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"...the best-selling author of Spontaneous Healing describes the array of changes that people can make in their lives to reduce stress, strengthen their immune system, and avoid illness."
Weil began his career with a bang -- or maybe just a puff -- in The Natural Mind, a book containing ideas that remain controversial today. Most famously, it endorsed the idea of "stoned thinking" (induced not only by drugs but also by hypnosis, meditation, etc.) and identified a bias in traditional studies about mind-altering drugs. The book was fortified by Weil's own experience studying and taking various psychotropic agents, and while it suggested that non-chemical experiences were healthier, it also bore open criticism of American drug policy. Weil continued his exploration of altered mental states with The Marriage of the Sun and Moon and From Chocolate to Morphine (coauthored with Winifred Rosen).
In his next three titles -- Health and Healing, Natural Health, Natural Medicine, and Spontaneous Healing -- Weil turned to illness and alternative therapies, educating readers on then relatively unknown options such as homeopathy, herbal medicine, cranial therapy and other unconventional approaches. The fact that Weil was a Harvard-trained doctor lent his writings credibility and popularity with an ever-widening readership, even as he earned a somewhat heretical status in the world of mainstream medicine.
Some of Weil's views might rile practitioners of traditional medicine -- he has suggested that certain conventional treatments do more harm than good -- but Weil has never advocated abandonment of the medical establishment. Rather, he promotes integrative medicine: an approach to health that embraces nontraditional healing methods and takes the mind and spirit into account when assessing and treating problems. In response to Dr. Arthur Relman's assault in the New Republic, charging that assertions in Weil's books that lacked scientific backing, Weil responded on his web site, "If I had dismissed the successes I saw with [cranial therapy, for example] as ‘anecdotes,' we would not be in a position to take the next step and gather the data that Dr. Relman wants to see. It is important to note that paradigm shifts, in medicine as in other fields, are not quiet affairs. They occasion much screaming and kicking." (To both of the doctors' credits, they engaged in a public debate at the University of Arizona following Relman's much-discussed critique, minus the screaming and kicking.) Whatever the future holds for certain alternative approaches, it is a testament both to Weil's popularity and the growing interest in his ideas that studies of such practices have begun to win funding and attention.
Eight Weeks to Optimum Health was the most complete synthesis yet of Weil's ideas about holistic health and also helped cement his status as a health guru. Unlike most "diets" that focused mostly on meal plans and magical eating formulas, Weil's program is about a balance of nutrients, herbs, exercise, and mental salves such as turning off the news or keeping fresh flowers around. In particular, Weil became a well known expert on the growing field of herbal supplements.
Recently, Weil teamed with Rosie Daley -- Oprah's former personal chef – to create The Healthy Kitchen. The book operates on a bit of push-and-pull between Daley and Weil, with "Andy" offering substitute ingredients to some of Rosie's recipes. As with Weil's other tomes, The Healthy Kitchen does not operate on draconian edicts, offering options for individuals instead.
Weil's parents owned a millinery store in Philadelphia, and his mother fostered his interest in botany. "When you grow up in a row house, there's very limited opportunity to grow stuff, but my mother knew some things from her mother, who was the one with the real green thumb," he told My Generation magazine. "And she did introduce me to growing bulbs in the house, and we had a little plot of ground to garden. That stuff fascinated me. And I always dreamed about the day when I could have enough space to do it."
Weil's undergraduate focus was ethnobotany, which focuses on the uses of certain plants by various cultures and ethnicities. His thesis title: "The Use of Nutmeg as a Psychotropic Agent." Under a fellowship from the Institute of Current World Affairs, Weil traveled from 1971-75 throughout Central and South America to investigate cultural psychotropics and healing. Many of his findings from this time are collected in The Marriage of the Sun and Moon.
Weil lives in Arizona "by pure chance," he told HealthWorld Online. His car broke down in the mid-1970s, and it took so long to fix that he ended up staying in Tucson.
Andrew Weil: I am delighted to be here. I look forward to talking with all of you.
Andrew Weil: Absolutely. But it has to be done by sympathetic authorities. I have long suggested that the FDA set up a division of natural therapeutics to regulate herbs, vitamins, and minerals. The quality of supplements leaves much to be desired. This is a big problem that scares many doctors off from recommending natural treatments.
Andrew Weil: The FDA continues to have its head in the sand in this area.
Andrew Weil: All for it. There are several groups that lobby the FDA.
Andrew Weil: I'm afraid that having a brand would hurt my relations with doctors. My main work is changing medicine. I don't want to do anything that hurts that.
Andrew Weil: Yes. I let in a little NPR news over the weekend. But I haven't read any newspapers and I don't own a TV. And yet I consider myself informed.
Andrew Weil: My main prescription would be for the media to drop some of this and let Clinton get on with his job.
Andrew Weil: Good question! I think there's a big body of research indicating mechanisms for mind-body interactions, including the role of neuropeptides. I don't think identification of these mechanisms is inconsistent with belief in a nonphysical aspect.
Andrew Weil: In my book HEALTH AND HEALING, I go into detail about the placebo response, making a distinction between sugar pills and active placebos. Whenever we give treatment, there is a placebo response in addition to the medicine's effect. The art of medicine is to maximize that effect. As long as doctor and patient genuinely believe in the efficacy of a treatment, that response will be preserved.
Andrew Weil: I did not read it. But I am familiar with the literature. I discuss it in SPONTANEOUS HEALING. I feel all back and neck pain should be assumed to have a strong psychological component until proven otherwise. Mind-body treatment can be helpful.
