Reviews

Where to start? This is a book that everyone should have in their collection. But more importantly, should be using to improve their life.
Dr. Hardy has written the best and most understandable book on how to take control of your health and epigenetics that I have read. It is a book that can be used by Average Joe to improve his life as well as well as by medical professionals to help their patients.
Need to decrease stress? It is effectively taught in the book.
Need to improve, get more, sleep? It is in the book and it works.
Need more energy? Read the section on mitochondria.
I think that this is the only book you need to improve your health, because it starts from the inside out.
This is an awesome 600 page "bible" to maximizing your potential. I believe that this book is so important to improving people's health and life that I am donating a copy to Parker University Library, where I am a Doctor of Chiropractic Student.
I will be teaching the principles to my patients and to my current clients.
Buy it today, add a copy for your loved ones.

I am a clinical health professional with a masters in nutrition, as well as being a certified personal athletic trainer. I have had many years of professional experience in both disciplines. I have also been using resources from Dragondoor since the days when Pavel Tsatsouline had written only his first 3 books on strength, flexibility and ab training. I have witnessed the growth and development of the RKC programs, FMS, PCC, etc. I consider Strong Medicine to be one of the finest publications in the history of Dragondoor's existence. The combination of the two authors' knowledge and expertise is not only first rate but they have also given detailed plans to apply their theoretical rationale to your personal diet and exercise regimens. Anyone could benefit from the advice and instruction contained in Strong Medicince. If I had to limit my library of nutrition and exercise resources to a single book, this would likely be the one.

This book is a truly delightful read that provides the ammunition one needs to seize control over one's health.

Comprehensive in scope, this book identifies the chronic diseases that are killing us prematurely and makes the bold claim that these diseases are primarily environmental in nature rather than genetic and therefore are primarily within our personal control!

The physiology of the body is explained in laymen terms using a military theme that is entirely appropriate given the seriousness of the issues.

For each identified health roadblock, strategies and tactics are provided to combat the root of the problem and restore optimum health.

The truly motivated reader will realize the vast treasure store of information that lies within this book and not only assimilate the material but also implement it.

Once again, Dragon Door publishes thought provoking cutting edge material.

Well worth reading, get reading and get going!

I like to read. It's what I do to relax as well as educate myself. As a matter of fact I've been reading several books a week for the majority of my adult life; if you do the math you'll figure out that it's a lot of books. I can even tell you the five books I've read that have had the greatest influence on me. Here they are:

1. The Bible
2. The Tao of Jeet Kune Do, Bruce Lee
3. The Filipino Martial Arts, Dan Inosanto
4. On Combat, Lt. Col. Dave Grossman
5. The Gift of Fear, Gavin De Becker

It's a pretty eclectic list but I have to add a new book to the top five: Strong Medicine by Dr. Chris Hardy and Marty Gallagher. Any book that gets added to the above list has to have a lot to offer and Strong Medicine fits the bill. Coming in at a massive 575 pages it will fill in the blanks in your understanding of how your body works right down to a molecular level. Through illustrations and easy to manage terminology you will be able to grasp the complex mechanisms that cause obesity, contribute to diabetes, accelerate heart disease, and exacerbates chronic inflammation. Not content with just giving you the knowledge on how these life threatening, and potentially life ending conditions are developed, it also gives you a step by step plan to reverse their progress and set you on the path to health.

The information contained in this book is life changing and paradigm shifting. If you take the time to read and digest the information that the authors have painstakingly assembled you will be blessed with the greatest gift of all: health. I challenge you to read this book and not have your understanding of food and its impact on your health and lifestyle changed.

Do not read this book if you wish to be entertained. Do not read this book if you don't want to be responsible for your own health. But, if you are serious about taking control of your health, this is your bible to read. To the point, plenty of graphics, very well organized. Reading this book will give you the WHAT and WHY. Now I know how to make my own decisions about my health. Dragon Door keeps upping the their high standards of giving the reader the best.

One thing that really grinds my gears is that most fitness professionals seem to miss the fact that health should always come before performance. In my book Ultimate Athleticism, I make this point very clear (that one should never sacrifice health for more performance) and I offer some ideas on how to make sure you are as healthy as possible while still performing at superhuman levels. What you have to realize is that one must be in good health for the body to allow itself to safely operate at a higher level. Better health=improved performance.

As an author I get a lot of books that slide across my desk, well they come in the mail and then I read them outside, I guess that saying is a bit outdated, but you get the idea. 9 times out of 10 I read the book (or watch the video), find a couple things I like about it, some things I didn't and ultimately decide that I don't want to attach my name to it--for an endorsement or otherwise. If you go and tell everyone that every book you read was a combination of mermaids riding unicorns on a rainbow, your word might not mean as much.

Strong Medicine came in the mail and I was surprised to find something I really like. A logical, and more importantly easy-to-follow guide for improving health and performance as one collective unit rather than separating the two.

It's well organized, easy to follow, and overflowing with tons of fantastic information about overall health and wellness.

On my very lonely top shelf, I'll save a spot for this one.

