Smart Health Choices : Making Sense of Health Advice

Every day we make decisions about our health - some big and some small. What we eat, how we live and even where we live can affect our health. But how can we be sure that the advice we are given about these important matters is right for us? Many treatments and tests - both mainstream and alternative - are not supported by good evidence and some widely used treatments are actually harmful.Whether you are considering having surgery or taking vitamin supplements, you need to know the effectiveness of the options and their side-effects. This fully revised and updated new edition of Smart Health Choices will provide you with the tools for assessing health advice, whether it comes from a specialist, general practitioner, naturopath, the media, the Internet, or a friend. It shows you how to take an active role in your health care, and to make the best decisions for you and your loved ones based on personal preferences and the best available evidence. Contents 1 Smart health choice essentials 2. Be sceptical 3. Bad evidence 4. Don't always rely on the experts 5. Choosing a practitioner 6. Media and the internet 7. An education in shopping 8. The weakness of one 9. The power of many 10. Judging which tests and treatments really work 11. What makes you sick? 12. Finding the best evidence 13. Doing your bit 14. How to apply the evidence to you and your situation 15. Is this a useful diagnostic test? 16. Decision thresholds 17. Relative risk, relative and absolute risk reduction, number needed to treat, and confidence intervals 18. Testing your skill

Also available:

Natural Health & Weight Loss - ISBN 1905140150
Chronic Fatigue Syndrome: a natural way to treat M.E. - ISBN 1905140002
Traditional Herbal Medicines: A Guide to Their Safer Use - ISBN 1905140045

Hammersmith Press is an independent publishing house producing books for the general public and health professionals that promote better health and well-being through a greater understanding of the human body and mind, with a particular emphasis on the importance of nutrition and diet.

Some of the areas we publish in include:

-Neuro-linguistic Programming (NLP)
-Overcoming Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
-Natural Health & Weight Loss
-Holistic Medicine
-Thyroid Health
-Medical stories
- Healthy eating
-Traditional medicines
-Infertility
-Menopause
-Diabetes

Professor Les Irwig is Professor of Epidemiology at the University of Sydney, Australia, and an internationally renowned authority on evidence-based medicine. Judy Irwig brings the perspective of the health care consumer. She devotes a large part of her career to writing and recording songs for children, conveying important messages about relationships, self-respect, and respect for the environment. Dr Lyndal Trevena is Senior Lecturer in the School of Public Health at the University of Sydney, Australia, and a member of the Sydney Health Decision Group as well as being an experienced General Practitioner. Melissa Sweet is a journalist who has been reporting on health and medical issues for more than 15 years.