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by Martha Howard M. D. (Author)
Dr. Martha Howard has put together an informative, persuasive guide that empowers us to take control of our own health. Alive and Well: Your Survival Guide for the Health Care Apocalypse lifts the veil on what Dr. Howard calls the "Five Horsemen of the Apocalypse"-the major players in our nation's health care system. Not only does her book reveal the systems and policies that are making us sick, it is filled with scientific evidence and clinical examples about effective strategies for making ourselves well. This book could impact generations to come. Ruth Buczynski, PhD, licensed psychologist, president of The National Institute for the Clinical Application of Behavioral Medicine Alive and Well has three parts. Part 1 describes in detail how and why the healthcare, food, pharmaceutical, agricultural industries and the political system have caused a steep decline in American health over the last 60 years, making us fatter, more diabetic and making chronic illness "the new normal." Part 2 presents a different perspective for chronic and common illnesses, allowing you to understand that the key to many chronic illnesses can be inflammatory reactions to common foods. It is filled with "clinical pearls" that can help you reduce your chronic illness, or maybe even get rid of it entirely. Part 3 teaches strategies on how you can keep yourself from getting sick, including adapting a paleo-based diet, getting started on exercise, reducing and managing stress, as well as developing emotional intelligence, resilience, and community support. As a bonus, you will also find delicious "alive and well" recipes for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and dessert.
Author Biography
At the age of 30, I was teaching Chinese history and theater, and taking classes in social work. On my way to a class, I was sitting at a stop light with my turn signal on, and a drunk driver plowed into my car at 55 miles an hour! The accident broke my neck. In the process of recovering, I got very little help from the health care industry. Their first action was to misread my x-ray and send me out of the emergency room with a soft cervical collar and a broken neck. I was in constant pain. I went back to get help but was told I just had to "live with it" and take pain pills. Fortunately, in a few years, I did get help from an acupuncturist. After three months of treatment, my constant pain was almost gone, and I was sold on acupuncture! I studied for two years in an apprenticeship with the acupuncturist who had helped me, and then was surprised to learn that although acupuncture and Traditional Chinese Medicine had become board-certified specialties in California in 1974, the practice of acupuncture was in a legal "gray area" in Illinois. It turned out I would have to be an M.D., D.O. or chiropractor to practice acupuncture legally in Illinois in 1978. I decided to become an M.D. (Acupuncture was not officially a licensed specialty in Illinois until 20 year later, so as the years went by, and the fight to get acupuncture licensed here dragged on, I was happy that I had made that decision!) I was lucky enough to get accepted to Loyola University Stritch School of Medicine at the age of 38 and graduated in 1982. After medical school, I did a three-year residency in Family Practice, and then worked for four years in the National Health Service Corps. Then I started an integrative practice, Wellness Associates of Chicago, and I am still working in that practice. Along the way, I have served on the boards of the American Association of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine (AAAOM) and the National Institute for the Clinical Application of Behavioral Medicine. I have earned national board certification in Acupuncture from the National Commission on Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine 129, have maintained my board-eligible status in Family Practice, and have been certified as a practitioner of EFT. I live in Chicago with my husband Gene. We have five children and eight grandchildren.
