Breakthrough: Eight Steps to Wellness

After I finished her book on cancer, Knockout, I decided to read the one she wrote before . This one might have a subtitle, "practicing endocrinology on a different level." But most people don't know what endocrinology is, so that title wouldn't sell many books. In a nutshell, the physicians (and others) interviewed are interested in keeping us healthy, so that we will live well until we die. This is a noble objective. Though there are lots of topics dealt with in the book, the theme deals with hormones, which are necessary to keep us alive. Think of a hormone as the spark in the sparkplug: it stimulates something, which causes a response. As we age, for whatever reason, our hormone levels go down, so the question then arises, what happens to us physically? Lots of things: our minds deteriorate, we gain weight, our skin wrinkles, we become forgetful, we have little or no drive or momentum, etc. With this in mind, is there anything we can do to supplement our diets, etc., so as to maintain a proper level of hormones? Answers to these questions are given in this book. Since I have type 2 diabetes (courtesy of Agent Orange, Vietnam), I am well aware of what the hormone insulin does: it stimulates my system so that sugar in my blood is used to produce energy, or it is forced into my muscles for storage, it becomes fat and I gain weight, or it continues to float in my blood. If there is too much in my blood, I could go blind, have severe pain in my feet (neuropathy), have heart attacks because my blood vessels are weakened by the glucose, gain weight, and so forth. So I have to pay attention to what insulin is doing in my body. Should my pancreas not produce beta cells (which turn into insulin), I will have to take insulin shots to maintain a proper level of glucose in my blood. From this, we learn that hormones stimulate reactions. All hormones work in a similar fashion: if your levels of estrogen, testosterone, progesterone, are depleted, or out of balance, you will develop conditions in your body which are unwanted: your mental sharpness will not be there, you will be forgetful, you will not have energy, your sexual drive will leave, your vaginal areas will dry up, etc. etc. etc. So where do we go to remedy this condition, other than locate an endocrinologist? The answers are in this book, but let me give you the bottom line: you must locate a doctor who specializes in "anti aging". Doctors who specialize in this arena will test your blood, and based on the results, will send you to compounding pharmacies, who will mix creams, gels, capsules, and so forth, which you will use on an experimental basis. Unfortunately, no "one size fits all" with the pharmacist or the physician. Over time, as your blood is re-tested, the pharmacist and physician will stumble on to the right dosages for you. When that happens, your hormones will be balanced, and you will feel like a new person. There are conditions, however, to this regimen: you must eat right, and you must exercise. Which leads us back to the Mediterranean diet urged in the Anti Cancer book, mentioned below. In other words, you will not be given a magic pill, which changes your symptoms, but doesn't cure the underlying cause (this is the traditional Western medical practice). This book is one of the most interesting reads I've had in a long time. Again, it is available in your library. However, this is one piece of writing you will want on your book shelf, for future reference. And now the footnote about the Anti Cancer book (stop reading at this point if you aren't interested in the best book on cancer that I've read). Here's the skinny on the Anti Cancer book:Anti Cancer: A New Way of LifeDavid Servan-Schreiber, MD PhD©2009Penguin Books I normally do not finish reading a book in four days; this one was too good, and I kept reading. The book is about what we can do to fight cancer. Though the author doesn't touch on technologies dealing with pH balance, the effect of oxygen in diets, relationships with God, and some other matters which are probably important, Dr. David Servan-Schreiber ("DSS") echoes many works of others, but presents the material from slightly different perspective, all of which is positive and encouraging. If you read any of the Amazon blogs or other book reviews about this author, his story is fairly well known. This French born psychiatrist practiced medicine in Pittsburg, and during one of his research projects when he volunteered to have an MRI, he discovered that he had brain cancer. The walnut sized tumor was removed, he recovered and returned to his frantic medical practice. More than five years after remission, and through a series of unique circumstances, he discovered the cancer had returned (he even gives a scientific explanation as to why cancers return after surgery, radiation and chemotherapy).Though he underwent thirteen months of chemotherapy, and some radiation, he began to pay attention to advice nutritionists had been badgering him about for many years: change what you are eating. He has done so, and is now 18 years in remission. We've heard all of this advice from others, but when you have cancer, you understand why efforts are made to keep our environment clean. Our environment, full of toxins and carcinogens, feed unwanted substances into what we eat, whether it is animal or vegetable or water. Though our immune systems are normally strong enough to withstand the attack, toxins can throw us out of balance, and we find we must fight unwanted diseases, because toxins have overloaded our immune systems.Nutritionists tell us if we change our eating habits, we will limit our exposure to toxins, and our immune systems will do what they are designed to do, which is, guard us from the disastrous effects of these toxins. But