Rating: 
Summary: The audio book reader was terrible, where did they find him?
Review: I have long been a fan of Weil's works, and I bet this book is just as good as all the rest.However the audio book is terrible. The nasal, robotic reader suppliments the work with unrythmic pauses that are very distracting. I was determined to listen to this book out of loyalty to Weil, but was unable to get through the first side of the first cassette. I have literally never heard a worse audio book. If you are going to buy this book, save money and get the paper version.
Rating: 
Summary: partial retraction
Review: I made a comment about Weil's position on acid/alkaline condition in our bodies. I was wrong. I was refering to Sobel's and Klein's "Arthritis: What Works"
Rating: 
Summary: This Book literally saved my live.
Review: I want to thank Dr. Weil for writing such an amazing book. I was recently diagnosed with
chronic Hepatitis C and I was terrified when the doctors told me that the only treatment available was Interferon and it only works in 10-15% of the patients. I have no symptoms of any illness and with the help of Dr. Weil's Book I am determined to keep myself healthy for a long time to come .
This book has inspired me so much that I am buying it as presents for my friends and relatives.
With all my heart thank you so much Dr. Andrew Weil.I'm already reading some of your other treasures. Sincerely Beatrix M
Rating: 
Summary: not very up to date and unwilling to really take any positio
Review: If I were sick and desperate I would be left throughly bored and confused. I have been researching the latest in biological medicine texts for the last 6 months because of friends and family seem to be sick and dying all around me. I find Weil to say some constructive things but probably leaving the reader wondering why he said them at all. The biggest problem is he in one paragraph discounts what the cutting edge nutritionists seem to be saying about the alkaline/acid relationship. And these guys aren't filling their pages with anecdotes.
Rating:
Summary: A handbook of modern pop medicine (cont.)
Review: in the abilities of a therapist, and control of your own treatment and body. It could be argued that there was atime when medicine was practiced in a very shamanistic manner. However, in modern times we tend to consider this to have been "bad", and label it with the perjorative "paternalistic." This issue is clearly not anywhere near as simple as this author might have one believe. A final criticism of the book is that, contrary to statements made otherwise, the author seems to choose therapies not simply by their efficacy and safety, but by some aethetic measure as well. A good example of this is his recommended treatments for depression, a couple of herbs with known CNS depressant action. You would be hard pressed to find anyone who still believes that CNS depressants are viable treatments for depression anymore, and certainly much more effective treatments are available in the modern medical pharmacopia. This prejudice for probably ineffective herbal remedies where more effective medical remedies are available gives pause to any consideration that this book was written in an objective manner.
Rating:
Summary: some interesting ideas....
Review: that may seem far-fetched, but are definitely worth considering . . . especially given all the case studies that support the fact that traditional medicine often does not work . . . i'm going to change my life completely, as a result of reading this book, but i will make some changes.
Rating:
Summary: The body can heal itself??.
Review: The body can heal itself....... This book was lent to me and I found it very good. Everyone has heard of Andrew Weil as he has numerous other books and even a five CD audio book on the market. The basic premise of the book is that the body can heal itself as he says on page 6: " Even when treatments are applied with successful outcomes, those outcomes represent activation of intrinsic healing mechanisms, which, under other circumstances, might operate without any outside stimulus." I found the book easy to read, the case histories fascinating and became much more aware of the foods I eat. One of his big No-No's is polyunsaturated fats stating they can cause cancer, inflammation, and degenerative changes in the tissue. He recommends tossing away any you might have in the house. Although I didn't go that far I am more away of them and try to buy products without them. It's amazing how many products they are in - my eyes have been opened to the proliferation of polyunsaturated fats in our everyday food products. In chapter 16, he talks about alternative medicine like acupuncture, biofeedback and the like. Well under "Body work" he mentions a traditional healing art from Japan called Shiatsu. Looking up "Shiatsu" on the Internet I found that it means "Finger Pressure". I found a local Shiatsu practitioner and found the experience very nice. This book turned me on to it - since I had never heard of it ever before. I wish he spent more time in this section, he just quickly goes over various treatments. But the book is filled with nuggets of wisdom, and like I said it turned me on to Shiatsu and that little change in my life came from a little paragraph in the book (pg. 241). The price of this book even new is not much, and many used copies are floating around. I say get it, read it more than once, and keep an open mind. The media, medical profession, and marketing of products have placed many wrong assumptions already in our heads. It will take a while for you to see how mislead we have been all the while.
Rating:
Summary: The body can heal itself¿¿.
