The End of Illness

Today’s article is adapted from The End of Illness by Dr. David B. Agus and an ABC News story about his book. (video below)

“The end of illness is closer than you might think,” says Agus, a professor of medicine at USC. But to achieve that, people must look at their bodies in a whole new way. He and many others like him are challenging long-held beliefs about what “health” means and are promoting health & wellness as ways to extend life, improve vitality, and lower the cost of medical care.

As a cancer doctor and researcher on the front lines, Dr. Agus became infuriated by the statistics and lack of progress within the medical profession, and that got him thinking about alternative approaches. He likens it to “having to go to war to understand peace,” since the goal should be to avoid war in the first place. And shouldn’t the same apply to health – striving for ways to eliminate illness rather than just treat its symptoms? In this book, and in his lectures, Dr. Agus shares a belief that you can indeed live a long and fulfilling disease-free life.

You may already follow the medical studies, take your multi-vitamins, exercise, and worry about pollution and pesticides, and you may already know you should sleep better, eat more fresh fruits and vegetables, and trim saturated fat from your diet. But what if you found out this was the wrong approach to better health?

Think about what’s more important – a number such as weight or cholesterol level, or a “healthy” lifestyle? In his book and this 2:57 video, Dr. Agus makes it sound so easy.

Bill Weir, in preparing for this story, agreed to some cutting edge tests with surprising results that saved his life. He shares the details in the 7:06 min video below, including his use of the Fitbit activity tracker. Many of these devices were shown this year at CES, so if you didn’t get to go and want to know what was hot, check out CES in Pajamas, the complimentary trip report I prepared for my readers.

If you’d like more detail on Dr. Agus’ veiws, here’s a 23 min presentation he made at TEDMED.

6:13 min video with CBS This Morning:

Related books mentioned on in my blog:

• The Future of Medicine: Megatrends in Health Care, by Dr. Stephen C. Schimpff
• The Future of Health Care Delivery, by Dr. Stephen C. Schimpff
• The Innovator’s Prescription, by Clayton M. Christensen