This book was written for general, academic, and professional readers. When Poor Was Healthy challenges the conventional belief that drug medications and invasive therapies are necessary to treat chronic diseases, such as type 2 diabetes, hypertension, high cholesterol, and heart disease, that often can be prevented and reversed through simple but effective healthy lifestyle changes. It contends that individuals of all socioeconomic levels can make modest behavioral changes to improve their health. Then it guides the reader through the process.