The Cortisol Connection

Shawn Talbott
Hunter House Inc. (2007)
ISBN 9780897934923
Reviewed by Olivera Baumgartner-Jackson for Reader Views (9/07)

If you are living in the USA, or really anywhere in the so-called “developed” world, chances are you are stressed beyond belief. While stress used to be taken lightly in the past, there was a lot of research performed on how it affects us and in recent years doctors are calling attention to all of the risks associated with it. If you think your life is not really complicated enough for you to qualify as being under stress, consider this paragraph from “The Cortisol Connection” by Shawn Talbott, Ph.D., which clearly shows that one does not need to be a CEO to be under stress:

“The most direct example of the chronically elevated human stress response can be observed every day in the lives of a large part of the American (and worldwide) population. Those are the folks who are driving a junker car (and hoping it makes it) to their second job. They are hoping that the money from that second paycheck will last until the end of the month when the bills are due. They are not the people whom you see commiseration about their terrible jobs on sitcoms such as Friends. The constant unrelenting stress of making ends meet, job instability, sleep deprivation, poor diet, lack of outlets for stress, and overall lack of control combine to increase the risk of disease by a factor of five to ten!”

A factor of five to ten is scarily high, so getting stress and the risks under control would certainly be a good idea. “The Cortisol Connection” is an extremely helpful guide in this process, clearly explaining the risk factors, possible effects of those factors and ways and means of controlling stress and taking control of your life. The proposed solution, called the SENSE Lifestyle Program, is more than a diet, since it incorporates several key elements; such as stress management, exercise, nutrition and supplements. Although the book is very detailed and in parts quite “technical,” the overall program seems to be eminently sensible and not impossible to follow.

While I have no experience in the medical field and cannot evaluate the book from that perspective, I was clearly impressed by the amount of research that went into this book, as is evident from the extremely extensive “References” section. I found the language easy-to-follow and easily understandable. While an average reader might not care for all the medical references and explanations, I believe most anybody could and should follow the recommendations of the SENSE Lifestyle Program, especially since it was extensively researched and tested.

I would highly recommend “The Cortisol Connection” to any reader who wants to take responsibility for his or her own health and well-being and actually do something about it.

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