The Secrets of People Who Never Get Sick by Gene Stone

c.2010, Workman Publishing

$23.95 / $29.95 Canada

212 pages, includes index

You hate shots. Who doesn’t?

But still, you get one every fall. You’re the model of conscientiousness, in fact: you eat right, you always take the stairs, you look both ways at the crosswalk, see your doctor, and take your vitamins. Still, there you are, sneezing and coughing while your co-worker blithely walks around, bragging about how great he feels.

The rat fink.

So why is he well while you’re ailing? Maybe, as you’ll see in The Secrets of People Who Never Get Sick by Gene Stone, he knows something you don’t know.

Long before Modern Medicine, humans had to make do with what they had, cure-wise, to fix what they had, bug-wise. Folks with seizures, for instance, were advised to avoid full moons. Bloodletting was a common “cure” that commonly killed the patient. Cleanliness wasn’t exactly practiced with regularity and old wives’ tales were taken as gospel.

The thing is, though, we’ve learned that Old Wives were right in many cases: Leeches really do help heal wounds, an apple a day really does keep the doctor away, and eating fish really can boost brain functioning.

But can we completely avoid being sick?

Stone posed that question to twenty-five people who rarely visit the doctor, rarely get colds, and rarely miss work. What they said was intriguing.

First of all, eat right, but only eat half your meal. Go with a plant-based diet as much as possible, and add herbal remedies and probiotics to your dinner table. Sprinkle liberally with garlic and brewer’s yeast and top it off with vitamin C. Have lots of chicken soup if you feel the littlest sniffle intruding.

Secondly – and this is always good advice – take naps.  Keep a positive attitude, stay calm and stress-free, and connect with a spiritual side of yourself. Stretch, move, detoxify, do yoga.

Lastly, choose your home wisely. Thank Mom and Dad for the genes they gave you and have lots of friends (or avoid people completely). And if all else fails, take cold showers, wash with hydrogen peroxide, and don’t give germs any thought at all.

Quirky, fun, and filled with advice that will either make sense or make you cringe, The Secrets of People Who Never Get Sick is user-friendly and easy-to-read. As you’re browsing through it, you might get a kick out of learning that Grandma was right a lot of the time. But be aware that not everything in this book can (or should) be used by everyone.

Author Gene Stone, who tried many of these tips himself, freely admits that not all “secrets are worthwhile… some are downright wrong, while others are simply strange.” Some, I might add, are dangerous (like a recipe that includes raw eggs). Still, they worked for somebody, sometime, and the interviewees swear by their methods.

If you’re sick of the sniffles, weary of wheezes, and can utilize a good dose of common sense, this may be what the doctor ordered. The Secrets of People Who Never Get Sick might be the shot your immune system needs.

Terri Schlichenmeyer. Terri is a professional book reviewer who has been reading since she was 3 years old and she never goes anywhere without a book.