The Disease Delusion: Conquering the Causes of Chronic Illness for a Healthier, Longer, and Happier Life Hardcover – May 6, 2014

I heard about this book from another book I was reading~Rebuild by Dr. Z. Two of the best books I’ve read in a long time. A lot of information on how to be and stay healthy. Definitely recommend.

The Disease Delusion. Jeffrey Bland. Published 2014.(I'm a board certified preventive medicine specialist, worked at or with CDC most of my career, taught at Emory Med School, Tulane, and was a state health official in a northern and a southern state.)Bought this book in 2017 somewhat impulsively on the enthusiastic recommendation of a stranger I met at a live outdoor musical performance, who said he was a retired musician and doctor. We'd both had a few beers. I'd never heard of Dr. Bland, the author; I have no pre-existing bias for or against him. The topic was one I suspected would interest a particular family member. Hmmm... well, we'd both had a few beers... and so this note is in part a repudiation of the "convenience" of 1-click purchasing.Later I read a number of reviews, and more about Dr. Bland, but the book was on the way, too late to abort delivery. It arrived while I was abroad, and sat unopened for 3 months, since, after reading about the topic, author, and the reviews, I decided to avoid telling the family member to open the package that I got for them. I was increasingly concerned they just might read it and believe it all (family member is not as much a critical scientist as I; family member perhaps has had one or two college level science classes, I've had at least 50, including 2 post doc degrees at Harvard with concentrations in public health, biostatistics, and clinical decision analysis - and some technical work at MIT).The book was not cheap (list 26.99), so I read enough to try to inform this note for the benefit of others, if not myself, but as I read I titrated my ongoing assessment of the value/harm of the book against the value of my time and the importance of reading more (either for my edification, or to inform others in this note).Near the end, the author calls this book "an expression of my view of the future of medicine." Since I can confirm that he does offer HIS VIEWS in this book, it seems fair to report my own views, here. In my own view, this book is a bit narcissistic, perhaps written in search of book sales and self-promotion, but also, I will grant, partly in search of coherence regarding disease (or health) science...which I think escapes the author… as this synthetic attempt mixes anecdotes in a confusing way with selected observations from science literature of quite varying robustness and currency. He tells interesting stories and says many true things, but overly simplifies, and selects information in a manner to serve "his view" (and if one were a tad cynical, one might imagine, his institute/business).In MY view, he is not up to speed on current literature and best thinking about chronic disease etiology, which is rapidly changing. As a crude but quickly verifiable instance the index does not mention "biome", "microbiome", "intestinal flora", "intestine", "gut" in its treatment of chronic disease.Near the beginning, the book asserts an undeniable, but therefore hardly interesting, premise: that genes don't explain everything. The premise that "To win the battle [with chronic disease], we will have to change the messages our lifestyle and environment are sending to our genes. ... That is what functional medicine is all about." is almost to try to put a brand (‘functional medicine’) on a truism. Also seems he's had some success doing that... but that is not what science is all about.As a statistician, I confess to near anaphylaxis when I see folk trained as scientists try to persuade the great unwashed, of truisms, via anecdote, for a price. Even good intentions do not relieve the educated of moral responsibility for teaching bad thinking. Even if >90% (or even all) of the facts woven into the story were correct and fairly representative, one is still culpable. Sadly, people easily remember a story, not so well a study. Sadly, people are entertained by and pursue stories; choosing to read correctly designed studies is an acquired taste. Virtue cometh not easy. Alas, criticism does…Life is a zero sum game; the surest way to win the battle with chronic disease is not very complicated: die young. Getting old is indeed often the pits, but still, it is often preferred to the alternative. I'm now pretty old, and I've come to enjoy having seen a positive arc of history in a number of countries, and to fear the power of undisciplined persuasion. I understand very well the concept of and potential benefits of extending QALYs, but I want to see a study, not a series of stories. I also understand the limits of the QALY as a measure of a life.Making it your purpose in life to pursue hopefully a bit longer and a bit healthier life at the expense of great adventures, the joys and pain of deeply sharing family stress, many all-night political or artistic or mathematical or philosophical debates, life-saving disaster intervention efforts...even wild sex and feasts galore...? Perhaps OK for you, but seems a little naval-gazing-ish. And as a wag might say, "so I then realized, what's the point of living?"One should perhaps be more mindful that life is a zero sum game; whether at three score and ten, or four-score, no-one gets out alive. Whether we are ascetics or epicureans, seems to make sense to share joy and virtue, as best we can envision these, and as best we are able, while we are here. B^)And if there's an afterlife in your own hopeful/ faithful view of the future, no serious faith of which I’m aware grants admission to heaven based on one’s effort to avoid chronic disease or old age. Again, what would be the point?My copy of Disease Delusion is safely in a recycle bin to protect the time and interests of those around me. Again, my view, of course.

