Spontaneous Healing

by WEIL, ANDREW MD

• ISBN13: 9780449910641
• ISBN10: 0449910644
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Trade Paper
• Copyright: 1996-04-23
• Publisher: Ballantine Books

Summary

"Memorable...Dr. Weil makes his case carefully and clearly." --TheNew York Times Book Review #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER "This book is destined to become a classic." --Joan Borysenko, author ofMinding the Body, Mending the Mind Drawing on fascinating case histories from his own practice as well as medical techniques he has observed in his travels around the world, Dr. Weil shows how the mechanisms of self-diagnosis and self-regeneration have worked to resolve life-threatening diseases, severe trauma, and chronic pain. But spontaneous healing is also the essential element in the maintenance of our basic daily health. The book outlines an eight-week program that each of us can use to alter our diet, avoid environmental toxins, and reduce stress in order to enhance our innate healing powers. The best medicine does not merely combat germs or suppress symptoms, but rather works hand in hand with the body's natural defenses to manage illness. Building on this fundamental truth and tapping into the intricate interaction of mind and body, Dr. Weil arrives at a major new synthesis of conventional and alternative medical treatments. At once practical and inspirational,Spontaneous Healinggives each one of us the power and the wisdom to draw on the sources of health we hold within.

Author Biography

Andrew Weil, M.D., has worked for the National Institute of Mental Health and was for fifteen years a Research Associate in Ethnopharmacology at the Harvard Botanical Museum.

Table of Contents

Introduction	p. 1
The Healing System
Prologue in the Rain Forest	p. 11
The Faces of Healing: Kristin	p. 22
Right in My Own Backyard	p. 28
The Faces of Healing: Harvey and Phyllis	p. 47
Testimonials	p. 54
The Faces of Healing: Al	p. 66
Medical Pessimism	p. 72
The Faces of Healing: John	p. 84
The Healing System	p. 87
The Faces of Healing: Oliver	p. 107
The Role of the Mind in Healing	p. 110
The Faces of Healing: Mari Jean	p. 131
The Tao of Healing	p. 134
The Faces of Healing: Jan	p. 143
The Faces of Healing: Ethan	p. 147
The Faces of Healing: Eva	p. 154
Optimizing The Healing System
Optimizing Your Healing System: An Overview	p. 159
A Healing Diet	p. 168
Protecting Yourself from Toxins	p. 191
Using Tonics	p. 213
Activity and Rest	p. 233
Mind and Spirit	p. 242
An Eight-Week Program for Optimal Healing Power	p. 262
If You Get Sick
Making the Right Decisions	p. 273
Considering the Alternatives	p. 294
Seven Strategies of Successful Patients	p. 306
Managing General Categories of Illness: Secrets of a Hygeian Practitioner	p. 311
Cancer as a Special Case	p. 329
Afterword: Prescriptions for Society	p. 341
Acknowledgments	p. 347
Finding Practitioners, Supplies, and Information	p. 349
Notes	p. 354
Index	p. 364
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