Cary Neeper's Blog: Reviewing World-changing Nonfiction - Posts Tagged "health"

Zoobiquity: What Animals Can Teach Us About Health and the Science of Healing by Barbara Matterson-Horowitz, MD and Kathryn Bowers, New York,
Alfred A. Knopf, 2012
The conclusion of the authors (and their contributing partners from both the veterinarian and medical professions) is that we are not alone, we humans, in how we suffer and how we should be treated. Each chapter provides many stories of the way different health problems are shared between humans and different animals.

Chapter 1: Yes, “Jaguars get breast cancer…rhinos in zoos get leukemia.” Dinosaur bones show signs of brain tumors, “…gout, arthritis, stress fractures…even cancer.”
Chapter 2: We all can faint or go vagal under “…extreme emotion or fear.”
Chapter 3: We share various cancers with all kinds of animals and birds.
Chapter 4: The authors suggest that the many varieties of animal sexuality can teach us quite a bit about ourselves--like how females could “…audition males before allowing them to mate.”

Chapter 5 is a fascinating tale of why we all--humans and animals alike--are subject to addiction. Our bodies and brains “…have evolved doorways for…potent drugs.” Why?
Because evolution has provided all of us with nerves and brain chemicals that interplay to create emotions. In short, survival tactics are rewarded with hits of natural feel-good narcotics.

However, on the negative side, “…life sustaining activities, like “finding safety…happiness, foraging, eating and socializing, causes…release of…mostly dopamine…” that can be addictive. Note that “accumulating wealth” is also on that list!

We also share happiness, fear, anger, and pain--though our “…self-protective strategy may differ… Most animals don’t vocalize when they’re hurt… It’s dangerous and could attract predators…Pain management is now a priority in both human and veterinarian medicine.”

Chapter 6: We larger animals all share heart attacks, including those caused by dread and sudden panic.
Chapter 7: We all--even fish--can get too fat to be healthy.
Chapter 8: Self-injury can give us relief from stress. Even fish enjoy grooming.

The ninth chapter is entitled Fear of Feeding. Eating Disorder in the Animal Kingdon. Birds, mammals and spiders indulge in food caching, as do we.
Chapter 10 is all about our common problem with STDs. Some are shared between species via circuitous routes. The extinction of wild koalas in Australia has been threatened by an epidemic of chlamydia.

Chapter 11: Adolescence is defined in species from “…condors to Capuchin monkeys to college freshmen [as] taking risks and sometimes making mistakes.”

The authors conclude by reviewing how we share infectious agents with various animals.
This book of engaging stories includes many pointed suggestions that define how and why human physicians and veterinarians must work together to enhance patient care and solve our common medical puzzles.

Wesley the Owl: The Remarkable Love Story of an Owl and His Girl by Stacey O’Brian, New York, Free Press, 2008.

Indeed, this is a remarkable story, told with elegant precision so that we learn how owls communicate, what they care about, what they won’t tolerate, how they love, eat, gripe, clean themselves, and how they express the obvious emotions we all share.

Enough said. It’s a real eye-opener. We are truly not alone in sensitivity and talent. Life on Earth is more ingenious than we have realized.

Wild Things, Wild Places by Jane Alexander, New York, Alfred A. Knopt, 2016.

The three parts of this book are divided into chapters named after countries, states, “Desert.” “Ocean,” and “Birds,” but the stories are focused more on the author’s experiences than on details about wild things.

In pages 292 and 293, however, the author does a nice job of reminding us that “We are all ”…connected in milliseconds and transport…while faced with the obvious need to…consciously manage the planet [and]…save the declining species of the world…it is a moral imperative as the most evolved creature on the planet to care for the home we share with all others. Everything we need or make comes from natural resources…’”

“How the Body Knows Its Mind” by Sian Bailock, New York, Atria Paperback, Simon and Schuster, 2015.
Our physical environment--including our bodies and the way they do things-- “…influence how [we] think and feel.” Chapter 5 of this book is entitled “…How our Hands Help Us Think…” Watch any speaker, says the author. We usually use our hands to help us communicate. This book also goes on to explain learning by doing, the “Physical Nature of Emotion,” the benefits of movement and sports and laughter to our mental health and well-being.

There is a two-way street between body and mind. Holding a pencil in your teeth, even a fake smile can make you feel happier. Body expressions “send feedback to our brain,” providing relief, stress reduction, and emotion. Tylenol can reduce social as well as physical pain. Infants who crawl have better memory. Action creates thought.

The sea squirt tadpole has a brain until it finds a place to attach itself. Then “…their brain is absorbed by their body.” This makes clear why block play is so important for very young humans. Maria Montessori pointed out years ago that mental development is dependent on movement. Physical experience helps in learning math. Dancers learn choreography by physically acting out the movements. Or entire body can be useful in memory.

One chapter is devoted to Body Language. Body posture is important. No wonder exercise can make a big difference in our attitudes. It can also slow the influence of Alzheimers disease.

Unstable walking can indicate “cognitive impairment.” Sedentary rats have more heart problems than active ones.“How you stand can change your state of mind.” So can medication. Physical closeness can help you feel more connected. Bailock’s book makes all this, and much more, clear.