The Early Show

Best Medical Books To Have At Home

June 15, 2006 / 8:55 AM EDT / CBS

With so many diet and health books on the market, it's hard to know which ones to choose.

So, Prevention magazine has done the leg work for you, picking a handful of books that deserve a spot in your home library.

They're in Prevention's July issue.

Prevention Deputy Editor John Hastings told The Early Show co-anchor Harry Smith Thursday that books beat the Web in many instances.

"Especially in a medical situation," Hastings says, "you might be a little nervous. You're in a hurry, and you go on Google, say, and you enter a search term. You're not sure what you're getting. You're not sure if you're ending up at a site that's reliable, or maybe somebody who's got something to sell.

"We talked to our advisers at Prevention, all qualified people, tops in their fields, and these are the books they turn to when they have questions."

The five Hastings mentioned on The Early Show, from among Prevention's top choices, with reasons they were selected:

Encyclopedic:
AMERICAN MEDICAL ASSOCIATION FAMILY MEDICAL GUIDE

Head-to-toe user's manual filled with easy-to-follow info on hundreds of diseases and disorders, including symptoms and treatments.

First-aid guide and colorful photos and illustrations, good for detecting skin diseases and moles, for instance.

It's not all about being sick; first two sections focus on how to lead a healthy lifestyle.

Favorite feature: The self-diagnosis flowcharts are an excellent way to figure out when your aches, pains and other symptoms require a doctor's attention.

Hastings agrees with Smith's assessment that if you're only going to have one of these books in your personal library, this is the one, saying: "Without a doubt, it's great. It goes from very basic information about health care and about just being healthy to very detailed information on symptoms."

Women's health:
OUR BODIES, OURSELVES: A NEW EDITION FOR A NEW ERA

Arranged by topic, very user-friendly.

Considered a classic in terms of women's health.

Jam-packed with vital information for every woman.

"Knowledge Is Power" section enables and encourages women to take charge of their care and get the attention they require.

Favorite feature: Personal essays are a nice break from the nuts-and bolts health info, since the book is loaded with facts, and the essays humanize the book.

"It's one of the frankest discussions about women's health, I think, available still," Hastings tells Smith, "even in this day when we feel like we know so much. It's a changing field. Research is always coming out that's changing what women should do and know about hr their health. For example, heart disease has really emerged in the last decade as a primary concern for women."

For more selections, go to Page 2.Weight loss:
STRONG WOMEN STAY SLIM, by Miriam Nelson, Ph.D.

10-week, doctor designed program

Results-driven; grounded in studies showing that building muscles boosts metabolism and energy and burns fat

The exercises are easy, but effective

Nutrition guidelines are realistic

All the science behind the writing is thoroughly explained

Dozens of recipes and menus make it easy to digest — and apply to your own life

Favorite feature: Q&A section helps you shape the program to your varying, individual needs.

Says Hastings: "Miriam Nelson has done great research on how weight-lifting can help maintain weight loss. It's a life plan that really helps."

Diabetes:
DIABESITY, by Francine Kaufman, M.D.

A compelling look at how the obesity epidemic has vaulted diabetes into an epidemic of its own.

Sheds light on the issues in a compassionate delivery.

A combination of science and personal stories.

Delves into how excess weight can destroy your body.

Favorite feature: Instead of simply highlighting the problem, the book offers a wide range of options for change — at home, in schools and in the government.

"Even if you're not maybe struggling with a weight problem yourself," Hastings tells Smith, "we've got two-thirds of Americans overweight, and at least a third are overweight. Incidence of diabetes has doubled in the last decade. So, pretty much, this is an issue that touches us all, and this is a great, compassionate discussion of the issue."

Child rearing:
CARING FOR YOUR BABY AND YOUNG CHILD (BIRTH TO AGE 5)

Organized chronologically

American Academy of Pediatrics-approved

Covers the small (which veggies to use in homemade baby food), the mundane (how to change a diaper), the seemingly obvious but challenging (the easiest way to change a baby), the revelatory (interpreting the color of your child's feces)

If your child is older, other editions are available, including "Caring For Your School Age Child" and "Caring For Your Teenager"

Favorite feature: The latter half of the book, a childhood health encyclopedia, will help you handle kid-specific illnesses, first aid, and behavioral issues.

"It's very important, I think, for parents to have something to refer to," Hastings says, "just changing a diaper or how to dress a baby. These are basic things we think we know but we don't necessarily, and it takes you through to the choosing day care and even figuring out how to discipline your child properly."

Brian Dakss

Brian Dakss is a longtime New York-based editor and writer for CBS News, at the Radio network and with CBSNews.com. He has written and edited for NBC News, Dow Jones and numerous radio stations and been a radio anchor and reporter.

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