The New York Times Book of Health: How to Feel Fitter, Eat Better, and Live Longer [Hardcover]

New York Times Company (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 10, 1997

To Your Health!

Recognizing that consumers sometimes feel overwhelmed by the relentless and often conflicting stream of medical reports, New York Times health reporter Jane E. Brody and her colleagues distill the information you really need from current findings, present balanced assessments of often contradictory medical advice, and offer sensible guidelines that won't go out of date overnight. Some of the pressing--and puzzling--questions they cover include:

GOOD HEALTH VERSUS BAD HABITS
* What are the "seven deadly sins" that sabotage good health?

WHY WEIGHT GAIN IS HEALTH'S LOSS
* Which newly identified hormone helps set our weight?

THE MANY BENEFITS OF EXERCISE
* Which is better--running or swimming?
* Is moderate exercise really good enough?

THE SCIENCE OF EATING RIGHT
* What do we really know about fat and health?
* Can drinking alcohol help your health?

VITAMINS AND OTHER SUPPLEMENTS
* Is beta-carotene a washout?

PROTECTING THE HEART
* How does heart disease differ for men and women?
* Does testosterone protect our hearts?

AVERTING CANCER RISKS
* How do we interpret the new genetics of breast cancer?

STAGES OF LIFE
* Does fetal monitoring make any difference?
* Do children really need low-fat diets?
* What do we really know about hormone replacement?

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Health advice seems to shift on a monthly basis. One month vitamin megadoses are the key to longevity; the next month they're suspected of triggering some fatal conditions. The New York Times Book of Health includes dozens of articles, dating back to 1993, that show these changes in scientific thought. Don't expect to find basic how-to information here; for the most part, only the aspects of health and fitness that were newsworthy--the moderate- vs. strenuous-exercise debate, for example--are included. Still, this makes for a nice compilation of what science knows about us in the late 1990s and how the newspaper of record has covered it.

From Library Journal

Surely what we don't need is a consumer health book that consists of a compilation of popular news reports on the "latest" findings in medical research?or do we? In the introduction, New York Times health reporter Brody explains that the book's aim is to clarify what's behind the confusing and sometimes contradictory health findings. Having been made aware that disagreement among experts is neither unusual nor necessarily undesirable, readers are then able to read the following articles without undue impatience or insistence on definitive answers. The articles, contributed by Brody and other Times writers from January 1993 to mid-1996, cover many of the health debates and preoccupations of our time, from weight loss, nutrition, and exercise to heart disease and cancer prevention. Each chapter presents differing viewpoints and gives as much scrutiny to study design as study results. Perhaps a few concluding paragraphs might have served to reinforce the message in the introduction, but that is a minor flaw. Overall, a worthy addition to most consumer health collections.
-?Kay Hogan, Univ. of Alabama at Birmingham
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 443 pages
• Publisher: Crown; 1 edition (June 10, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 081292858X
• ISBN-13: 978-0812928587
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.4 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #9,164,802 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)