Natural Health, Natural Medicine : A Comprehensive Manual for Wellness and Self-Care - Softcover

Andrew Weil

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0751517658 ISBN 13: 9780751517651

Publisher: Warner, 1997

Synopsis

Concentrating on alternative medicine, this work recommends ways to deal with a variety of common complaints, from acne to ulcers. Methods include home remedies, vitamins and supplements, and natural cures. Also examined are ways in which to live a healthier lifestyle.

About this title

Review

Health can be defined in any number of ways, from the simple fact that you're not lying on a hospital bed to an overall sense of well-being and connectedness. One person may not feel healthy unless he's carrying around mounds of gym-built muscle, while another doesn't feel healthy unless she's eating an intestine-scrubbing macrobiotic diet and practicing an hour of yoga each day.

Dr. Andrew Weil looks at every aspect of health in Natural Health, Natural Medicine. He's quite cynical about bodybuilding and the emphasis on protein in our diets, while making a strong case for paying more attention to the way we breathe and the degree to which we interact with family, community, and nature. An interesting--but, unfortunately, short--section on loving says that most people have no idea what to do when they fall out of romantic love with a partner, which helps explain the high divorce rate.

Other sections of the book focus on healthy self-care practices ("nasal douching" is recommended for sinus sufferers), supplements (he believes most benefits that seem to come from these are placebo responses), and natural home remedies for an A-to-Z list of problems (the section on depression states that people experience low mood because they constantly seek highs; eliminate the quest for highs, and you eliminate the rebound experience of lows).

Many regard this book as the bible of natural healing; but even those who are on the fence about alternative medicine should find it to be an entertaining, informative, and highly opinionated beginner's guide to achieving better health without conventional medicine. --Lou Schuler

About the Author

Andrew Weil, a graduate of Harvard Medical School, is Associate Director of the Program in Integrative Medicine at the University of Arizona in Tucson. He also has a private medical practice. A great populariser, his work has appeared in national publications and specialist journals and he appears regularly on network TV.

Edition details

• Publisher: Warner
• Publication date: 1997
• ISBN 10: 0751517658
• ISBN 13: 9780751517651
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 382