YOU: The Owner's Manual: An Insider's Guide to the Body that Will Make You Healthier and Younger

YOU

The Owner's Manual
An Insider's Guide to the Body that Will Make You Healthier and Younger

by Michael F. Roizen
(based on 402 customer reviews)

YOU: The Owner's Manual: An Insider's Guide to the Body that Will Make You Healthier and Younger (Hardcover)
Edition: 1
Author: Michael F. Roizen
Publisher: Collins


List Price: $24.95
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Most useful review as voted by customers:
411 out of 414 people found the following review helpful.
Review Date: 1/10/08


Anatomy and physiology for dummies

In short, just a very fun and informative book with several worthy goals. For one, it educates your average person in the inner workings of the human body. It does this quite entertainingly through frequent quizzes, trivia, facts, and interesting pictures- for instance the authors use a lot of elf cartoon. Corny, but fun.

Additionally, the book also gives one many helpful tips on how to keep their body running smoother. Since there is a lot of medical information, I really would like to have seen a reference section though at the end of the book. That being said, however, it is a pretty informative and amusing read and should enhance the well-being of many- especially middle-agers like me who want to learn more about how their bodies work so they can keep it running smoothly in the years to come. Readers may also be interested in Treat Your Own Rotator Cuff to keep the shoulder working well- 54% of people over the age of 60 have a torn rotator cuff.


271 out of 374 people found the following review helpful.
Review Date: 5/5/05


A good, basic manual addressing total body health needs

As the subtitle to this book suggests, the main purpose of this manual is to help you live a long, healthy life through educating you about your body and its needs. The first author, Michael Roizen, is the pioneer of the RealAge concept--i.e., the idea that age is better measured by lifestyle factors rather than chronology--and he incorporates much of this concept into the current work. In order to get a baseline sense of how much you already know about your body, the first chapter includes a self-assessment, The Body-Quotient Quiz. This multiple-choice questionnaire offers some surprising answers to questions as diverse as "What is the genetic reason that men typically want more sex than women?" and "What is the main purpose of skin?"

The book proceeds to devote a separate chapter to each of the following areas/systems of the body: the heart; the brain and nervous system; bones, joints, and muscles; the lungs; the digestive system; the sexual and sensory organs; the immune system; hormones; and cancer. Each chapter provides basic educational information, much of which is conveyed in easy-to-read "myth busters" and "factoid" formats. Then, once you have learned all the essential information about that area, the authors present a "Live Younger Action Plan," which is a step-by-step guide to making the lifestyle adjustments that can help you to live a longer, healthier life. Some of these actions involve simply making yourself more aware of your own body--eg, finding out your cholesterol levels--while others involve an actual behavioral change such as modifying what you eat. The final 50 pages of the book provide a simple diet plan based on very general guidelines; for instance, the authors offer recommendations under the categories of "foods to eat daily," "foods to eat weekly," and "foods to avoid." Also in this section is a suggested ten-day menu schedule which includes approximately 40 recipes.

This book contains a wealth of important information about general health and well-being. However, readers who already have a fundamental understanding of the factors which contribute to a healthy lifestyle may find this manual to be too basic. Adding to the book's sometimes primitive presentation are the illustrations, which, while clear and helpful, also border on juvenille in that they include depictions of strange, elf-like figures. Overall, however, this book imparts a great deal of vital knowledge in a simple, straight-forward manner, and I would recommend it to anyone who is looking to learn basic facts about their body's needs.

161 out of 209 people found the following review helpful.
Review Date: 8/19/05


Your heart, lungs, and liver want you to buy this book

This is a truly great and informative book. I've been a practicing physician for almost 25 years, and I can't tell you how many patients suffer from the most basic ignorance of their own body!

I couldn't put it any easier than this. Roizen does a terrific job of squeezing years of medical training into a human body user's manual that's fun and easy to read. I now recommend it to all my patients!

Don't skip this book. Do your body a favor and learn a little about it.

28 out of 31 people found the following review helpful.
Review Date: 2/19/06


What makes you tick

"YOU: The Owner's Manual" was a fun and educating read. For those of us less versed in medical jargon and anatomy, there is still hope to learn what makes us tick and how we can keep ourselves healthy. Roizen and Oz present this useful information in a humorous was they brings to mind the old days with "Schoolhouse Rock." The only drawbacks were the menus and recipes. Even though I keep a pretty well stocked pantry, a majority of these meals will be impractical for most people to implement on any regular basis. That's okay though because the authors give enough information for you to put this to work without a step-by-step plan. Older kids can benefit from the simplified information the authors provide. It might just help them make better lifestyle choices.

22 out of 23 people found the following review helpful.
Review Date: 4/19/06


YOU: Should be Mandatory Reading

I purchased YOU: The Owner's Manual with a amazon.com gift certificate I received for my birthday in May 2005. It is now April 2006 and I am 28 pounds lighter due to some simple changes recommended in this book. I restructured my eating habits one thing at a time and I truly am surprised at how fast the weight came off. One of the biggest concepts I had to get around was not wasting food. (My parents grew up during the Great Depression and food was never wasted in our home; everything had to be "finished.") Now I eat small portions of vegetarian food and don't eat something if it isn't absolutely delicious. (I never waste precious calories on candy bars, but do indulge in Godiva chocolates from time time to time.) I simply refuse to eat something just to be polite.

Interestingly enough, I did not purchase the book with the concept it would guide me through weight loss, although I have been trying to lose weight for the past four years. I now see that everything I did in past efforts was too drastic: too all or nothing.

All systems of the body are covered and there are silly little illustrations of elves throughout. The authors tell you WHAT and describe WHY in witty, easy to understand terms. My favorite line refers to the necessity of flossing your teeth: you only need to floss the teeth you want to keep.





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