I've bought the kindle version, but since then also ordered the paperback version. I think every household should have this book, and it should be read by everybody for common knowledge.

I also wish my GP would be like Dr. Chris Hardy!
I've already done many things recommended in this book, and can't wait to add all the new Strong Medicine strategies as well!

I really like the training part of the book as well. Thanks for this wonderful book!

This book is perfect for my new goals moving into the new year: specifically, how to get more out of myself by being easier on myself. Strong Medicine is less how to become mechanically strong and more how to maximize everything you do (with an emphasis on physical health/well-being and performance) through the reduction of anti-productive stress from diet, exercise, schedule, etc.

Out of any book I have come across on the subject, this one has been giving me the most physiologically, biochemically detailed descriptions of how the inclusion of unintentional stress wages a silent war on the body (detailed yet concise considering most of this information is spread across the dark corners of textbooks of many disciplines). It makes me consider how subversive personal/cultural habits have been to my goals in fitness, body composition, mental health, athletic performance.

My interest in the subject has been ignited by a series of highly preventable back injuries. This book has been providing me with information that has been invaluable to my own healing and strengthening in this area, in particular. The nuts and bolts of chronic injuries' persistence in the body has never been well-laid-out for me, but this book is making me consider the full spectrum of decisions I make in the face of my goals, and showing me how holistic one must think and prepare when pursuing goals and dreams.

If you're thinking about it, buy this book. It's like buying a kettlebell or a jump rope, it's a solid investment in yourself, your goals, and it's a rugged vehicle for exploring and tapping hidden potential. Highly Recommend.

you want to keep, if you sell everything else :)

huge charge of valuable knowledge in one book.

if you read this one, you build a solid foundation for further research and details in the fields of health, nutrition, training, etc.

Thank you Chris & Marty!

Strong Medicine provides a master plan for reaching vibrant health. It clearly explains the underlying five causes of our major health issues (circadian disruption, chronic stress, insulin resistance/obesity, gut inflammation, and inactive) and provides solid, easy to understand ways to address all these issues. The book is long but easy to read and filled with graphics that add to the text. After reading it, you'll not only understand the root causes of chronic illness, you'll understand how they fit together - and how you can deal with them. This is leading edge information - don't miss out!

There are a lot of books on health being sold these days. This is one of the best I've ever read.
I have been studying nutrition for years. The info in this book is definitely leading edge.

This book offers one the opportunity to look within and realize our potential for strength. We are born with the innate ability to heal and this book will teach you how!

3 reasons why Strong Medicine will work for you.

1) Detailed diet and exercise information that is realistic and easy to follow.
2) Every age group and level of fitness can benefit from this book.
3) Sound resources to back the information listed.

If seeing a kettlebell on the cover is not enough to realize this will be a great book take into consideration honesty! Dr. Hardy and Marty will remind you of what we're all up against in this world of disease and how to prevail stronger than ever! Enjoy, this book can change your life!

I'm honestly only about 60 pages into this book, but I'm already so impressed with it. The authors did a great job of making the information easy to understand for everyone. You can't often say that a book about nutrition, exercise and the human body is hard to put down, but you can about Strong Medicine! If your health and fitness is important to you, get this book!

Thank you so much for this book. It clarifies the scientific jargon with easy and complete descriptions. No matter who you are you will learn many things from this book. Even if you are in the health profession, you will find clearer ways to describe detailed topics to others after reading this book. Are you frustrated with others using scientific jargon to see you stuff, i.e. epigenetics. Get clear with the information in this book!

A very interesting and comprehensive tome on health and fitness and the correlation between stress and the effects it has on your health and well being. Includes great workout programs.

Clearly a great deal of thought and research went into this book. I consider it a valuable resource. Be warned, it is challenging and takes multiple reads, rather than one easily digested pass. You need to study this one. It is worth the effort as the material is good.

I bought the ebook which is actually a non-scaleable pdf of pages too large for kindles making it a challenge to read in another way. Like all Dragon door ebooks, you need a large screen monitor to prevent eyestrain and cursing. I wish Dragon Door would make their ebook actual ebooks. Sorry about this complaint, but it is the 21st century.

In the end, I'd say buy this book and put what you learn to good use.

First of all , yes, I would recommend this book! Everybody should read it. Most points are right on the money and address the most serious threats to the overall health of the population, bad diet and lack of exercise.
One of the best features of this book is the fairly extensive list of references that follows each chapter which shows where the information is coming from, something that is sorely missing from other publications ( e.g. The Warrior diet by Hofmekler).
The exercise recommendations are good and useful and well explained, but clearly show the bias and preferences of a power lifter. I suppose they would have been quite different if Al Kavadlo or Andrea Du Cane had written them.
I think the vilification of gluten goes a little bit over the top and the strong point for heart rate variability as a prognostic marker is certainly of academic interest but not practical or even feasible for most people to measure.
The weakest point of this book is the layout and the graphics. Pages and pages of low information , repetitive , comic like illustrations are to the point of ridiculous and quite annoying. It appears that every effort was made to make this book as bulky as possible. The content could well be condensed to half the number of pages and still not appear crammed.

