I wrote an article on medical decision-making for the July issue of the Performance Menu. Here’s a short excerpt:
Have you ever wondered why it is that two different doctors, presented with the exact same information, would come to two entirely different conclusions? Whether they’re evaluating a medical study or determining the safest option for treatment, medicine is rife with disagreement. And hearing differing expert opinions can make a decision even more difficult for a patient considering whether or not to undergo a procedure, take a medication or decide between competing options to treat a disease (or the risk of one). We know that the science is uncertain, but why can’t experts make up their minds?
I’ve assumed in the past that this had to do with people’s respective medical backgrounds, or perhaps one expert isn’t as up-to-date on the latest research or as experienced as the other. But while attending the Health Journalism 2013 conference in Boston last month, I heard endocrinologist Pamela Hartzband and oncologist Jerome Groopman present a different case while speaking to a packed auditorium of conference attendees. Even though they both attended Ivy League medical schools, completed their residencies at Massachusetts General and eventually got married, their opinions on medical treatments are as different as night and day.
Why is that? Groopman and Hartband actually discussed their different temperaments in a book they co-wrote, Your Medical Mind: How To Decide What’s Right For You. In the book, and the talk they gave, they define four different temperaments that affect the way decisions are made and information is interpreted— both in a patient and in a healthcare worker. While these temperaments can change situationally and over time, being aware of the fact that people view medical decisions through these frameworks was eye opening.
You can read the rest of this article for $2.75 at www.cathletics.com/pm/, or pick up the issue for $6.99 (or, better yet, an annual subscription for $29.95.)
When I started hearing the hype about 
I was pretty psyched when Matt Foreman said he’d send me a copy of his book, Bones of Iron. Matt’s an English teacher, weightlifter and coach, so he’s the perfect person to write about Olympic lifting–and he does it beautifully.
First I must start with a standard disclaimer. 
Greg Everett is the king of coaching Olympic weightlifting, and the author of 
If you’re Paleo or simply dabbling with a Paleo diet, and especially if you’re an athlete, there’s times when you just need more carbs. So how do you maintain a healthy diet without feeling sluggish and unable to perform at your peak? Starchy carbs are the answer, and design strategist Ashley Tudor’s book, 
The $100 Startup is the latest offering from the amazing Chris Guillebeau, who runs a fun blog at 
Chris’s first book, The Art of Non-conformity, is both useful and thought-provoking, providing both personal anecdotes and helpful suggestions for anyone who’s not satisfied living life in the way everyone says you need to. It is divided into three sections. Part 1, The Remarkable Life, delves into setting one’s own terms for living. This includes fear management and finding ways to “fight authority” without falling into the traps of ineffective sign-holding or getting beat up and arrested for smashing windows and burning down buildings. Part 2, Reclaiming Work, gives various strategies for making one’s way without being permanently stuck in a cubicle doing mind-numbing work that is useless and meaningless. Part 3, The Power of Convergence, discusses finding one’s legacy work and letting go of things which no longer serve you, be they excessive e-mails, clutter in your home or tasks you don’t want or need to be doing.
A reader recently asked me which Paleo books and cookbooks I’d recommend, and so I thought I’d post links to all of my reviews and interviews in one handy place. This isn’t a comprehensive list, and there’s a handful of books I hope to review in the future, but this will give you a pretty good place to start. I love all these unique cookbooks, but they all have different personalities–some mean and dirty recipes, some far more complex. Click through to the links to get all of the information about what’s included in the book, who it’s for, etc.
