Key words Alzheimers disease, cancer, degenerative diseases, diabetes, functional foods, heart disease, osteoporosis, prevention, supplementation, wellness.

Book Review - Health Defence

Review by Dr Mark Draper

I have been looking for a book that combines the information obtained from scientific studies with practical guidelines that could be used by practitioners or patients without being overcomplicated or, conversely, too simplistic.

Dr Paul Clayton's book looks at the triad of Lifestyle, Diet and Supplements (including Functional foods) as determinants of a persons 'Health Defence'.

Starting, in part one, from the premise that life expectancy has not changed significantly despite recent advances in pharmaceutical medicine and that the main degenerative diseases are caused by malnutrition, he logically concludes that we require a preventative nutritional approach to combat further decline in wellness and years of chronic illness in middle and old age.

In part two, Dr Clayton develops his arguments for using nutrients that boost our defences and identifies nine main classes to reduce our risk of becoming victims of these chronic degenerative diseases.

The third part looks at diets and strategies which fight the main diseases of cancer, heart disease, osteoporosis, diabetes, Alzheimer’s disease, and aging of the skin.

In the fourth and final part of the book Dr Clayton presents his advice about healthcare through functional foods, fourteen support or defence strategies to counter the aging process and a practical guide on his opinion about appropriate levels of supplementation for different nutrients. These latter recommendations are based upon a ‘bridging the gap’ principle using information about the nutrient content of the average western diets and current research consensus on upper safe levels of the various nutrients.

If you believe, as I do, in the fundamental principle that repeated acute diseases and chronic degenerative diseases are correctable through lifestyle, diet and supplementation, especially with micronutrients, this book is an absolute must. How can we get General Practitioners and people working together on health creation and disease prevention ? Dr Clayton's stated aim is to see hospitals close and to put doctors out of work. However, I would like to see him re-train doctors in nutritional medicine from a shared knowledge of pharmaceutical medicine! Highly recommended for practitioners and the public.

Health Defence by Dr Paul Clayton

ISBN 0-905553-63-2