Chris Mann MD, RKC

Strong Medicine is not only a book for fitness enthusiasts, but for life enthusiasts as well. I had known about quite a few of the life recommendations espoused of in the book, but I'd never had them put into a "comprehendible scientific" explanation. This book is a Guide to Life, I'm not just speaking about a healthy lifestyle, but a more complete life. The notion of the Stress Cup and all of the contributing factors and how you are able to take control and make the necessary changes to lead a more effective, productive and healthier life are invaluable. The real science behind the assertions and the methods employed - were very inspiring. You do possess the ability to achieve levels of optimum health and productivity.
This book will be on my shelf as a regular reference and I look forward to re-reading it to increase my absorption of the material. Thank you Chris and Marty for writing and DD for publishing this remarkable book!

This book is the best thing that happened to me in regards to understanding the process in the body to the max.
How the flesh machine is working and why, what does what and how it influences other systems in the body, and most of all how everything is connected together.
It's written in a simple language that is easy to follow and understand, even for someone like me who is not a native English speaker or reader. One may also find some comedy as some of the explanations/analogies are just too funny.

Of course I tried some of the things they talk about regarding eating and training (just had to see for myself how my body reacts to it).
I learned a lot and of course the knowledge I gained is being passed on to all the people who need it together with a recommendation to read the book!

An interesting thing that just made everything more real to me is the fact that my doctor just announced to me that I'm in the risk of one of the conditions talked about in the book. So now I will try to see if it really works, and if I can "Set things straight" using the things I learned from the book.

Its a good book to read, Get a copy!

This book is awesome. It takes complex topics and explains them in a clear concise way. It covers many different areas like nutrition, sleep, exercise, etc and gives a good sense of how they all interrelate.

The authors also call out areas where our understanding is still evolving and the best recommendation at this time given what we do know.

One of the most important things for me is they include many references, so you don't have to just take the authors at their word.

There were a few minor editing glitches but no worse than other books I've read.

The only thing I really wish it had was a small section summarizing all different recommendations in one easy-to-see place. I ended up going through the whole book to collect them into a file for myself.

Loaded with cutting edge info but presented in a way that is understandable. It's Grrreat !

A good foundational book on the principles of exercise, nutrition and recovery that should get anyone headed in the right direction as far as taking proper care of themselves.

A very informative book on how the internal workings of your body. Something that explains why you should eat something and not just eat it without explanation. I learned how everything is connected.

This is some of the most knowledgeable information on how the body processes nutrients and the affects of inflammation and oxidative stress that I have read. This is as far as I have read so far. I am excited about the other knowledge that I might learn.

For me, and active guys over 40, this is probably the best book ever from Dragondoor. Also, there are not many books like this on the market. I dont say that every scientific claim inside the book is absolutely correct and valid for everyone, but it is very good read and a must for aging people. This book is not for youngster who want to be strongest in the City, but for everyone who want to live in good condition and helth. Critics: The authors are not active on the blog :(

This book has real insight on genetical change and push back on common diseases that are killing Americans. It is very logical, simple, and easy to follow. I also have tested the knowledge, and the results supported it.

Strong Medicine is a very good book, which deserves a place in everyone's library; excellently presented with complex subject matter, particularly the physiology chapters, simply yet clearly described and illustrated.

The authors have provided a science based, classic reference book and template for lifelong health and fitness. There are too many great golden nuggets to mention, such as 'burst' interval training to name but one, which with the physiology chapters makes it well worth the price.

The 'but' is the resistance training part of the exercise section; the authors push auto-regulation for interval training but provide no such solution for strength training - the classic book 'Super Training' has a great solution for auto-regulating strength training using 3, 6 and 10 repetition strategies (similar to Delorme and Watkins work), which would have fitted in seamlessly with their unique 'seasonal' approach to periodisation (another priceless 'nugget').

For the most part I agree with their strength exercise selection, with the main exception of the Dumbbell Bench Press - from experience the potential for injury and the 'purposefulness' is higher / lower compared to the Press Up, that would provide a better alternative IMHO.

I feel at least one example of seasonal periodisation and auto-regulating strength training would have 'completed' the book - it just feels as though the book is incomplete. A little disappointing, especially if this is someone's only fitness book, hence the 8/10 rating.

A great book, but feels a little incomplete, so if used in conjunction with a few other books (Homemade Muscle, Ultimate Athlete, Never Let Go and Super Training) one would have every piece of the health/fitness puzzle.

That said, 8/10 makes it well worth the price and for the myth busting and science based direction, Strong Medicine should be required reading for every health and fitness professional.

Looking forward to diving into this Book! Being a chiropractor.. I have to personally work on my own health to continue to adjust and take care of others!

I believe this book to be one of the most well-written texts that covers everything a person should know about a healthy lifestyle. It breaks difficult things down easily, using layman terms, and provides numerous tips on improving your nutrition, activity, sleep and stress levels. What I love about this book is that it explains the processes behind our functions and why we feel the way we do by backing it all up with solid scientific data. Many thanks to the authors for their huge effort in making this book happen!