I’ve been trying to determine if I know anyone who never gets sick. I’m not sure that I do. My husband would likely be the closest candidate, but even he will get the sniffles a couple times a year. In fact, most people I know are always complaining of being sick or feeling like they are about to get the latest bug.
I have very little doubt that getting the common cold and flu has everything to do with eating and exercise patterns along with sleep and stress, but it’s nice to have a little science to support my claims.
A couple weeks ago I was asked to review the book The Secrets of People Who Never Get Sick by Gene Stone
No stranger to research and writing in health and wellness, Stone has offered himself up as a human guinea pig, taking part in everything from scientific trials to the latest fad diet. In his recent book, Stone interviewed 100 people who could rarely, if ever, be found under the weather. The book contains the top 25 secrets which also have some scientific evidence to back them up.
Most of us associate several of the practices with wellness including running, yoga and avoiding germs. Others give credit to the culinary suggesting plant-based diets and garlic. Some extend to the far reaches of the up-and-coming or the hard-to believe such as probiotics and cold showers.
There are habits associated with those things we often underestimate such as friends and positive attitudes. Then there are those you want to start doing whether they really work or not like napping and moving to Costa Rica.
While all of these things may have the potential to keep us healthy and well, what makes this book worth the read are the stories told about the people who strongly believe in their method to avoid illness. Each chapter goes on to give an unbiased view of the current research that supports or contradicts the idea.
You will also step away from these pages a whiz at health trivia. For example, did you know the first doctor who suggested that medical professionals should disinfect their hands before entering the maternity ward to deliver babies was thought to be crazy and died in an asylum? It wasn’t until Pasteur that this practice became widely adopted. Talk about conversation starters at your next party.
As it turns out, the book is not without recipes. Throughout the chapters you will find recipes for Chicken Soup, Sweet Potato-Vegetable Lasagna and a Salad Wrap.
If you want your next read to be as intriguing as it is informative, creative as it is research-based and historic as it is cutting edge, then this book is it. You just might find your own method and you’ll be the one sharing your never-get sick-secret.
I already eat a lot of garlic and a largely plant-based diet, so I think it only appropriate that I start experimenting with the napping theory first.
Disclaimer: This book was sent to me for review purposes. I was not required to write about it and received no compensation for doing so.
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Between work travel and very little creative time in the kitchen, recipes will be slim for the next week. I’ll be back before you know it with some culinary tours and springtime meals and desserts so no need to miss me. As always, thanks so much for reading!
Sounds like a very interesting book.
I hadn’t been sick for several years until this winter, and funny enough I got sick once I started working at home, ha. Go figure.
Sounds like an interesting book and one I need based on all the bronchitis I get. 😉 I’ll check it out.
Can I nap & move to Amsterdam instead of Costa Rica 😉
Thanks for the review. I found that when working at the hospital I never got sick (except when my gall bladder issue happened). I chalked it up to building a healthy resistance to things I carried around at work. Too bad my husband who never got sick before started getting sick a lot more often when we moved in together. I still rarely get sick, maybe like 2-3 days a year from one illness. Last year it was the one time I substituted in the elementary school. I should have expected that!
I never got sick, until I moved to London! I live in a very urban area and think its just a cesspool of germs – yuck. The worst flu I ever got was in London and the only time I had to be hospitalized was in Europe.
This year I have escaped without getting sick though (first year I got a flu shot). I think a healthy diet, plenty of sleep, fresh air, and exercise are the key. I’d love to learn more secrets though – I hate being sick!
Oh man. See, my husband is one of those people who never gets sick. Except in the past month – stomach flu and then a cold/cough that came on while I was in labor and he actually got our baby sick at 1 week old! UGH! The worst. Stress must have played a role in him catching these bugs.
Sounds like a good book to me!
It’s weird, I hardly get sick myself, but boy when I do, it’s like a bomb just exploded or something – I’m definitely out of commission for a while – so thank goodness it doesn’t happen often!
Intriguing!
I really want to read this book it looks awesome! Thanks for the review.
lesley – Mine was the opposite. We moved back from Brazil & I was working from home. In Sept I started my new job. The entire month of Oct I was very sick. Two viruses that turned into C.Diff from the antibiotics. I chalked it up to not being exposed to the work environment for so long.
Deb – You will love some of the topics it covers!
kat – I say yes!!
Melinda – I think there is a lot to be said for exposure. I’m about the same with sick days. And my big sickness last Oct did follow teaching some preschoolers a nutrition lesson!
gastroanthro – Changes in environment have such an influence! I’m a huge advocate of adequate sleep. The book has all kinds of interesting stuff.
Michelle – Oh my gosh! I missed it! Congrats! Hope everyone is well!
Peggy – I tend to be the same. I’m not one of those feel-better-the-next-day people. It’s usually a week at least.
Sagan and ahealthypassion – There are all kinds of interesting methods in it. A fun, yet informative read!
that’s so true..that we underestimate the power of friends and positive attitude. i think i learn that the hard way…used to get since once every month due to stress etc!