The End of Illness

I've never studied biology, so all of his explanations on cellular mechanics were deeply fascinating. His statistical analysis was thorough for debunking health myths. For example: vitamin supplements are either useless or potentially harmful. First world inhabitants don't die of scurvy. Most "studies" demonstrating the benefits of vitamin supplements don't correct for lurking variables like wealth and health-consciousness. Double-blind placebo-controlled large scale studies over long periods demonstrate most vitamin supplements to actually increase the risk of cancer. Unfortunately, his statistical analysis was much less thorough for supporting his own recommendations. The most difficult to swallow for me is that sitting still at a desk all day is more hazardous to your health than smoking -- and 30 min of vigorous exercise in the morning does not negate this. We need to move all day long. I trust him, but I'd like to see more data to back up the severity of this claim. More fascinating things I learned: Genes are static and proteins are dynamic, so studying proteins would be a much more effective method of diagnosing health issues than studying genes. There are more cells in our body that are not human than there are human. These "guest colonies" fall into distinct classes, differ from person to person, and are not correlated to race, sex, or geographic location. These organisms affect our digestion, and they may be as significant to our health as blood types. Our bodies are chemical factories that break down the incoming food and use it to rebuild ourselves constantly. We get new skin every month, a new liver every six weeks, and new bones every three months. All of this is literally built from the stuff we eat, so that forced me to really think differently about the purpose of food! Ten years ago, only two states had an obesity rate over 20%. Now it's 49 states plus DC. At no point in history have this many people been this overweight. We have no idea how bad of a heart-disease and diabetes epidemic is going to be upon us shortly. Our body can only handle so much inflammation before it stops working. Every flu, every bruise, and every cut adds to this lifetime inflammation tally (which can be read in the proteins). The recommendation: wear comfortable shoes. Cancer is a verb, not a noun. Cancer is not an invader to be carved out or radiated. Cancering is what your body does when the very normal and constant process of cell creation malfunctions. Therefore, it is not unreasonable to believe that the proteins (our body's internet) affect the rate of cancering. If this is true, the "cure for cancer" would be to read your very specific and always changing protein map, and alter your diet (with real foods -- not artificial supplements that are chemically altered and are not absorbed correctly by the body) to specifically meet the issues that you are facing right now. Rapid advances in technology provide hope that this cure is not very far into our future.

The End of Illness This book contains documentation and source studies for the author's complete review of current data. Data which has led this author to conclude that regularity of habit (sleeping, eating etc) will help us obtain a longer healthier life. He goes out on the ledge with the suggestion we all try a statin after a certain age as well as give up all vitamins except if we have a dietary deficiency (which he states is nearly impossible in this country) The doctor makes a conclusive case for the interrelatedness and communication potential at the cellular level. Our bodies can fight off disease as well as resupply deficiencies on their own, given we are in homeostasis in our life as he directs. Read the book and make your own conclusions. I have given up the vitamin regimen and have been living as he advises. Margaret Davis

