Do You Know 'The Checklist' For Your Decade?

"Dr. Manny" arms you with informed health information you can use

A 37-year old businessman has to leave work early to pass a kidney stone. A 62-year old grandmother keeps turning the television up louder and louder to hear it while her grandkids cover their ears. A sad and despondent teenager thinks she is too fat and begins throwing up to help her lose weight. An expectant mother-to-be has high blood pressure and wonders how that will impact the health of her baby.

If there was a way to prevent these everyday moments in life from happening, would you want to know about it? If somehow you inherently knew what was about to happen to your health in the next 5, 10, even 50 years, then how would that change the way you live your life? What if there was some sort of manual to provide guidance and direction about how to stay ahead of the curve and actually prevent the most common ailments from afflicting you before they happen?

Well, that's exactly what the new book by Dr. Manny Alvarez entitled The Checklist: What You And Your Family Need To Know To Prevent Disease And Live A Long And Healthy Life has set out to do! Whether you are 3 months, 3 years, 33 or even 93, this book tells you exactly what you can expect in terms of your health based on the decade of life you are currently living in.

Most people know "Dr. Manny" from his fantastic work as a health correspondent on the FOX News Channel. Seeing a void in the health market for a book explaining what happens to the typical person at various stages of their life, Dr. Manny decided to write The Checklist so that people won't be caught off guard when calamity hits.

Of course, he is not so presumptuous to think that people can only be stricken with certain diseases and health complications during a given decade. We all know that we are susceptible to just about anything given the circumstances, so this book is merely a guide of what COULD happen in the future or maybe even sooner. That's why it's probably an excellent idea for you to go ahead and skip to the chapters ahead of your current age so you can prepare yourself and even ward off what for many is the inevitable.

I love the breakdown Dr. Manny provides for each of the major life stages:

Prenatal
The "Most Important" Decade (Ages 0-9)
The "Beautiful" Decade (Ages 10-19)
The "Real World" Decade (Ages 20-29)
The "Living Responsibly" Decade (Ages 30-39)
The "Cadillac" Decade (Ages 40-49)
The "Keeping Up With The Joneses" Decade (Ages 50-59)
The "Only Just Begun" Decade (Ages 60-69)
The "Beauty Of Age" Decade (Ages 70+)

As I was reading page by page of The Checklist, I couldn't help but be reminded of the perennial bestselling book for new mothers called What To Expect When You're Expecting. Dr. Manny's book is written in much the same manner, except it's a "What To Expect When You're Living Life" kind of book.

Dr. Manny really packs a loaded punch in chapter after chapter because he wants you and your family to know what's coming around the next corner of life. His philosophy is if you are prepared for the health issues that hit most people, then you can be ready for whatever comes your way and quite possibly head it off at the pass so that it never happens to you. What a noble effort and I appreciate that a book like this was not only imagined, but was actually brought to fruition.

For those whose attention span is about as far from here to there, Dr. Manny provides a convenient "checklist" for each decade (thus, the name of the book!) at the end of each chapter. It's very important to go straight down the list of health markers and have those tests and vital signs conducted at the frequency he recommends so you know where your health stands. If you follow Dr. Manny's advice now, then you'll save a lot of pain (in your body and wallet!) in the years to come.

As someone who has lost nearly 200 pounds and kept it off for three years, I was a bit put off by Dr. Manny's "Freedom Diet" plan that oversimplifies the obesity problem. Here's his plan in a nutshell: eat less and exercise more. Hmmm, it seems we've tried to spread that message for decades, Dr. Manny, but with little to no success. In fact, the number of overweight and obese people has actually INCREASED since the low-fat, low-calorie lie has been perpetrated on the American people.

I'm all for joining you in spreading the word about how to fight obesity, but the widening disconnect between the health message you are promoting and the public embracing it has never been greater. Rather than dismissing low-carb programs like the Atkins and South Beach diets as "low-calorie nutrition plans disguised by clever marketing gimmicks," how about encouraging people to find what works for them and follow through with that customized plan? Doesn't that sound more reasonable than dismissing these plans altogether as "gimmicks?"

The fact is I've eaten around 2500-3000 calories per day on my low-carb lifestyle--a daily total that would cause the eyes of many nutritionists and health "experts" to bug out. But I don't worry about calories as long as I am avoiding such garbage carbohydrates as sugar, white flour, processed foods, fast food, junk food, starchy veggies, and high-sugar fruits. Instead, I eat high-quality and nutritious carb sources--namely non-starchy green leafy vegetables and low-glycemic fruits.

Nevertheless, Dr. Manny weaves an easy-to-read writing style with solid facts and a sprinkling of humor to make The Checklist a worthwhile read. Don't forget to read the special "Living Long" chapter where he provides a comprehensive "master checklist" of every test and vaccination you can think of to let you know why you need it, when you should have it done, what results you can expect from it, and what that will mean to your future health. If for no other reason than to have this invaluable list, then get this book!

I have the highest amount of respect for what Dr. Manny Alvarez does to further the cause of healthy living to the masses. It is a mutual respect, too, as he named my "Livin' La Vida Low-Carb" blog among the top ten health web sites on the Internet in 2006. We need more people like Dr. Manny who are willing to share what they know about health in order to give others hope for a long, happy, and healthy life. Get The Checklist and begin taking this journey for yourself!

