The Healthy Skeptic
Cutting through the HYPE about Your Health
We are inundated with health information that unnecessarily frightens us and is often just plain wrong. Here is a guide through the maze.
Editorial Reviews
“Superb. This important book addresses what people can do to protect themselves from the commercial misdirection of our health care system.”
— Dr. John Abramson, author of Overdosed America: The Broken Promise of American Medicine
“Most Americans get their health information from the media: reports on the evening news, magazine and newspaper articles, popular websites, as well as a flood of advertisements from pharmaceutical and health product manufacturers. How is the average person supposed to cut through the marketing hype and get to the truth? According to award-winning journalist Robert Davis, Ph.D. -author of The Healthy Skeptic- skepticism, closer scrutiny, and some trustworthy resources can go a long way to help us separate fact from fiction about the latest health information and claims.”
—Lauren Nemroff, Amazon.com
“Useful to all consumers who seek reliable sources of health information.”
—Choice
“Simplifies the process of divining what is true science out of the hype. . . . Belongs where everyone can access it.”
–Booklist
“Davis guides the reader in analyzing and thinking critically about health-related information.”
–Library Journal
“An insightful and informative look at a number of health issues, this should be enlightening.”
–Publishers Weekly
“Cuts the myth from the reality. More importantly, he helps us sort through the information available.”
—January Magazine
About the Book
Cutting through the HYPE about Your Health
It happens every day: we pick up a newspaper or magazine or turn on the television and are bombarded with urgent advice about how to stay healthy. Lose weight! Lower your cholesterol! Early detection saves lives! Sunscreen prevents cancer! But in many cases, pronouncements we rarely think to question turn out to be half-truths that are being pushed by various individuals or groups to advance their own agendas. The Healthy Skeptic explores who these health promoters are―from journalists and celebrities to industry-funded groups and consumer activists―what their motives are, and how they are spinning us in ways we often don’t realize.
This treasure trove of little-known facts, written by award-winning health journalist Robert J. Davis, provides invaluable tips, tools, and resources to help you think more critically about what you’re being told. Becoming a healthy skeptic is vital because following the right advice can have a profound impact on your health and longevity.
In this book, we discuss:
- Diets and why they don’t work
- Dietary supplements
- The campaign to reduce cholesterol
- Celebrity exhortations to “get tested”
- Sunscreen and its promoters’ claims
- The antichemical activists