Woman’s Guide to Good Health, A - Softcover

Carter, Carrie

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0800787404 ISBN 13: 9780800787400

Publisher: Revell, 2006

Synopsis

Staying healthy doesn't have to be difficult or painful. But many women are confused by the medical jargon or bemused by the latest drug to cure arthritis. Using a Christian worldview, Dr. Carrie Carter offers an accessible guide to help women make sense of it all. She discusses such topics as weight loss, stress, heart disease, menopause, and the world of nutritional supplements. This unique guide combines the authority of a doctor with the empathy of a Christian to alert and educate women to the pertinent health issues that may affect them or the ones they love so that staying healthy is a choice, not a chore. Previously published as Thrive! Bethany, 0-7642-2392-4

About this title

About the Author

Author Profile: Carrie Carter, M.D., F.A.A.P.

In a moment’s time, Dr. Carrie Carter’s world was turned upside down—literally. The sudden onset of severe Meniere’s disease, an inner ear disorder that causes constant dizziness, vertigo and fatigue, brought her car to a screeching halt one day in 1999. The perspective of this primary care physician, pediatrician, medical media expert, national speaker, radio host, and magazine columnist was drastically changed in an instant.

Since that day six years ago, Dr. Carter has become "one" with the heart, emotions, and struggles of women suffering from chronic illness. As the fruit of true empathy and understanding has ripened in her life, Dr. Carter has committed herself to educating others about health matters in an entertaining and compassionate way. Her personal pain has made her more passionate than ever to share the simple truths within complex and technical concepts and to encourage others to use these principles to improve their lives.

A board-certified primary care physician for 16 years, Dr. Carter served as Assistant Professor of Pediatrics at the University of California at San Diego and was awarded "Outstanding Teacher" by her medical students. She has appeared as a medical expert on over one hundred national and regional radio and TV programs and is a regular columnist for MOMSense Magazine.

Awarded the 2003 Writer of the Year by the San Diego Christian Writers Guild, Dr. Carter is the author of Mom’s Health Matters and Thrive! A Woman’s Guide to a Healthy Lifestyle which became a 2003 Foreword Magazine finalist for the "Health Book of the Year." In the 1990’s, Dr. Carter developed and taught the nationwide seminar "Prescription for Optimal Health" in cities from Orlando to Maui to Edmonton, Canada.

Though she was forced to give up her medical practice 6 years ago due to her battle with Meniere’s disease and lupus, Dr. Carter is grateful to God for His faithfulness in the midst of this major life change and thankful for the privilege to share health information with others through her books, articles, radio and TV shows. "God has such a great sense of humor—He chose a sick person to write on wellness!"

Dr. Carter is a wife and a mother of a teenage son and resides with her family in San Diego.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

INTRODUCTION

The only way to keep your health is to eat what you don't want, drink what you don't like, and do what you'd druther not.
--Mark Twain

One of the best gifts God gave each one of us is the gift of free will. We can choose a lifestyle that is good for us...or one that is not. Yet many of us think, like Mark Twain, that making healthy choices means we have to give up all the "good stuff" or settle for less than we want. In other words, healthy choices are choices you can live with--but not love. Well, contrary to Mr. Twain's experience, I want to show you healthy lifestyle choices you can do more than live with, ones that will allow you to THRIVE!

As Jesus Christ said, "I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly" (John 10:10 rsv). Jesus wants you to thrive, to live abundantly! What does this mean to you? To feel less stressed? More joyful? To weigh less yet eat very well? To be physically fit? More energetic? Perhaps thriving would happen once you accept some of the things you cannot change, or maybe you would thrive once you summon the courage to change the things you can change.

If I had to pick one issue that, if improved, would probably make the greatest difference in most of our lives, it would be stress. This six-letter word is the stimulus that sets many other negative actions in motion--all of which interfere with our ability to thrive. So getting stress under control will likely make the biggest difference in where you rate on the thrive scale. But stress does not merely come from outside forces demanding more and more of us. It is also generated internally--reaching even to toxic levels--and we may not understand its source. The core of your stress may involve important spiritual principles. Read chapter one and discover my De-stress Before Distress Plan. More peace and joy await you as you learn to decrease your levels of stress and ensure that your spiritual foundation is in place.

Healthy nutrition and weight control don't have to be difficult or painful, and exercise is supposed to be enjoyable. And as a doctor, I can promise you that healthy choices in these three areas will help you to thrive.

Unfortunately, one thing that none of us can change is our predisposition to certain diseases. For instance, perhaps many of your relatives develop coronary artery disease, while in your husband's family it may be diabetes, and in your neighbor's family it may be cancer. In a way, this is like having a dormant bomb buried in your living room. Everything is fine as long as you take the necessary precautions not to set it off. And it is possible to live your whole life without setting it off. But if you do not take care, your life could blow up before your eyes. Likewise, we might be doomed if we don't take care of ourselves, but the good news about our health is that we don't have to develop these diseases! Research studies show that by making certain healthy lifestyle choices and using certain nutritional supplements, we can slow or avoid altogether the onset of many serious diseases.

So these healthy lifestyle choices are the focus of the next portion of this book. we will see which screening tests make a difference in detecting what might be going wrong with your health, what toxins could impact your health, and what nutritional supplements may or may not help protect you from developing diseases.

Perhaps you are already battling health problems. Can you be physically ill or battling a chronic illness and still thrive? Absolutely. The state of your spiritual life is the most important key to thriving. When we are right with God, it helps all the other factors fall in line. Think of the apostle Paul--whom we know from his writings battled physical challenges. Despite the problems with his physical health, he was complete in his relationship with Christ. Plus, even if you are battling a serious disease, there are still healthy lifestyle choices worth considering that may enhance your life and help you to thrive. Don't let your condition keep you from reading on.

Through my many speaking opportunities on the topic of healthy lifestyle choices, I have found countless women who want to thrive. I know you want the same blessings, so together, let s find answers that will work specifically for you. As we go through the following chapters, I challenge you to find at least one change that you can commit to making, or one supplement that you can commit to taking, and decide to start right now!

Remember, Jesus came so that you and I might have life and have it more abundantly. It's your call. Shall we start thriving?

Edition details

• Publisher: Revell
• Publication date: 2006
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0800787404
• ISBN 13: 9780800787400
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 224