Lifelong Health: Achieving Optimum Well-Being at Any Age

A long and healthy life is a universal desire. So how can you achieve this goal? There's a whirlwind of advice on how to optimize your health and well-being. The only problem is that much of it is contradictory and scientifically unsound.

In reality, the key to achieving a long and healthy life lies in having a solid foundation of healthy living habits. A thorough knowledge of personal wellness—as well as the tools, tips, and insights that come from such knowledge—is essential to helping you live the longest and healthiest life possible. And the secrets of personal wellness don't have to be a burden; rather, they can be enjoyable and easy to incorporate into the unique demands of your own schedule—whether you're in adolescence, young adulthood, middle age, or advancing age.

Lifelong Health: Achieving Optimum Well-Being at Any Age is your essential reference guide to healthy living, packed with information and sound advice rooted in the latest scientific understanding of nutrition, physiology, and other related fields. In 36 lectures that have the feel of a personal chat with a knowledgeable and compassionate family physician, Professor of Medicine Dr. Anthony A. Goodman—whose professional experiences have equipped him with a powerful understanding of the human body and the secrets of optimum health—gives you a wealth of knowledge on which you can rely even as the science around it continues to evolve.

More important, he guides you on a fascinating journey through all levels of optimum health and well-being, presenting medical information and expert advice in a way that allows you to make your own personalized choices. And with the knowledge you get from this comprehensive course and the ways you can apply them to your lifestyle, you'll nourish your body, strengthen your mind, and forever change the way you think about and live your life.

Explore the Fundamentals of Lifelong Health

As a subject, lifelong health is undeniably dynamic, changing as more and more scientific information comes to light. But according to Dr. Goodman, while the details may evolve over time, the fundamentals will always remain the same:

* Eating right, which involves knowing the effect of food on your body, creating a way of eating designed to give you the greatest possible amount of nutrition, and avoiding foods that may negatively affect your health
* Moving your body frequently, which enhances your personal fitness and prevents or reduces the effects of chronic illnesses
* Strengthening mental health, which helps you become more prepared to deal with the stresses of life, helps keep your mind sharp into advancing age, and leads you on the path to achieving emotional balance
* Making smart lifestyle choices, which include avoiding harmful habits such as smoking and excessive drinking, and practicing healthy ones, such as getting the right amount of sleep and maximizing relationships with others, including your professional healthcare team.

Only by learning how these fundamentals work can you then build upon them, crafting a personal plan for achieving lifelong health.

This idea is central to Dr. Goodman's approach in Lifelong Health, and like any caring and concerned physician, he explains these cornerstones clearly and thoughtfully. He structures the lectures of the course around six major themes:

* Aging: It's a part of life most of us don't look forward to, but knowing what to expect as you get older is critical to maintain lifelong health. Learn how to age with wisdom and grace by taking an in-depth look at the physiology and psychology of this process, as well as at some popular concepts and misconceptions.
* Nutrition and whole foods: The messages we hear about what to eat and what not to eat can often be confusing or misleading. These lectures focus on the merits of eating whole foods, avoiding fad diets, crafting a nutritious way of eating, and developing practical eating habits that will last you a lifetime.
* Movement: There are so many ways you can incorporate physical activity into your life—and they can be enjoyable. How can you get more enjoyment out of moving and exercising? What sports or activities are right for you?
* Mental health: A body is only as fit as the mind that directs it, which makes mental health essential to your overall well-being. Explore ways to handle stress, methods for meditation and mindfulness, and techniques for keeping your mind razor sharp.
* Specific health issues: Concerns about health differ depending on your age and gender, which is why Dr. Goodman spends part of the course addressing some common health issues for women, men, and children. Topics you explore include menopause, prostate cancer, acne, and the importance of cultivating good nutritional and exercise habits early in children's lives.
* General health choices: The decisions you make every day have a direct impact on how successful your life is. Dr. Goodman gives you expert advice on smart lifestyle choices to make regarding sleep, interpersonal relationships, and more.

Taken together, these themes offer a well-rounded and engaging survey of the concepts, issues, and lessons in lifelong health. And while these lectures do touch on our latest scientific understanding about health issues, they're never bogged down in arcane terminology or complex scientific theories. These 36 lectures are designed to appeal to, and be understood by, everyone.

Get a Wealth of Doctor Recommendations—in a Single Package!

In Lifelong Health, Dr. Goodman speaks with a conviction and authority backed by his decades of experience in medicine, both as a practitioner and as a professor. Every one of his lectures is backed by scientific information and proven results. More important, they're flavored with common sense tips, in-studio demonstrations, helpful advice, and inspirational stories that make lifelong health an appealing and achievable goal.