our part in the equation doesn't end at the dinner table. We need to change how we live, by exercise and by changing certain attitudes. One of the more significant observations he makes deals with the increase in cancer rates in western, civilized countries, since 1940. Although there are reasons for this trend, the bottom line is this: our natural immune systems cannot handle the onslaughts of these toxins and carcinogens, which have become part of what we eat and drink. DSS was skeptical about this notion for at least six years after the tumor was initially discovered, and since he did not believe in God, he had no source of security to cope with these emotional problems. Over the course of time, he learned that one of the staffers at the University of Pittsburg (where DSS worked) was discovering that certain foods actually help fight cancer. This seminal book came at a critical time for DSS, and in the Anti Cancer book, DSS spends a great deal of time in explaining why green tea, turmeric, and other foods actually kill cancer cells. Though diet is important, he also stresses the benefits of exercise. One case in particular was very interesting, which dealt with a lady undergoing chemotherapy. She was advised to engage in martial arts. Though this may seem impossible, since most patients sleep for days after concluding a chemo session, she struggled though that program, and continued in martial arts many years thereafter. The exercise actually helped her recovery. Though DSS doesn't really explain the benefits of exercise, other than giving the results, I have learned from other readings that oxygen (which is produced in abundance in aerobic exercise) kills cancer cells; aerobic exercise delivers the oxygen needed to accomplish that task. In addition to diet and exercise, he also goes into the psychological issues of the patient. If the patient has an attitude of helplessness, or from a Christian perspective, is a person without hope, that person's recovery will be severally impaired. DSS has adopted meditation, which he believes helps him tremendously. As a psychiatrist, who practices psychology as a subset of his practice, he is well aware of the emotional benefits of meditation. DSS regards bleached flour and sugar as feeders of cancer, and cites lots of evidence to support his conclusion. In addition, he wants us to consume more Omega 3's and less Omega 6's. The Omega 6 diet inflames cells, coagulates blood, and simulates cell growth ( such as cancer cell growth). Omega 3's produce the exact opposite effect. Finally, he wants us to detoxify our own surroundings (quit smoking, use deodorants that contain no aluminum, watch our exposure to herbicides and pesticides, and so forth). Though it's impossible to give an adequate yet short review of the book, here's the gist of what he's recommending: since we are all exposed to toxins and carcinogens, let's do our part to stay healthy. Watch what we eat (as he puts it, watch our terrain), don't become a couch potato (exercise 30 minutes a day; daily walks work wonders), and avoid stress (don't over commit). This book is written by a medical doctor, who happens to have a PhD, and who is also a scholar (that are over 30 pages of footnotes in the book, chock full of citations). Please don't ignore what he is saying.A second footnote on cancer books: consider reading Suzanne Somer's book on physicians who cure cancer, Knockout. Stop reading this review if this topic isn't of interest to you, but again, as a second resource on cancer books, here are my thoughts about this one:Suzanne Somers©2009Crown Publishers I am a skeptic in many respects, based on years of observing human behavior, and living through a myriad of experiences. In this particular case, my attitude towards the author (and thus, this book) was shaped by her TV show and her outward appearance: how could someone with this "past" and "present" possibly be sharp enough to write a book about cancer? With this bias, I nonetheless read it after a client told about her husband (also a client) who had been cured by one of the doctor interviews in the book. She went on to say, they would not have sought out this doctor, if they had not read about him in this book. This incident piqued my interest, so I read the book.I am still eating humble pie, because Miss Somers has collected a wealth of material, all of which dovetailed with what I read in the Anti Cancer book, reviewed above. Though the medical approaches are dissimilar, the cancer patients (by and large) have been cured without radiation and chemotherapy. All physicians interviewed (and there are a lot of them; they practice in their home towns, all over the United States) decided not to follow the herd, so to speak, but rather, wanted to find out what really fixed their sick patients. The results are statistically speaking, "off the charts", but the bottom line is, the patients (perhaps a majority of them) were cured by the treatments fashioned by these creative medical doctors. The medical community has not accepted their approaches to healing, nor have the FDA or drug companies. This is unfortunate, and almost criminal from a patient's perspective. However, none of this negative bias has dissuaded this group of "alternative medicine" doctors from forging ahead, as they try to cure their patients. I could include excerpts from the book, as part of this review, but have decided not to. Instead, I urge you to read this book, and make your own decisions. The interviews are worth the price of the book, should you buy it, but if you are like me, begin with a borrowed copy or a library copy.After you read this, I don't think you will regret being exposed to a branch of medicine that wants to find some other method of treating cancer (whether it be brain, breast, ovarian, lung, etc.).

