Natural Causes Book Summary - Natural Causes Book explained in key points

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Name: Natural Causes
Rating: 2.6 (97 reviews)
Author: Barbara Ehrenreich

Barbara Ehrenreich

An Epidemic of Wellness, the Certainty of Dying, and Killing Ourselves to Live Longer

2.6 (97 ratings)

15 mins

Brief summary

'Natural Causes' by Barbara Ehrenreich explores the cultural obsession with extending life and questions whether the pursuit of eternal youth is worth sacrificing quality of life. It offers a thought-provoking perspective on aging and death.

Topics

Aging

Table of Contents

Natural Causes
Summary of 6 key ideas

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Key idea 1 of 6

What’s in it for me? Find out why you might not need to go to the doctor as often as you think.

Adult life can be hard, and the list of responsibilities can seem endless. On top of cleaning the house, buying the groceries, feeding the cat, paying the bills and getting the car serviced, you must also remember to make regular visits to the doctor. And not only are the examinations and subsequent treatments expensive; they also take up a lot of your valuable time.

But what if you didn’t really have to see a physician on a regular basis? What if all these visits aren’t actually benefiting you?

The author has looked long and hard at why we’re encouraged to pay such close attention to our health and has unearthed some disconcerting findings. Somewhere along the way, we’ve been primed to think that getting old is undesirable and that, no matter the cost, we should resist the ravages of time. These blinks offer a different point of view. According to the author, fretting about potential health problems isn’t helping anyone. In her view, what we should be focusing on is all the good that comes with old age, so that we can live a more enjoyable life overall.

In these blinks, you’ll discover

how much the US health-care system spent on physical exams in 2015;
the length of the average adult attention span; and
the benefits of growing old.

Doctors continue screening elderly patients for one reason: profit.

The author, Barbara Ehrenreich, is 76 and, in recent years, she’s stopped getting regular medical check-ups. Many people – especially those in their 70s – might think this is irresponsible behavior. Despite having health insurance, she no longer undergoes smear tests, cancer screenings or yearly exams.

So why has she thrown caution to the wind? Well, Ehrenreich believes that, after the age of 75, getting medically tested doesn’t make sense.

She would rather use her time doing enjoyable things, rather than going in for time-consuming tests, waiting anxiously for the results and possibly having to consider medical interventions.

For instance, she stopped getting mammogram screenings, a medical test that checks for signs of breast cancer. Ehrenreich made this decision after she got a false-positive test result that made her anxious for weeks – so anxious, in fact, that she also got pulled over and ticketed for “distracted driving.”

In Ehrenreich’s view, once you’ve entered the late stages of life, it’s best to let nature run its course. Making dramatic lifestyle changes to accommodate medical treatment, be it surgery or chemotherapy, might simply no longer be worth it.

Now, Ehrenreich stopped going in for mammograms around the age of 70, so imagine her surprise when she learned, while at a medical meeting, that a 100-year-old woman was still being screened. Why, Ehrenreich wondered – are women over the age of 75 still getting mammograms?

Well, according to Ehrenreich, the main reason is pretty simple: medical screenings and tests profit doctors.

To make financial gains, the health sector provides examinations that will inevitably show the possibility of a complication or necessitate a follow-up appointment. This is made possible with new, high-resolution equipment, such as CT scans, which assess head injuries and detect tumors. Better technology that is able to detect abnormalities leads to more tests, which in turn leads to more prescriptions and further visits to the doctor. All of these steps accumulate to increase the overall profit of the health industry.

In the author’s view, doctors don’t only target the elderly with potentially unnecessary examinations; new parents are also vulnerable to unnecessary interventions. Let’s move on to the business of childbirth.

Childbirth is a ritual of humiliation.

In many ways, visiting the doctor can be seen as a ritual. The act involves a sequence of specific and purposeful actions performed by both the medical practitioner and the patient.

If we take a look at childbirth, we see that childbearing women have been on the receiving end of many types of medical rituals. The question is whether these rituals truly benefit the patient.

Cancer-screening tests can be traumatic and may not be as helpful as we think.

In 2015, the United States health-care system spent $10 billion on physical examinations. One might regard this as money well spent. After all, these examinations are supposed to help people detect cancer before it’s too late. But the truth is that medical tests are not only expensive; they’re also often traumatic and, in the author’s view, they’re a total waste of time.

Both men and women are told that they need to undergo prostate and breast screenings every year. However, these tests aren’t as big a lifesaver as we’re led to believe.

Western society’s obsession with exercise is the result of our competitive nature.

The message is ubiquitous in Western society: you need to go to the gym and stay fit! Everyone – the author included – has felt this societal pressure. Many sources say that exercise is crucial to good health, but could there be something else driving our obsession with working out?

In the Western world, this fitness craze is a result of our competitive nature.

Our attention spans are shrinking due to modern technology.

As reasonable humans, we believe that the mind is in control of the body. In fact, the sovereignty of the mind is of great importance to us. The saying “mind over matter” exemplifies this. We expect that our brains will stop our bodies from doing undesirable things, such as overeating, oversleeping or engaging in sex acts that we’ll regret.

The problem is, in today’s increasingly technological world, it has become more difficult to rely on our mental abilities.

Society discards the benefits of aging and instead warns us against it.

There used to be a time when a person could put in 35 years of hard work and retire peacefully. Days would be spent working in the garden or relaxing in a hammock, while nights would be spent over a meal with dear loved ones.

Unfortunately, this retirement idyll has all but vanished. We’re now in the era of successful aging – which essentially means trying not to age at all.

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What is Natural Causes about?

Natural Causes (2018) reveals the truth behind the medical world’s encouragement of common procedures, treatments and screenings. It scrutinizes why Western society is averse to aging and obsessed with exercising, and, along the way, explores the effects of modernity on our mental capabilities.

Natural Causes Review

Natural Causes by Barbara Ehrenreich (2018) offers a thought-provoking exploration of our obsession with eternal youth and the health industry's exploitation of our fear of death. Here's why this book is worth reading:

It presents a refreshing perspective on the pursuit of longevity and questions the societal norms surrounding health and wellness.
With a mix of scientific research, personal anecdotes, and cultural observations, it challenges readers to critically examine their own beliefs about health and mortality.
The book's unapologetic honesty and philosophical insights provide a captivating reading experience that will leave you questioning your own mortality.

Best quote from Natural Causes

Disturbingly, breast biopsies, which are many times recommended after a mammogram, increase the risk of breast cancer.

—Barbara Ehrenreich

Who should read Natural Causes?

People over the age of 60
Those interested in the social influence of modern medicine
People who spend a lot of time concerned about their health

About the Author

Barbara Ehrenreich is the author of the New York Times best-selling Nickel and Dimed, which is an exposé of low-paying jobs in America. She also holds a PhD in cellular immunology.

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Health & Nutrition

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