Customer Reviews

Total Heart Health for Men: A Life-Enriching Plan for Physical & Spiritual Well-Being

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Although there are many books on the market today intending to teach men how to take better care of the physical aspects of their hearts, this is the first book to provide that information as well as insights on how to care for the spiritual aspects of the heart. Written by a pastor and two cardiologists, the book shows the connectedness between the mind, heart, and soul in providing a balanced approach to good health.

Total Heart Health for Men has its strengths and weaknesses. Since it is written, obviously, for men, one of its strengths is that each chapter ends with a bulleted list of the key points that were covered; most men like to cut to the bottom line. Also, it has pragmatic information that can be put to immediate use: recipes that are easy to fix and nutritional; menus for planning a healthier eating fare; exercise routines for stamina and weight control; meditations and prayer plans for personal time with God; specific Scripture references for information on honoring the body as the temple of God; and stress-reducing suggestions for taking relief off a strained body system.

The book's key weakness is that the chapters often take too long to get to the point. There is too much back story. The illustrations drag out. The lessons about spiritual disciplines have a "sound" much like a sermon. Although the warnings against extramarital sex, improper business dealings, and other similar vices are valid, they come off too much like a lecture. Grown men prefer to have positive reinforcement, specific game plans for change, and concise and focused presentations. The book could have been trimmed substantially and benefited from a more rigorous editing.

Nevertheless, since the book's table of contents makes it obvious which chapters cover specific subjects, the reader can be selective and go directly to the material on exercising or nutrition or spiritual maturation. If read that way, it becomes a functional tool for better health and more peace of mind. -- Dr. Dennis E. Hensley, Christian Book Previews.com

I like the concept for this book of combining medical advice with spiritual advice. In fact, doctors wrote some of the chapters so it seems like just the thing for men who have just gotten some bad news from their doctor.

As a person who is into natural, organic foods, I found little in this book that would steer me in the right direction. I'm sure there's a government website from the FDA or NIH that makes the same recommendations that you will find in this book. I was looking for specific recommendations related to blood pressure, but found nothing. (Since the book has no index, I am unable to verify that with 100 percent accuracy). There is a 21-day meal plan at the end of the book, but who really follows those? Certainly not me. That seems like the kind of thing that some women might do. In fairness, most of the meals are easy to prepare.

As the other reviewer mentioned, the book seems preachy at times. It's easy in a book like this to go overboard on the spiritual advice because the reader may have bought the book mainly for the health information. The authors are ideally positioned to give a concise and urgent gospel presentation to men who might die shortly, but I don't think they fully took advantage of that. It is targeted at men who are already Christians.

One example of the preachiness appears in relation to exercise. They say to do cardio exercise at least 30 minutes a day, 5 days a week. We are also advised to do resistance exercises and stretching exercises. Altogether, they are probably talking about an hour a day of exercise. No time is spent discussing how busy most of us are, and how to find time for this. Of course, it's up to us to find time for it but even men need a little commiseration and encouragement sometimes.

Overall, this book is better at preparing you for heaven than at helping you live until age 100 instead of dying at 60.

Star ratings are difficult to assign. It's hard to dislike this book so I will give it 4 stars (really it's a 3.5).