Drop dead healthy : one man's humble quest for bodily perfection / A. J. Jacobs.
Material type:
TextPublication details: New York : Simon & Schuster, 2012.Edition: 1st Simon & Schuster hardcover edDescription: x, 402 p. : ill. ; 25 cmISBN: - 141659907X (hardback)
- 1439110158 (ebook)
- 9781416599074 (hardback)
- 9781439110157 (ebook)
| Item type | Home library | Collection | Call number | Materials specified | Status | Notes | Date due | Barcode | Item holds | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Adult Book
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Main Library | NonFiction | 613.2092 J17 | Available | Previous water damage noted. 11/2/15 | 33111006712646 |
Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:
New York Times bestselling author and king of "immersion journalism" A.J. Jacobs tackles his most challenging experiment yet: a yearlong mission to radically improve every element of his body and mind--from his brain to his fingertips to his abs.
From the bestselling author of The Year of Living Biblically and The Know-It-All comes the true and truly hilarious story of one person's quest to become the healthiest man in the world.
Hospitalized with a freak case of tropical pneumonia, goaded by his wife telling him, "I don't want to be a widow at forty-five," and ashamed of a middle-aged body best described as "a python that swallowed a goat," A.J. Jacobs felt compelled to change his ways and get healthy. And he didn't want only to lose weight, or finish a triathlon, or lower his cholesterol. His ambitions were far greater: maximal health from head to toe.
The task was epic. He consulted an army of experts-- sleep consultants and sex clinicians, nutritionists and dermatologists. He subjected himself to dozens of different workouts--from Strollercize classes to Finger Fitness sessions, from bouldering with cavemen to a treadmill desk. And he took in a cartload of diets: raw foods, veganism, high protein, calorie restriction, extreme chewing, and dozens more. He bought gadgets and helmets, earphones and juicers. He poked and he pinched. He counted and he measured.
The story of his transformation is not only brilliantly entertaining, but it just may be the healthiest book ever written. It will make you laugh until your sides split and endorphins flood your bloodstream. It will alter the contours of your brain, imprinting you with better habits of hygiene and diet. It will move you emotionally and get you moving physically in surprising ways. And it will give you occasion to reflect on the body's many mysteries and the ultimate pursuit of health: a well-lived life.
Includes index.
The stomach : the quest to eat right -- The heart : the quest to get my blood pumping -- The ears : the quest for quiet -- The butt : the quest to avoid sedentary life -- The immune system : the quest to conquer germs -- The stomach, revisited : the quest for the perfect meal -- The genitals : the quest to have more sex -- The nervous system : the quest to hurt less -- The lower intestine : the quest to go to the bathroom properly -- The adrenal gland : the quest to lower my stress level -- The brain : the quest to be smarter -- The endocrine system : the quest for a nontoxic home -- The teeth: the quest for the perfect smile -- The feet : the quest to run right -- The lungs : The quest to breathe better -- The stomach, revisited : the continued quest for the perfect diet -- The skin : the quest to erase blemishes -- The heart, revisited : the quest for the perfect workout -- The inside of the eyelid : the quest for the perfect night's sleep -- The bladder : the quest to figure out what to drink -- The gonads : the quest to get more balls -- The nose : the quest to smell better -- The hands : the quest for magic fingers -- The back : the quest to stand up straight -- The eyes : the quest to see better -- The skull : the quest not to be killed in an accident -- The finish line -- Appendix A. Guerrilla exercise -- Appendix B. How to eat less -- Appendix C. Five tips on treadmill desks -- Appendix D. My five foolproof (for me, at last) methods of stress reduction -- Appendix E. The ten best pieces of food advice I've gotten all year -- Appendix F. How to live the quiet life -- Appendix G. Five toxins I now avoid.
"Having sanctified himself in The Year of Living Biblically and sharpened his mind in The Know-It-All, A. J. Jacobs had one feat left in the self-improvement trinity: to become the healthiest man in the world. He didn't want just to lose weight, or finish a triathlon, or lower his cholesterol. His ambitions were far, far greater: Maximal health from head to toe.The task was massive. He had to tackle a complicated web of diet and exercise advice, much of which was nonsensical, unproven, and contradictory. He had to consult a team of medical advisers. And he had to subject himself to a grueling regimen of exercises, a range of diets, and an array of practices to improve everything from his hearing to his sleep to his sex life all the while testing the patience of his long-suffering wife. He left nothing untested, from the caveman workout to veganism, from the treadmill desk to extreme chewing. Drop Dead Healthy teems with hilarity and warmth and pushes our cultures assumptions about and obsessions with what makes good health, allowing the reader to reflect on his or her own health, body, and eventual mortality"-- Provided by publisher.
"One mans comedic journey to discover how to live as healthfully as possible"-- Provided by publisher.