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Preface

T

his book really started in the last quarter of my physician assis-
tant training at U.C. Davis in 1983. One of our projects was to
outline a book. I remember vaguely calling it Lifestyling. The con-
cept of the book was about prevention of disease and staying well
by having a good diet, exercising, and doing some stress reduction.
Throughout my more than quarter-century of being a prac-
ticing PA (physician assistant), I have always been a nutrition re-
search junkie. I have also written newsletters, given talks, done
some radio, and have tried to practice what I preached by living a
lifestyle that involves a lot of exercise, a pretty good diet, and rea-
sonable attempts at stress reduction...well, two out of three isn’t
too bad! Actually, I feel so blessed to have followed this path. If
I hadn’t been working on those three key aspects of wellness all
these years, I probably would have been in a whole lot of trouble
health-wise by now, especially because of how much pressure and
work I put on myself.
Within six months of working in my first “alternative medicine”
practice in 1983, I came up with a one-page handout for patients
called Optimal Health. There were six key components: (1) Spiri-
tuality, (2) Exercise, (3) Nutrition, (4) Stress, (5) Environment, and
(6) Self-Care. This handout summarized what I thought an indi-
vidual had to practice daily in order to be in “optimal health.” I
have it on my wall today in my home office. I still believe in 90–
percent of the recommendations more than a quarter of a century
later. They are really the fundamental principles in Staying Healthy
in the Fast Lane.
In the mid-1980s, while still practicing as a PA in a nutrition
prevention-oriented primary care medical practice in Sacramen-
to, I also became a massage therapist. During those two to three