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Lunch » Tags » Books » Reviews » The Program: The Brain-Smart Approach to the Healthiest You: The Life-Changing 12-Week Method

The Program: The Brain-Smart Approach to the Healthiest You: The Life-Changing 12-Week Method

1 rating: 5.0

A book by Kelly Traver

"Dr. Traver doesn't just instruct readers on how to achieve happier, healthier lives, she provides compelling evidence for why her methods work." -- Dr. Mark Hyman, bestselling author of The UltraMind Solution and UltraMetabolism … see full wiki

Tags: Books, Nonfiction, Personal Transformation, Neuropsychology, Clinical Health Psychology

Author: Kelly Traver

Publisher: Atria

1 review about The Program: The Brain-Smart Approach to...

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The Program- Change Lives

Feb 1, 2010

by JSMaresca
posted in Cafe Libri: Reviewing Books & More

Rating:

Life Changing- 12 Week Method- The Program
by Dr. Kelly Traver MD and Betty Kelly Sargent
Published 2009 by Atria Books

Reviewed by: Dr. Joseph S. Maresca

This work is an excellent reference for life-long health planning
and maintenance. Early in the book, the authors present a fairly
comprehensive health risk assessment which covers the essentials
of controlling vices, stress, lack of exercise, junk food etc.

Exercise is said to boost the metabolism by 20-30 % . Core exercises
are presented; such as, chest, abdomen, back, shoulders and thighs.
Long term goals are formulated for fitness, stress reduction and
nutrition.

The basic food groups are set forth. These are grains, fruits,
veggies,meat, fish, poultry, good fats and sweets. Personally,
I find that cinnamon, stevia and sugar- free candies are good
substitutes for white sugar.

In addition, a high quality probiotic formula will help to maintain
general gastrointestinal health along with high fiber.
Milk thistle can be a good liver tonic.

The BMI (body mass index) is discussed with the norm ranging
between 18.5 and 24.9. Caloric expenditure is set forth. For instance,
walking burns 200 or more calories.
Weight lifting can burn up to 300 calories and running expends
350 calories. These facts comport with my own personal experience.

The maxim " Change your thoughts and you change your mind"
is quoted from Dr. Normon Vincent Peale. The author advises to
do away with anxiety and be less concerned with matters not under
our direct control.

Stress is discussed at length. Stress can lead to increases
in the heart rate, blood pressure increases, blood flow
migration from the gut to the skeleton and increases in blood sugar.
Fatigue also begets chronic inflammation .
From personal experience, you should check the C-reactive protein,
SED rate and other markers for potential inflammatory states.
These tests would be done in the blood chemistry in rheumatology,
cardiology or a comprehensive physical check-up.

The allergen blood panel is another place to examine for
inflammation from foods we consume regularly.
i.e. egg white IgE, cow's milk IgE, codfish IgE, wheat IgE,
corn IgE, pea IgE, peanut IgE, soybean IgE, shrimp IgE, tomato IgE.
Your gastroenterologist can order an upper endoscopy
and colonoscopy to get more precise visual information pertinent
to existing inflammations in the gastrointestinal tract and colon.
The Pillcam is another useful tool which produces
visual images in a video format.

Exercise, eating regularly, 8-9 hours of quality sleep,
slowing down and nurturing yourself will help to de-stress.
The authors cite a 3-hour window to break-up clots and restore
blood flow from strokes. In addition, I would ask about a
doppler test of the head/neck area to gain some assurance about
the likelihood of a blood clot breaking up randomly.

In addition, stroke prevention strategies include good diabetes care,
low cholesterol,blood pressure monitoring and no smoking.

Diabetes may be controlled by diet via high fiber foods,
veggies, non-fat yogurt, whole grain breads, quinoa, brown rice,
beans, peas and lentils. Exercise is another condition precedent
for controlling diabetes along with reduction of binge eating
and trigger foods.

Much is said about weight loss and control. The authors advise
to maintain a log,spread calories throughout the day, eat fruits
and veggies, eat complex carbs and protein and control alcohol
intake ideally. Remember, alcoholic beverages may contain high
levels of sugar .

Overall, the acquisition of this book would be a worthy addition
to any personal library.

Dr. Joseph S. Maresca

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