This book is very informative and full of useful information. Suzanne Somers interviewed various doctors who focus on wellness. Her interviews make up each chapter. I’ve found many ideas and supplements that have been helpful. I have recommended this to friends. Worth the money.

I like what Suzanne is trying to say here. Not that I believe every word she says or the doctors she interviews in her book. But, you have to give her credit for at least showing us there are alternatives to taking medications out there. I agree that the Big Pharmaceutical companies and the medical community as a whole do nothing more than write prescriptions for our ailments and afflictions. I like that I have choices and I will always seek to learn more about my own health and not just take a doctors word or a prescription just because he says I should. Some prescriptions are more dangerous than the condition. Not for me thank you. And I have had people tell me they wouldn't give a nickel for a book by Suzanne Somers, well consider this, she has been learning and studying about health and alternatives for quite sometime, longer than some nutritionists I know that are practicing. Western conventional medicine does not have all the answers, there's a lot of herbs, spices, plants, foods, etc. that have healing powers and have been used for centuries to relieve conditions, ailments and diseases. So whatever you might think about Susanne at least realize we have more choices than what the current medical profession in the US has to offer us. Always take responsibility for your own health, your doctor is not always right!!

I saw Somers on several shows and liked the idea of curing some of the problems of old age through natural remedies (or so she said). I did not trust her to be an expert, and she does not look too well herself (gained weight, puffiness in the face, uneven color, etc.). In fact when I saw her on Larry King talking about a recent trip to the hospital where she was misdiagnosed with cancer, I thought she looked that way because she was having serious health problems! I was shocked to learn she was promoting a new book on health and wellness (I first thought it was just about how to survive major health problems). But after listening to the eight steps she outlined and all the doctors and studies that she used in the book I thought it might actually have some good info in it (and there are some parts that I read that are interesting, but not worth buying the book for).To be honest I did not read the entire book, I couldn't stomach it. After reading the first few chapters, which are all about how perfect she is, how great her and her husbands sex life is (which she goes out of her way to let us know about on a regular basis), and her daily regime (which is so expensive that she probably had to write the book just to pay for it) I lost all interest. Her breakthrough is not "natural" and chemical free. Just to give you a hint of what to expect, here is her regime for "perfect health" (this is not the 8 steps to wellness that she talks about in the book, but it might as well be)...1. Human growth hormone (bio-identical) injections every other day.2. On the days she does not take HGH, she wears hormone patches on her arms (i.e. estrogen and some others I forgot).3. 60 supplements (vitamins, hydrochloric acid, etc.) PER DAY!4. Daily Yoga (by private instructor in her home)$$5. Daily electrical impulses delivered to the face to look young (using some machine that she advertises)?!6. Somersize (her exercise program) on a regular basis (she does not mention how long or how often, unless I missed that part)7. Eat only organic food (she says she grows some of her own, just started this year)8. A monthly trip to the doctor for extensive blood work.9. If she is low in any hormone, vitamin etc. she has 30 minutes of IV infusion at her doctors office?!Not so natural, huh! I don't know anyone who could afford to follow her "program". Maybe she should have marketed it as the Elite Breakthrough for people who have the money and time to obsess over their looks and health and put thousands of dollars worth of pills, shots, and IV's into their body. I'm sorry, but I was very disappointed and felt that she had misrepresented what she is offering.

Still reading this but so far very interesting I've learned a lot about new things like stem cell technology .read pother books by Susan and am off for bio identical hormone replacement next week . Thankyou so much have finally got some hope .

Love this book

Good condition. Lots of good info. Some American items mention though which isn't available in uk. Some machines mentioned which some pp may not never have access to. However I'm glad I bought it as it had helped me to eat a healthier diet.

This book helped bring my health care to a new level. The information on bio-identical hormones and the names of the experts interviewed started me on a search for further information.

Ok couldn’t get into