The blind spots of medicine
E-book, Czech
The blind spots of medicine
Stories of painful mistakes that threaten our health
Medicine is often wrong not because it knows too little, but because it is far too certain.
Do you think medical recommendations are always based on evidence? That if we've been hearing them our whole lives and they're repeated by experts, they must be correct? If only that were always true.
Doctor and researcher Marty Makary convincingly shows that even modern medicine has its blind spots. These are areas where expert consensus has turned into dogma, where questions are no longer asked, and where misinterpretations of data and pressure from authorities have led to mistakes that entire generations are paying for. And perhaps they have affected you too.
Makary will guide you through the stories of research, medical decisions, and patients for whom the healthcare system failed – not due to a lack of evidence, but in spite of it.
In the book, you will learn, among other things:
The peanut allergy epidemic was not triggered by nature, but by official health recommendations.
Millions of women unnecessarily lost healthy ovaries because the true origin of the cancer was long ignored.
The routine administration of antibiotics destroys the microbiome and increases the risk of obesity, asthma, diabetes, and mental disorders.
Eggs and cholesterol did not become scapegoats because of evidence, but due to vocal individuals.
By ignoring warning signs about the transmission of HIV through blood, people could be infected during transfusions for almost another decade.
Hormone replacement therapy can do more for the health of women over fifty than any other medicine in history.
Dogma is passed down from generation to generation.
In a flood of conflicting information, people most often believe what their parents taught them.
Before 1900, cardiovascular events were rare, and medical literature hardly mentions them.
This book is not an attack on science. It is a call to live up to its ideals.
What they wrote about the book:
This book is essential reading for anyone who wants to understand the pitfalls of modern medicine.
- Peter Attia, author of the bestseller Outlive
This book was an eye-opener and at times even shocked me. It made me think more about what doctors tell me, not to be afraid to ask questions, and to seek a second opinion if necessary. I actually wish doctors themselves would read it – perhaps it would contribute to greater humility and critical thinking for some of them.
- Vendula Kusá, editor
A timely and very readable book that provides a much-needed naming of the fundamental ills of our medical establishment and advises on what to do about them.
- Steve Forbes, Editor-in-Chief of Forbes magazine
Marty Makary
A British-American doctor, surgeon, and healthcare expert at Johns Hopkins University, where he is also the head of transplant surgery. He has served in the leadership of the World Health Organisation, is a member of the US National Academy of Medicine, and is one of the leading voices advocating for greater transparency and innovation in healthcare. He has contributed to over 300 peer-reviewed studies and the development of the surgeon's checklist, and has served as a visiting professor at more than 25 medical schools. He has written several books and publishes in periodicals such as the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, and the Washington Post. He lives in Baltimore, Maryland.
Jan Melvil Publishing s.r.o., Roubalova 383/13, 602 00 Brno 2, Česká republika, www.melvil.cz
