What if disease isn't where the story begins?

What if conditions such as type 2 diabetes, heart disease, fatty liver, dementia and even some cancers are not random failures, but the visible signs of a body that has been working tirelessly to protect you for years?

In Why We Get Sick, Martin Hesketh explores the remarkable adaptations taking place inside the human body long before illness is diagnosed. Using the same accessible factory analogy introduced in Why We Get Fat, he reveals how cells respond to changing demands, how energy production becomes disrupted, why inflammation develops, and how the body's attempts to survive can gradually become the very processes we recognise as disease.

Rather than focusing on symptoms in isolation, this book examines the underlying biology that connects many of today's most common chronic illnesses. Along the way, complex concepts such as mitochondrial function, insulin resistance, inflammation, ageing and cellular communication are explained in plain English without oversimplification.

Whether you have a long-term health condition, care for someone who does, or simply want to understand how your body really works, this book offers a different perspective—one that replaces fear with understanding and confusion with clarity.

Because disease is rarely the beginning of the story.

It is often the moment we finally notice how hard the body has been trying.