Drop Dead Healthy by A.J. Jacobs

This is another book from Quirky Bookworm's summer reading program. Click over to see other readers' thoughts on Drop Dead Healthy. For my reviews of other summer reading books click here or here.

Read while home alone? Sure. Unless exercise and healthy eating frighten you.

Tissues needed? no, but there are some touching moments

Overall rating: 5 stars

Summary:

In Drop Dead Healthy A.J. Jacobs works to become the healthiest man alive. He seeks to improve himself piece by piece: heart, respiratory system, ears… After doing research and speaking to experts, Jacobs experiments with a variety of methods to better each given part. Some examples: he wears headphones to reduce excessive noise, he practices “chewdaism,” and he tries a variety of exercises and diets including a paleo plan that features eating raw meat and exercising by throwing around boulders. Jacobs finds that going to extremes is one way to discover his happy medium.

Reaction:

It took me a bit longer to read this book—because it’s non-fiction and also because I felt a little guilty sitting down to read it: the sedentary lifestyle causes MANY health concerns! I tried standing to read a few times, but it just didn’t work out for me. It was well worth the time--it was an excellent book. Another book I think I’d like is one written by Jacobs’ wife. Living with his often wacky ideas would make for a compelling tale!

I was impressed with Jacobs’ research—he must be quite an expert himself now. Yet for all of his knowledge and all the information that found its way into the book, it was a very humorous story that I highly recommend.

What health trends have you tried? What would you never try? Could you commit to self-improvement one part at a time for two years? What’s the strangest thing you’ve ever heard of someone doing in the name of health?