Andrew Weil: It certainly is! I think its major indication is for people with established heart disease. As a general recommendation, I find it restrictive. You might get the same results with a palatable level of fat in the diet, as long as the fats are healthy ones.
Andrew Weil: I think magnet therapy is interesting and unresearched. Some recent research supports the positive use of magnets in muscular/skeletal pain. I recommend this therapy to people with foot pain, neck pain, and other problems. I look forward to seeing more research.
Andrew Weil: This is an area where consumers must beware. You must go by reliable information. Buy established brands that can give you information on processes.
Andrew Weil: I would try magnet therapy. And acupuncture.
Andrew Weil: The first step of taking greater responsibility for health is knowing your limits of competence. I've seen many people get the help they need from the Internet. But if you have serious symptoms, I think it is always wise to consult with a health professional.
Andrew Weil: Absolutely! They are generally deficient in the American diet. Everyone should think about where they are getting these acids. We should eat salmon, sardines, walnuts, or flax seeds.
Andrew Weil: I myself just take the basic antioxidant formula -- four pills -- plus one B-complex and CoQ10. That's not a mouthful of pills.
Andrew Weil: Herbs should not be taken just because they're there. Echinacea is for colds. Ginkgo is for blood circulation. Palmetto for enlarged prostates. I'd save them for when they're needed.
Andrew Weil: In some women, that amount of wine might raise the risk of breast cancer. But I do not oppose moderate regular intake of alcohol.
Andrew Weil: I certainly would. I have written about "disconnection syndrome" in my books. I think this problem has increased in America in recent times. It is a significant root of illness.
Andrew Weil: I think the trick is to show them that healthy food and fun food are not opposite. Experiment until you find recipes they like that are healthy. You might start with the recipes in 8 WEEKS TO OPTIMUM HEALTH. I designed them to be both healthful and delicious.
Andrew Weil: One possibility: Try to direct those cravings into healthier food, like fruit, natural preserves, dried fruit, sorbet, and so forth.
Andrew Weil: Fruits and all products made from fruits that don't have added sugar.
Andrew Weil: Definitely! In fact younger people have higher healing potential than older people. Mind-body methods often work very well with children.
Andrew Weil: I talk about dying in a healed state. I think it's possible to complete the business of life and feel at physical and mental peace even though the body is dying. I just reviewed the case of a woman dying of lung cancer who exemplified this for me.
Andrew Weil: Yes. I would try traditional Chinese medicine. I'd try dietary manipulation -- cutting out milk. And osteopathic manipulation. You'll find more on this in NATURAL HEALTH, NATURAL MEDICINE, and on my web site.
Andrew Weil: Get a good air filtration system for the home. Try freeze-dried stinging nettles in capsules as symptomatic treatment.
Andrew Weil: Try supplements of malic acid, as well as the herb Boswellia. Also, work to improve sleep patterns.
Andrew Weil: You want a practitioner of cranial therapy. Contact the Cranial Academy in Indianapolis. Ask how much time the practitioner devotes to cranial osteopathy. And there is no substitute for a good recommendation from people you trust.
Andrew Weil: I think they are safe if truly needed.
Andrew Weil: Learn to breathe better. You'll find information on this subject in all my books. That seems like a good one to close on.
Andrew Weil: A pleasure. I enjoyed.
Anonymous
Posted March 2, 2006
Andrew is himself overweight, how can he advocate health, he knows nothing about the most important key to good health, water and lacks the knowledge of the bodies daily needs. He obviously still practices allopathic medicine which has a dismal track record and needs to spend a few years studying the causes of diseases and the proven cures of naturopathic medicine which has no failure rate. It would not surprise me if he dies of diabetes or heart failure judging by the size of his own overweight body. Just like Robert Atkins he will not survive his own medicines and should not be allowed to tell others how to get into a state of homeostasis when he himself is suffering obesity
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Posted February 25, 2005
I highly recommend this book! It really helped me, and I could read it over and over again and always catch new things. It has a lot of interesting health tips.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Anonymous
Posted April 5, 2004
Again, Dr. Weil has proven himself an EXPERT in the field of health and nutrition. Well done! I loved it from start to finish and highly recommend it to anyone looking to make positive lifestyle changes in order to improve their quality of life by making the right choices over a period of time rather than trying to cram it all in at once. I don't know what book Ms. Sabrina Miller read, but it could not have been one of Dr. Weil's books. Clueless, truly.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Anonymous
Posted August 18, 2003
I felt my energy increasing by day. I've needed less sleep, have increased positive thought, and am happier and healthier. Easy to read, clear, and amazing. TRY IT!
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Anonymous
Posted January 7, 2003
i think your book is great, and it helped me a lot i was sofering from depression,and alcohol, for cause of my separetion with my exwife, and now i have a different way of seeing life , mother natural and all my surrandigs, i really thank you for this book. it will be a great idea if you publish this book in spanish you will really help a lot of people. I could even help you. bye
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Anonymous
Posted June 19, 2000
This book is extremely helpful if you are interested in learning *how* to implement changes to improve your health. When broken down into 8 weeks, adding a little more change each week, the process of health improvement is much easier! My husband and I have both read the book and are enjoying our lives a lot more, thanks to the massive improvement in our energy levels, and we both feel a lot better about how our bodies look. The book is very readable, and we are looking forward to picking up Dr. Weil's newest book!
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Anonymous
Posted March 6, 2000
This is a must read if you are looking for Optimum Health.
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Overview