How do you make your decisions about your body?

Maybe you are the Research type. As a medical student I loved that first access to unlimited medical information. All of those expensive subscription websites were now mine! Reference books I could hardly lift! It was a gold mine to a young aspiring doctor. So what was the problem?

Within a week, I diagnosed myself with bacterial meningitis, dengue fever and a dozen different kinds of cancer, all of them so rare I have never seen a case. I ruled out rattlesnake bite, but just barely. It’s irresistible: the more unfiltered information you have, the more scary diseases you will find in yourself. You’re not alone -- if you get a group of doctors talking about medical school, ask them if they ever had meningitis. The room will fall silent. Their feet will shuffle. Someone will cough. Everyone will suddenly remember a meeting they’re supposed to be in.

Or maybe you rely on the Favorite Four: Best friends; Mom; Magazines; and the Internet? Well, the information may be old (Mom, God bless her) or faddish (Magazines) or based on rumors (Best Friends) or downright crazy talk (Internet).

So what’s the big deal?

It’s this: the decisions you make today will make your future body healthy, sturdy and energetic – or vulnerable, sickly and sedentary.

 

Women have to know the inner workings of their bodies. Knowing your body is the first step if you want to lead a healthy life. That’s what this book is for: How does your body work? How can you keep it healthy? It will also help you to become equal partners with your doctors, a skill that will be useful for a lifetime.

Facts for Real Life

A healthy body makes life easier. It’s like having a new car all day, every day -- one that has new tires, windshield wipers that don’t squeak and a new car smell. You can count on a healthy body to give you the energy you need to live well for a very long time.

We understand the body better than ever, more with each passing year. If your mother reads this book, she’ll be stunned by how much we know about preventing illness. Today, an ounce of prevention isn’t worth a pound of cure. It’s worth a ton.

But we all sometimes take health for granted, and it’s easy to feel like nothing really bad could ever happen to you or your body. The younger you are, the more invincible you feel. Maybe you haven’t been taking care of your body and maybe you can even feel that you need a change.

Good news: even if you’ve taken less than stellar care of yourself until now, you can move in the direction of better health, regardless of your age.

You can start right now.

Here’s to your good health!

Hope Ricciotti MD

Monique Doyle Spencer