Survival Of The Sickest: The Surprising Connections Between Disease and Longevity [Paperback]

 

 

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An easy-to-read medical story about disease and it's effect on the evolution on this planet.

Dr. Moalem has explained in easy to read, often hilarious, anecdotes and asides during this entertaining and informative journey through plant and animal evolution on this planet.

Viral and hereditary disease have actually played a very important role in the ascent of man through the ages.

Without these immunilogical challenges to strengthen and modify our immune systems we would probably have been wiped out ages ago.

Read about how diabetes and a blood-iron disorder actually helped people survive ice-ages and the plague.

There's also a "Notes" section at the end of the book for further research on the ideas put forth in this book. Very helpful!

This is a great little book to tote along wherever you go and have a few minutes to spend on insights into the fascinating and intelligent ways our bodies and, really, Nature, work in our best interests. It leaves the reader in awe of the universe and all its complexities. And because each chapter is a separate topic, it?s very easy to pick up and put down and still get a sense of an overall thread. Moalem loves a mystery, a challenge ? and has shared his enthusiasm with his readers. His style is engaging, accessible, and fun. As he has a conversation with you, he takes you through the logic of the process with an amusing metaphor (eg: ?When you try to move one dancer with a bulldozer, you?re pretty darn certain to scoop up more than one Rockette.?) You don?t become confused because he explains details in an interesting, and totally uncondescending way. The chapter on epigenetics is fascinating: who knew that a woman?s lifestyle habits can actually change the fetus? genes? We used to think that her habits could change the baby?s health, but the genetic code? That?s kind of like saying if you swim a lot when you?re pregnant, the baby will show a predisposition to swimming. But it?s true in a sense (read the chapter ?Methyl Madness? to find out). Moalem is one who would put some credence in old wives? tales because he believes that long-held beliefs can often be accurate in a weird way (bloodletting, for example). This is a must-have book for anyone curious about little known and groundbreaking knowledge of the human body.

This book is an interesting read. The idea that our bodies and genes are so much more complex and clever than we give them credit for, and do things for reasons we don't always understand but which are done for good reasons nonetheless, is really important.

Media articles always push the view that modern drug-based medicine and testing is wonderful and so advanced and complex while the human body is highly flawed and often does things (such as causing symptoms) for 'stupid' reasons or just randomly. But when you look at the human body and its complexities and ability to heal and to adapt to and cope with all sorts of things, it is the human body which is truly impressive.

It just makes so much sense to come at the problem of treating and preventing disease by working with the complexity of the human machine rather than just blindly drugging everything and blocking all sorts of pathways and protective mechanisms and assuming that modern drugs and technology will always be superior. The human body can heal from so many things if just given the right supports.

As the author says, if we don't ask we'll never find out and the more we know about the body and our genes the more we can understand about how to prevent and treat disease.

Some of the scientific information in this book has been dumbed down to the point it has become inaccurate, as some other reviewers have explained, which is a worry. Mostly I appreciated how easy this book was to read and just ignored the rare cheesy line in the book. It did seem to lack depth though, and be quite light on for references and scientific support in parts. The justifications the author gave for coming to certain conclusions just didn't feel complete, very often. It sometimes had the feel of someone coming up with a speculative theory and then finding a few bits and pieces of evidence to back up the idea later on. There are also very few examples given.

This book also missed a good opportunity to talk about the role of nutrition and how eating the foods we evolved to eat can affect our health and the health of our offspring. Books which do a great job of discussing this important issue along with reasons why some diseases appear due to epigenetics, plus provide information on how to safeguard your own health through nutrition, include: Primal Body, Primal Mind: Beyond the Paleo Diet for Total Health and a Longer LifeDeep Nutrition: Why Your Genes Need Traditional Food, Eat Fat, Lose Fat: The Healthy Alternative to Trans Fats and others.

The concepts in this book were not discovered by the author and many of them I had already read about in other books (such as those listed above) so the 'maverick' comment on the cover would have been better avoided, probably. The author also seemed unaware of the concept and research done into biochemical individuality and some reading in this area would likely have improved the book.

This book is very interesting and also slightly frustrating as it seemed to have the potential to go a lot deeper into this topic as it did and to be a bit more convincing with its research information. But maybe this is unfair as this book really only aims to provide an introduction to this topic, and to stimulate discussion and new ways of thinking about disease, and it does do these things very well, and presents them in a very accessible way.

This book does a good job of introducing to what many people is a paradigm shift in thinking about the role of disease. It isn't perfect but is well worth a read and is an enjoyable read.

A quote from the book: "The entire universe is geared towards disorder. Given all the forces pulling for disorder, it's a wonder we live at all, and as long and as well as most of us do. Which is why, instead of taking our health for granted, we should appreciate it with the reverence it deserves."

Jodi Bassett, The Hummingbirds' Foundation for M.E. (HFME)

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