FOXNews.com Names Jimmy Moore's 'Livin' La Vida Low-Carb' Among Top 10 Health Blogs

FOXNews.com Health Editor Dr. Alvarez gives high praise for my blog

I am pleased to tell you about something pretty doggone neat that happened today regarding my blog that is so exciting to me. The Managing Editor of Health News at FOXNews.com has named my "Livin' La Vida Low-Carb" blog among his favorite Top 10 health web sites on the Internet today. Check out the story for yourself by reading "Best Blogs: 10 Health Web Sites Worth a Click."

Dr. Manny Alvarez, who also regularly appears as a regular medical contributor on the FOX News Channel, acknowledged the rise of health blogs in 2006 as a growing media trend that is seeking to "penetrate the fabric of modern society."

"Blogs have supplemented the current media and are no longer just the online journals and political punditry many still perceive them to be," Dr. Alvarez wrote. "They can be about anything or nothing at all, but the blogs that create the biggest media impact or generate the greatest readership typically focus on a particular subject or field of study."

In the realm of health blogging, Dr. Alvarez said just about everyone involved in the industry is creating a blog to connect with an audience of people looking for quality news and information on a variety of health-related subjects.

With that said, he wanted to help identify those "good health weblogs" by highlighting the ones that are "the most useful and informative." I recognized a few of them from my previous encounters--namely Diet Blog and Diabetes Mine. But imagine my look of utter amazement when I noticed Dr. Alvarez also chose to list my "Livin' La Vida Low-Carb" in his ten best list! WHOA!

Here's what he wrote about my blog:

"There are many who still follow Dr. Atkins' treatise on the low carb lifestyle, as evidenced by the cleverly titled Livin' La Vida Low Carb. Weight loss stories, recipes, and low carb products are featured on this blog by Jimmy Moore, who speaks from personal experience having lost 180 pounds in 2004.

WOWsers! That's totally awesome, man! I had no idea about this until it was published late Monday afternoon. What a thrill to be named among that group of fine health blogs and I can only say THANK YOU to all of you for helping me spread the word about what I do here each and every day and for constantly supporting the work that I do.

I can honestly say that I really do LOVE blogging about recipes, products, weight loss stories and so much more within the context of low-carb living as I seek to encourage, educate and inspire a nation that desperately needs to bring this obesity epidemic under control. Sure, my passion for doing this was birthed out of my nearly 200-pound weight loss, but now it's about giving others the hope that THEY can do it, too.

Dr. Alvarez confirms what so many of us in the blogsophere already know--blogs are an excellent place for information and getting together as a community. Especially those of us following the low-carb lifestyle, having a place of support and refuge to come to in a world that scorns our way of eating is like a cool drink in the middle of a hot desert. We can share in each other's experiences to help grow our knowledge and understanding of life without being shouted down for our beliefs.

I like how Dr. Alvarez put it:

"[Health blogs] can help point you in the right direction and provide a valuable resource in your journey to good health."

That's my goal every single time I post another blog column, which is currently knocking on the door of 1,400 articles and nearly three-quarters of a million pageviews just since April 2005. Whew, I've been a busy man, but I wouldn't trade a minute of the thousands of hours of time I have invested in it for anything else (not even a tummy tuck! LOL!).

YOU make what I do all worth it, so don't you ever go away. In fact, tell someone you know who could stand to read something positive about low-carb about the "Livin' La Vida Low-Carb" blog this week. THANK YOU again for your support! God bless you all and keep on livin' la vida low-carb!

Please send Dr. Manny Alvarez an e-mail of THANKS for featuring my blog in his Top 10 list by writing to him at webmaster@askdrmanny.com. It would mean a lot to me for my readers to praise him for being willing and brave enough to promote a low-carb blog in a day and age when this nutritional approach is still so publicly ridiculed and maligned. Dr. Alvarez needs to know how much we appreciate his integrity in the face of certain criticism for making this choice.

12-5-06 UPDATE: Friend and passionate defender of livin' la vida low-carb Jackie Eberstein was kind enough to write the following e-mail of thanks to Dr. Manny Alvarez today for naming my site among the best health blogs on the Internet. I appreciate her very kind words about me and my blog and want to publicly offer my gratitude to her for sharing your comments with Dr. Alvarez.

Thanks for bringing attention to Jimmy Moore's blog. Many are doing low carb regardless of the media representation to the contrary. With the immense drain on our economy that obesity and diabetes will continue to impart more choices need to be available to people who wish to take control of their health. The truth about Atkins and low carb needs a voice.

Too many consumers are unaware of the influences special interests such as food and drug companies have on our policy makers. There is research supporting the safety and benefits of a low carb lifestyle and more will be forthcoming. Yet this is not being brought to the attention of the public. I know that JImmy will continue to do so.

Those of us who have experience in clinical practice with the many benefits of low carb will support him.

Thanks,

Jacqueline Eberstein, R.N., co-author "Atkins Diabetes Revolution"

Again, THANK YOU, Jackie! What an honor to have your respect for what I do.

12-6-06 UPDATE: High school friend and cooking blogger Laura Creekmore from the "Fixin' Supper" blog made mention of "the coolest news ever" regarding my "well-deserved" listing among the top health blogs at FOXNews.com today. THANKS so much, Laura!