The Miracle of Health: Simple Solutions, Extraordinary Results.

Written by a husband-and-wife team of fitness gurus/motivational speakers, The Miracle of Health is a well-structured book about physical, mental, and spiritual fitness. Its first three chapters function as an introduction to and pep rally for making changes necessary for leading a healthy, active life. Chapters 4 through 9 address more specific issues relating to eating and exercise, including nutrition recommendations in chapter 5 and exercise plans in chapter 7. Beware that if you are a new convert to workouts these plans probably won’t make much sense to you, as they are full of fitness jargon. Chapter 9 is about health issues particular to older adults. Chapters 10 through 14 offer keys to successfully reaching your goals and focus more on metaphysical aspects.

Overall, a person who picks up this book is likely to find it useful: the language used is accessible, the inspirational stories are good, and the advice is reasonable. There are a few caveats, however. Sprinkled throughout the text are “Health Miracle” inserts that provide extra information, such as statistics and “health facts” from a variety of sources. Rarely is any reference provided for either the statistics or the health claims beyond a vague, “a study found….” A statistic means nothing if you don’t know where and how it was derived. Likewise, many of the health facts make very definite claims but provide no evidence. Without knowing where the information comes from, how can a reader judge its validity?

Finally, the authors use a substantial number of quotes from other health and wellness gurus to make points and illustrate their ideas. A random search of some of the names provided seems to indicate that some of these people are involved in making questionable scientific claims. As someone who works in the field of complementary and alternative medicine, I know that a sound evidence base is as important there as it is in conventional medicine. I think that the inclusion of bits of wisdom from some of these people takes away from what is otherwise a good book with solid advice for becoming mentally and physically healthier.