changed the way you look at the food you eat, EVOLUTION Rx will change the way you view and treat your body. In it, William Meller, M.D., a practicing internist for over 25 years, presents a groundbreaking approach to health and healing based on the latest findings in anthropology, genetic science, and that rarest of commodities these days--common sense.

A pioneer of evolutionary medicine for more than a decade, Meller reports phenomenal success at helping his patients heal themselves, whether from depression, the flu, a bad back, excess weight, or diabetes. Once his patients understand the evolutionary origins of their bodies' systems, he says, they know when to trust their own healing power and when to enlist the help of modern medicine--not to mention when to question the latest scare-mongering headlines, alternative therapies, and even the doctor's own prescriptions.

The book gives hundreds of specific recommendations along with their explanations: Why we need more sun and why it's safe, for example. How to stop fretting about sleep and get more. How to lose weight once and for all. How to attract a mate, sidestep allergies, avoid cancer, and remain vibrantly healthy for your maximum number of years on earth.

But perhaps the book's most important benefit comes from its perspective, the way the author filters every question through a fact-based evolutionary lens. Written for the layman, his lively, easy-to-read prose imparts a profound respect not only for the body's vulnerabilities but also for its incredible strength and wisdom. Along the way, you may even pick up a hint at the meaning of life, which, from Meller's evolutionary standpoint, IS life.

Knowledgeable, user friendly, interesting, useful information. Held the attention of both myself and my husband. Would recommend for those who enjoy knowing background and possibilities of health and health care.

In this modern world of fads and quick fixes, finely a real doctor provides a logical approach to staying healthy. And, the book costs less than a bottle of vitamin pills!