The 21st century lifestyle and dawning of the information age has brought us new challenges in our day to day activities: avoiding sedentary activity, eating a balanced and nutritious diet as well as avoiding tobacco, excessive alcohol consumption and stress. We are faced with these fundamental lifestyle and behavioral choices every minute we are awake and conscious. Even now as I type these words, I am aware that sitting at my desk will burn fewer calories than standing or walking on a treadmill as I type (I just stood up to stretch, stand and move while I work on the keyboard).
This is the level of acute awareness that Steven Aldana, Ph.D. brings to his readers in his book The Culprit & The Cure: Why lifestyle is the culprit behind America’s poor health and how transforming that lifestyle can be the cure. He has devoted years of research to bring the most current scientific evidence developed by the world’s leading exercise scientists, nutritionists, and behavioral psychologists into an integrated strategy to promote a healthy lifestyle.
As a family doctor, I know that heart disease, cancer, strokes, and diabetes are leading causes of death in America. However, many doctors are not trained to support you and your family in the primary prevention of these chronic conditions: by increasing physical activity, improving your nutrition, preventing obesity, avoiding tobacco use, avoiding excessive alcohol consumption and stress. Steven Aldana calls his book a “lifeline for those who grab hold of it, read it carefully and use it to adopt a healthy lifestyle”.
I hope you grab hold of this selection for the next Ignite Book Club reading.
Stay active and healthy always,
Dr. Tony Linares
