Stone Gene. The Secrets of People Who Never Get Sick. What They Know, Why It Works, and How It Can Work for You

Workman Publishing Company, 2010. — 256 p.Achieve the best health of your life by following in the footsteps of people who never get sick.
Some take a daily nap. Or a cold shower. Some do yoga, lift weights, swear by brewer’s yeast. And one dunks his head in hydrogen peroxide—he hasn’t had a cold in two decades.
In profiles of twenty-five people who never get sick and revealing their secrets and practices, Gene Stone covers the surprising science of personal health. The stories make it real, the research explains why, and the do-it-yourself information shows how to bring each secret into your own life. It’s your turn to become a person who never gets sick.
When I started this project, some people, especially doctors, told me that I would never find enough subjects to fill a book. People who never get sick? Ridiculous.
They were wrong. It turns out that the world is teeming with people who seldom, if ever, get ill. They just don’t get a lot of attention. Sad stories about people who have come down with terrible diseases or inspiring tales of brave people who have managed to overcome the same issues strike us as newsworthy, but not their happy counterparts. (It’s hard to imagine a TV report announcing: “Local Woman Never Gets Sick! Story at 11.”) And that is unfortunate, because living in a world in which discourse on disease treatment trumps conversation about disease prevention allows us to forget that the natural state of the human body is health. Extolling that state of healthfulness is why I wrote this book, and encouraging people to stay healthy through proactive behaviors has been my intent.
As you’ll see, all the people in this book think about their health—and they do something about it—every day. Since the book’s original publication, I’ve talked to many other people who don’t get sick. No matter their particular secret, that daily commitment to health is universal.
So, what are these other secrets? Closing the toilet lid before flushing is a popular one. So is oil of oregano. Laughter. Colloidal silver to help fight off infections (a remedy that dates back to Hippocrates). Suspensions of liquid gold (another mineral whose efficacy has been touted, questioned, studied, and dismissed in cycles over the centuries) for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis. Green tea. Warm baths (as opposed to the book’s hydro-related secret of cold showers). All interesting, and all worth exploring. But perhaps the oddest secret I heard came from a woman at a reading in Kansas City. She listened intently to my talk, taking notes and occasionally looking up with a quizzical expression. She waited politely until I was finished, and then stood up.
“I know the secret to good health,” she said.
“Great,” I said. “Can you tell us what it is?”
“Sure,” she said. “Divorce your husband.”
That’s not a secret that would work for most people, but it may well have worked for her. (The reduction of stress certainly counts as a proven key to health.) The point is this: She found her secret, and so should you. This is not something most of us are taught or encouraged by our current health system to do. But it is not only important—it could also save your life, and it certainly will save you much money in health care bills. So either adopt a secret from the ones included in this book or, if you feel like it, invent your own.Review
More than a how-to for staying well, The Secrets of People Who Never Get Sick is an entertaining—not to mention informative—lesson on health, history and human ingenuity. – BookpageAbout the Author
Gene Stone (genestone.com) is a former Peace Corps volunteer, journalist, and book, magazine, and newspaper editor, and is a New York Times bestselling author. He has written, co-written, or ghostwritten more than 45 books on a wide variety of subjects, but for the last decade he has concentrated on plant-based diets and their relationship to health, animal protection, and the environment. Among these books are Forks Over Knives, How Not to Die, Animalkind, The Engine 2 Diet, Living the Farm Sanctuary Life, Rescue Dogs, Mercy for Animals, and Eat for the Planet.