I feel moved to jump into the fray here, at the risk of stumbling into the line of fire. I am reviewing the actual contents of the book. NOT the author's TV appearances, nor the testimonials, nor the book jacket, nor the marketing strategy for the book. Since I took handfuls of supplements for many years, ate only real food, worked out with a trainer and got 30 minutes of exercise every day, I thought there was a very low probability that I would get cancer. But I was wrong. This book brings together ideas from many recent studies, to give an idea of the current guidelines for achieving good health. While this continues to be a moving target, as we learn more, there were some real, actionable revelations for me in this book. For starters, the author points out that many of us boomers have become mesmerized by the claims of anti-aging marketers. We believe that if we just take enough of the right magical pills, we will become bulletproof. I think that I am doing for my body what MiracleGro does for my garden. Or I am topping off my fluids like I do for my car. That if I take too much, the only downside is expensive urine. Without going into exhaustive detail here (the book does), this book points out that there are no definitive scientific studies demonstrating that any particular vitamin, or any combination of vitamins, are effective in prolonging life -- though to be sure some are effective for specific afflictions. There is no proof that my precious vitamin D pills are helping; in fact, they may be doing harm, and in any event, I would be much better off getting the whole group of chemicals from sunlight. I was astonished to learn that, just as cancer cells have a ravenous appetite for sugar, they also feed off of vitamin C. That study came out right before I was diagnosed, and not one of the cancer experts I worked with cautioned me about vitamin C -- though they did pooh-pooh the sugar as cancer fuel theory. Regarding antioxidants and anti-inflammatories, both oxidation and inflammation are natural and essential processes. Too much, or for too long, is bad. But, particularly in the case of antioxidants, you can quench the flames and drown out the fire by taking too many of them. And the case for statins (which I am not comfortable taking) is that while they do reduce cholesterol, the real and unrecognized benefit is that they dramatically reduce inflammation. There's more -- interval training, for one -- in this book if you are looking for some current thinking about health. In closing, I will leave you with a quote from elsewhere: "Quitting a viral meme is harder than quitting smoking." Some of the ideas I have held so dear for so many years turn out to be possibly not true. I am willing to be open to that possibility, however painful.

À lire si on se sent menacé par le cancer. un peu longuet mais très précis, par un ponte de la cancerologie. Livre recommandé par Fortune, des grands patrons l'achètent par milliers pour leurs cadres importants... il s'agit d'augmenter les probabilités de survie en bonne santé de leurs populations de dirigeants. Faut le relire pour noter les changements conseillés de mode de vie et d'alimentation.

I was fortunate enough to read this challenging book before my annual physical, copyied the questionaire and completed it. When I asked my physician if he had read it, he replied that he wouldn't read a book that could put him out of business. Notwithstanding this reply, I was pleased that the tests he prescribed for me were all covered by Dr. Agus and he asked that I call him to discuss the results. The book especially appealled to me because it made practical sense in directing me to consider my body's health as a system that could get out of sync. I am retired and able to eat, sleep and exercise at virtually the same time each day. As Dr. Agus suggests, I find this helpful. I also find that his recommendation to keep moving an important part of maintaining my health. As it happens my doctor prescribes a satan and a low dose aspirn as well as a thyroid stimulant and nothing else; like Dr. Agus he believes there are side effects to most drugs. As a result of Dr. Agus's book, I have cut down on the supplements I take and limited my vitamin C to the winter months when I am getting less sunshine. It is a great book that focusses the reader on his or her health in a practical and useful manner.

体調管理、病気予防の方法が一般読者にも理解できるように解説されていて、目から鱗の連続でした。巷にあふれる健康情報はとかく断片的でどうしてそうなのか？が抜け落ちていることが多いが（あるいはガッテンのように無駄に詳しくて肝心なポイントが残りにくい） この本ははるかに説得力があり、かつ内容も頭に入りやすい。英語は専門用語（最新の）などは電子辞書に載っていないこともあったが、文章は難しくないのでオススメ。サプリや手作り野菜フルーツジュースについてのくだりは衝撃的だった。

The book is well-written and worth reading but I would be wary of some of his recommendations. His enthusiasm for aspirin and statins The book is well-written and worth reading but displays restrictions in the author's thinking. Dr Agus looks forward to an era of personalized medicine on the basis of on-going research but the ill patient is concerned with the here and now. In the case of his specialized line, namely cancer treatment, it is well known that conventional treatments (chemotherapy /radiation but particularly chemotherapy) are crude, hit or miss affairs. There are cases where a doctor should be able to look outside the conventional, which Dr Agus is apparently not prepared to do. His recommendations about healthy eating are welcome but not detailed enough or entirely original. On the other hand, his enthusiasm for annual flu shots, baby aspirin and statins is something I would be wary about. I'm glad I read this book. It lets us know what's good and also what's not so good about American medicine.

As decribed=== Happy