By Douglas Lisle, Ph.D., and Alan Goldhamer, D.C.
We are living at a wonderful time. When we compare our lives to those of our ancestors (from recent to distant past), we find that in general we are enjoying much more abundance than ever before. And this abundance comes in many forms: food, shelter, clothing, knowledge, information, entertain-ment, and others. But, when we look at our society, can we say we have an abundance of health? What about an abundance of happiness? What about our personal friends and family?
In the new book The Pleasure Trap by Drs. Douglas Lisle and Alan Goldhamer, they directly take on this important issue. In fact, their book is appropriately subtitled “Mastering the Hidden Force that Undermines Health and Happiness.” In it, they take us on a journey to understanding the challenges that uniquely exist in our modern environment. Challenges that our ancient ancestors didn’t experience, and challenges that our emotional moods of happiness (and unhappiness) aren’t equipped to reliably navigate.
As we look at our own lives and our desire to implement health-promoting lifestyle choices, each of us experiences a different level of success. And when we find something that works for us, we naturally want to share that information with our friends and family. One of the most frequently reported frustrations by members of the NHA is the difficulty in convincing others to implement the health-promoting lifestyle choices that they’ve found to be successful. In The Pleasure Trap you’ll find an enormous level of insight into this very challenge, and you’ll have a fantastic new tool to help educate your friends and family.
Drs. Lisle and Goldhamer begin with a discussion of a concept they refer to as the motivational triad, which they define to be the collection of instinctual incentives that motivate (1) the pursuit of pleasure, (2) the avoidance of pain, and (3) the conservation of energy. They explain how our choices are guided by these subtle (and not-so-subtle) instinctual motivations towards the biological goals of survival and reproduction. From this starting point, they take us on an entertaining, informative, and amazing journey to understand how and why we do the things we do.
Guided by the mood happiness, we make choices in accordance with the motivational triad, and which have historically resulted in a higher likelihood of health in our natural environment. The difficulty, the authors explain, comes from the fact that we are no longer living in “our natural environment.” With all the success of language, agriculture, and technology, we no longer live in an environment characterized by scarcity, but rather one characterized by abundance. In this new environment, there is much to be thankful for, but there is now a challenge they refer to as The Pleasure Trap. In the past, the motivation to seek pleasure, avoid pain, and conserve energy guided us to make choices that resulted in the greatest health, but this is no longer the case. With fast food, modern technology, and pain medication, our motivational systems can fool us into making choices that undermine our health, and this is the pleasure trap.
Fortunately, Drs. Lisle and Goldhamer provide detailed advice on how to recognize the pleasure traps in your life and to overcome their negative influences. This knowledge may be the most important way to regain health and sustain happiness that we have ever known. As we continue to search for the best information on health, The Pleasure Trap puts together the most thorough written understanding we’ve ever seen.
During the past 55 years, the NHA has been devoted to discovering the truth about health. We’re committed to learning, and many wonderful physicians, writers, and scholars have led the way. From the prolific writings of Dr. Herbert Shelton, to the recent works of T. Colin Campbell, Ph.D., Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn, Dr. Joel Fuhrman, Dr. John McDougall, and many others, our path of knowledge has been moving forward. With The Pleasure Trap, the next step is now available. After you read it, you’ll want to buy extra copies for all your friends!
The Pleasure Trap is available from the National Health Association.
Here is what others are saying about The Pleasure Trap...
“The Pleasure Trap focuses on telling people what they actually need to know instead of what they want to hear. Our objective is to create an awareness of the real price of modern living that no one ever talks about and empower readers with the tools they need to redirect their health, and in turn, rediscover the happiness and well-being that is their birthright.”
Author Douglas Lisle, Ph.D.
“Lisle and Goldhamer make a major contribution to our understanding of why we do things not in our long term, best interest. We all must reckon with this important idea if we are seriously interested in choosing a healthier diet and lifestyle. It is a MUST read for anyone interested in making healthier choices.”
T. Colin Campbell, Ph.D.
“I love this book; it is brilliant. The Pleasure Trap is a powerful, mind-altering health manifesto. Rather than recommend my patients read this book, I insist they do.”
Joel Fuhrman, M.D.
“This is a must-read for scholars of nutrition, physicians, students, health care personnel, and anyone who is caught in or wants to avoid the pleasure trap.”
Caldwell B. Esselstyn, Jr., M.D.
“I found The Pleasure Trap the most compelling and interesting book I have ever read. This information should be required reading for the medical establishment before it’s too late. Sharing this book with your friends and family is unconditional love.”
Howard F. Lyman
“The Pleasure Trap is a bold, fresh look at the collisions between our culture and our health that take so many victims, despite modern medicine’s best efforts to limit the damage of illness and injury. I recommend this book to anyone seeking a clearly written and innovative guide to the very best of health. It will change your life...”
Neal D. Barnard, M.D.
“The Pleasure Trap is truly a landmark book! Never before has anyone put together such an eloquent, thoroughly referenced, comprehensive, and authentically holistic explanation about what allows health and happiness to occur. Using simple language and rich anecdotes, Drs. Lisle and Goldhamer have done a spectacular job of guiding the reader through a very complex smorgasbord of scientific information. In their profound work, they have distilled the knowledge of numerous scientific disciplines into an integrated ‘science of health.’ It should be recommended reading for every health professional and every individual seeking optimum well-being. The theory is empowering — and I know it works because I have successfully used many of these principles in my health promotion-medical practice over the past twenty years.”
Ronald G. Cridland, M.D.
©Copyright 2003. All Rights Reserved. Health Science is the publication of the National Health Association. This article reprinted from the Summer 2003 issue.