My husband had some pretty serious health issues come up about 5 years ago. The doctors were all but useless. They prescribed medications that didn't help and had horrible side effects. They don't have any real answers, but insist my husband will just have to learn to live with his life now.For 3 years I researched alternative solutions. Through various small supplements (liquid magnesium, copper, and CBD) we have been able to help him a good bit. However, nothing has come close to restoring his quality of life.I gave this book a chance as just one more piece of research to add to my eternal quest. And I was shocked. This book has pointed us in directions that nothing else had even considered. Because of the various self tests, we discovered that an ankle injury from 2011 might be impacting these health problems. It didn't seem logical, but we were desperate and a little bit of physical therapy wasn't such a big ask. We also adjusted our diet and added a supplement the book recommended based on his answers to the questionnaires.The book says to give 12 full weeks for results to appear. We've been following the program for 6 weeks and are seeing tangible improvements. I have even been able to drastically improve some of my own stomach upsets that I have lived with for most of my life.An inexpensive book, an investment of some of our time, and implementing very reasonable lifestyle changes has actually affected our health more than I could have ever imagined. I encourage anyone interested in feeling good to read this book.

Many consider Dr. Jeffery Bland the father of functional medicine, you will learn more about your own body and the coming new wave in medicine! I cannot recommend this book enough!

The best book written on holistic wellness ever!!!! Must read

I ordered a new book, and the one I got is used, super dirty and folded cover and spine edge are slightly ripped, pages are also folded in places.

Dr. Bland has written a comprehensive, yet easy to understand introduction to functional medicine. He describes the various components that contribute to health based on a functional medicine approach. But then he goes a step further and weaves them together so that the reader gets a sense of how all these things are related and impact each other and thus overall health. As a scientist and health care practitioner, I have spent decades trying to explain these principles to my family and friends and keep giving them various books to read. But Dr. Bland's version of the functional medicine story is easier to understand, more complete, and more persuasive than anything I have come up with. He helps the reader to understand that the majority of the principles are based in biomedical science and a deeper understanding of the interrelationships of human physiology. Thus, he removes the stigma (and lack of credibility) that often accompanies alternative medicine writings. Is it the last word on the subject? Absolutely not. Does it have the details which a scientist or physician might want?--mostly not. But that is not the point: it is an essential first step --providing a roadmap for anyone who understands that they need to take responsibility for their own health. If we are ever going to tackle and try to solve the burgeoning U.S. chronic health problems, this book should be mandatory reading for all high schoolers and their parents.

A really good read. A must for anyone wanting to improve their health. As others have mentioned, it contains a bit more science than most popular books but I really enjoyed that, although I must admit to having a biological sciences degree. The book contains several questionnaires which allow the reader to tailor the information to their own health problems.

Super book - everyone should read this to help you look after your health. So much information about many ailments / diseases and how to help improve them through nutrition. A must read for those interested in nutritional health.

Very interesting book if slightly different from what I was expecting - not so much about whole food / plant foods but it was still a fascinating read and one I re-read every once in a while

Excellent. Accessible to everyone. Lots of technical information but presented in an easy to read way. All makes sense. For people like me with Chronic health conditions there are lot of answers in this book. Recommended read.

this is the one book you must read in 2017. It provides a whole new perspective on your health and how to reduce your risk of suffering from serious disease. It is written by a professor in biochemistry, but it is very readable. I don't even have GCSE biology.