Ultraprevention

Two physicians unveil a revolutionary, accessible, science-based, patient-centered program for living an active, age-defying, disease-free life. Healthcare is pulled and shaped by many forces, by drug and insurance companies looking for profits, by politicians in search of votes, and by stressed, overworked physicians who barely have time to talk to you before writing a prescription or packing you off to a specialist. So is anyone interested in keeping you well? Yes. Created by two physicians who both survived catastrophic illness, the Ultraprevention program will work for absolutely everyone -- old, young, healthy, sick, or somewhere in between. The promise of its practice is huge -- a health span that matches life span -- and you'll experience increased energy, weight loss, enhanced mood and memory, better digestion, deeper sleep, diminished stress, and more. Ultraprevention is the new science of staying healthy, an innovative program that shatters the myths of today's "fix-the-broken-parts" medicine. These myths -- drugs cure disease, genes determine your fate, getting older means aging, fat is a four-letter word -- are actually believed by many doctors and are keeping you sick. Ardent general practitioners, Drs. Hyman and Liponis reject the current healthcare system of specialists paid to find something wrong, specialists who don't consider how their "cure" for one ailment affects the entire body. Working outside the managed care model at Canyon Ranch in the Berkshires, Hyman and Liponis break free of the vicious quick-fix prescription cycle and formulate a program that identifies and eliminates the cause of disease instead of just masking symptoms. Isolating the source of more than 90 percent of today's most common diseases, from cancer and heart disease to diabetes, stroke, and Alzheimer's, they enumerate the Five Forces of Illness -- Sludge (malnutrition), Burnout (impaired metabolism), Heat (inflammation), Waste (impaired detoxification), and Rust (oxidative stress). Through the practice of the six-week Ultraprevention program, you'll learn three simple steps -- each only two weeks long -- that stop these forces and create a lifetime of good health by removing allergens, infections, and toxins from the body and environment; repairing the body through personalizing nutrition, boosting the immune system, and balancing hormones; and recharging with stress management, sleep restoration, and gentle movement. So stop falling for the myths that make you sick and start Ultraprevention, the powerful plan to get older without aging, to maintain health for all of life.

Mark Hyman, MD, is the editor in chief of Alternative Therapies in Health and Medicine, the most prestigious journal in the field of integrative medicine. After ten years as co-medical director at Canyon Ranch in the Berkshires, he is now in private practice in Lenox, Massachusetts. He is the author of numerous books, including Young Forever, The Pegan Diet, and Food Fix, and coauthor of the New York Times bestseller Ultraprevention. Visit his website DrHyman.com.

Introduction Part I. The Myths of Modern Medicine

• The Modern Myths Quiz
• Myth 1: Your Doctor Knows Best
• Myth 2: If You Have a Diagnosis, You Know What's Wrong with You
• Myth 3: Drugs Cure Disease
• Myth 4: Your Genes Determine Your Fate
• Myth 5: Getting Older Means Aging
• Myth 6: Fat Is a Four-Letter Word
• Myth 7: You Can Get All the Vitamins You Need from Food

Part II. Ultraprevention: Controlling the Five Forces of Illness

• Ultraprevention and the Five Forces of Illness
• Force 1: Malnutrition, or Sludge
• Force 2: Impaired Metabolism, or Burnout
• Force 3: Inflammation, or Heat
• Force 4: Impaired Detoxification, or Waste
• Force 5: Oxidative Stress, or Rust
• Testing the Five Forces of Illness

Part III. The Six-Week Ultraprevention Plan

• The Six-Week Plan: Remove, Repair, Recharge
• Step One: Remove -- The First Two Weeks
• Step Two: Repair -- The Second Two Weeks
• Step Three: Recharge -- The Third Two Weeks

Acknowledgments Index