Consider some of the advice Dr. Goodman gives you throughout the course:

* Take the "Goldilocks" approach: When it comes to lifelong health, we're all different in terms of what resources we need and what advice works for us; some tips may work for you while others may not. So don't compare your progress against the abilities and successes of others—what's important is that you craft the healthy lifestyle that works just right for you.
* Do everything in moderation: Our bodies are designed to meet the natural, central state of balance known as homeostasis. While it may seem tempting to overdo it when it comes to health practices, it's important to practice moderation. If you go to severe extremes in the ways you eat and exercise, your body will perpetually be fighting to return to homeostasis and will produce no measurable or lasting results.
* Realize there is no magic cure: Constantly be aware of any and all health claims made by products and diets that seem to offer you an easy, magical cure. Be skeptical and demand real, scientific proof.
* Start with small changes: When making changes to your daily lifestyle, it's critical to start with small changes, not drastic ones. If you start small, you're more likely to maintain healthier habits over time. What's more, small changes have a cumulative effect, meaning as time goes on they'll lead to bigger and better results.

As you see, the keys to lifelong health you get in this course always emphasize how enjoyable the pursuit and rewards of optimum living can be. Dr. Goodman proves that healthy ways of eating and moving and lifestyle modifications can actually be enjoyable and long lasting.

Lifelong Health—Well within Your Reach

As Dr. Goodman continually emphasizes throughout his course, lifelong health is well within your reach. In addition to being an invaluable source of information, Dr. Goodman is a fountain of inspiration. One of our most popular professors, he is never harsh, judgmental, or impersonal. Throughout his career, he's treated patients as human beings with unique needs, not as statistics, and it's this same approach that he brings to instructing you on the merits of and paths to optimum health.

Crafted with the concerns of individual lives and experiences like yours in mind, Lifelong Health: Achieving Optimum Well-Being at Any Age is a wonderful resource that you can turn to time and time again. In short, this course is the perfect way for you to take those first, all-important steps on the road to becoming a better and healthier you.

About Your Professor

Dr. Anthony A. Goodman is Adjunct Professor of Medicine at Montana State University and Affiliate Professor in the Department of Biological Structure at the University of Washington School of Medicine.

He received his B.A. from Harvard College and his M.D. from Cornell Medical College and trained as a surgical intern and resident at the University of Michigan Medical Center in Ann Arbor. He completed his surgical training and served as chief resident at the Harvard Surgical Service of Boston City Hospital, the New England Deaconess Hospital, the Lahey Clinic, and Cambridge City Hospital.

For 20 years, Dr. Goodman worked as a general surgeon in south Florida and served as Clinical Associate Professor of Surgery at the University of Miami School of Medicine. In addition, he served as a surgeon with the U.S. Army Medical Corps and on the hospital ship for Project HOPE. He was also Visiting Professor of Surgery at the Christchurch, New Zealand, Clinical School of Medicine.

Founder of the Broward Surgical Society, Dr. Goodman is a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons and a Diplomate for the National Board of Medical Examiners and the American Board of Surgery.


Course Lecture Titles

1. A Personal Path to Lifelong Health
2. The Cellular Biology of Aging
3. The Physiology of Aging
4. Myths of Aging—Magical Times and Places
5. Myths of Aging—Magical Substances
6. Optimizing Health—Tests and Procedures
7. Optimizing Health—Prevention
8. How We Look—Surgery and Skin-Care
9. The End of the Journey—Death and Dying
10. Health Advances on the Horizon
11. Nutrition—Choices for a Healthy Life
12. The Physiology of Nutrition
13. The Role of Vitamins
14. The Role of Supplements
15. Whole Foods for Optimum Health
16. The Good Fats
17. Sugar, Salt, Allergies, and Additives
18. The Physiology of Weight Management
19. Healthful Eating versus Fad Diets
20. Movement and Recreation—a.k.a. Exercise
21. The Physiology of Muscle
22. Resistance Training and Weight Training
23. Aerobic and Anaerobic Exercise
24. Exercise in Dealing with Injury and Disease
25. Joy in Movement—Sports and Exercise Options
26. Martial Arts and Yoga
27. Mental Health and Stress Reduction
28. Brain Physiology, Alzheimer's, and Dementia
29. Maintaining Your Mental Edge
30. Focus on Women's Health
31. Focus on Menopause
32. Focus on Men's Health
33. Focus on Children's and Adolescents' Health
34. Healthy Choices in Your Daily Life
35. Becoming an Educated Patient
36. Here's to Your Healthy Life!