Review: The body can heal itself....... This book was lent to me and I found it very good. Everyone has heard of Andrew Weil as he has numerous other books and even a five CD audio book on the market. The basic premise of the book is that the body can heal itself as he says on page 6: " Even when treatments are applied with successful outcomes, those outcomes represent activation of intrinsic healing mechanisms, which, under other circumstances, might operate without any outside stimulus." I found the book easy to read, the case histories fascinating and became much more aware of the foods I eat. One of his big No-No's is polyunsaturated fats stating they can cause cancer, inflammation, and degenerative changes in the tissue. He recommends tossing away any you might have in the house. Although I didn't go that far I am more away of them and try to buy products without them. It's amazing how many products they are in - my eyes have been opened to the proliferation of polyunsaturated fats in our everyday food products. In chapter 16, he talks about alternative medicine like acupuncture, biofeedback and the like. Well under "Body work" he mentions a traditional healing art from Japan called Shiatsu. Looking up "Shiatsu" on the Internet I found that it means "Finger Pressure". I found a local Shiatsu practitioner and found the experience very nice. This book turned me on to it - since I had never heard of it ever before. I wish he spent more time in this section, he just quickly goes over various treatments. But the book is filled with nuggets of wisdom, and like I said it turned me on to Shiatsu and that little change in my life came from a little paragraph in the book (pg. 241). The price of this book even new is not much, and many used copies are floating around. I say get it, read it more than once, and keep an open mind. The media, medical profession, and marketing of products have placed many wrong assumptions already in our heads. It will take a while for you to see how mislead we have been all the while.
Rating:
Summary: Using your natural ability to heal and maintain your body
Review: The idea that your body possesses natural ability to heal and maintain itself is usually not within the realm of believability for many. But this Harvard M.D. presents evidence and explains body mechanisms that can overcome life-threatening illness and pain. A "how to" book, on the one hand, Dr. Weil also points out shortcomings of our medical system. He calls it "medical pessimism" because the end result is that often nothing more can be done. This comes about, he contends, because modem medical practice is based on the view that human beings are an assemblage of structures that can be neatly programmed. Western medicine, the Chinese, for example, believe the human organism has defensive spheres such as ~onsils, adenoids and appendix, which can be stimulated and are components of an immune system. Modem medicine, he believes, also writes off the importance of the mind, looking instead for physical causes of changes in health or illness. A realist, Dr. Weil concedes that life is uncertain and while we don't have control over life and death, we have the ability to understand how the human organism can heal itself and this is reason enough for doctors and patients to be optimistic. "My purpose in writing this book," he states, "is to convince more people to rely on our innate potential for maintaining health and overcoming illness but, he goes on to say, "I cannot easily give you a picture this system (I) because there is a lack of organized research (2) the human organism is complex and (3) the ability of the body to repair itself is a complex function." The DNA healing system: Is always on call and works continuously; it diagnoses damage; removes damaged structures and replaces them; acts to neutralize injury and make corrections. The challenge is to discover how to turn the right switches to activate this process. The author maintains that the final cause of all cures is the healing system with or without outside treatment. When treatments work, they do so by activating innate healing mechanisms You can boost the efficiency of your healing system but this does not necessarily produce immediate, noticeable change. It is a long-term investment in the future. These areas seem to be emerging from current studies of diet and health: Modify diet to reduce calories; eat a limited diet one day a week; reduce animal fats (replace with fish and soy protein); increase consumption of polyunsaturated fats found in corn, soy, sesame, safflower, olives, canola, peanut and avocado oils; eat more fruit, vegetables and whole grains such as wheat and oat bran. Greatest threats to everyday health and well-being: Toxic overload from harmful substances in the environment including chemical fertilizers, toxins in the workplace, water we drink, air pollution. The author suggests some anti-toxin formulas: Vitamins C and E, Selenium, Beta Carotene, Ginseng, Garlic, Ginger, Green Tea, Milk Thistle, Astragalus, to name a few. The seven strategies of successful patients: (1) Don't take "NO" for an answer. Believe there is help to be found somewhere. (2) Search for help. Ask questions; read books; go to libraries; ask for ideas, visit promising practitioners. (3) Talk to others who have been healed. (4) Form partnerships with health professionals who support your search for answers. (5) Don't hesitate to make radical lifestyle changes. (6) Regard illness as a stimulus to change (7) Remember that change is more likely to occur in a climate of self-acceptance than in one of confrontation with the universe. This popular book suggest ways to optimize your healing system and paints this upbeat scenario of the level of good health we have a right to expect. Says Dr. Weil: "We pay little aft ention to our health when it is good. "You recover from illness and injuries heal uneventfully "Stresses of ordinary life may be annoying, but they don't derange digestion or blood pressure. "Sleep should be restful, sex enjoyable. "Aging of your body occurs gradually, allowing you to moderate your activity appropriately and live out a normal life span without discomfort. "You would not get heart disease or cancer in middle age, be crippled by arthritis in later life or lose your mind to premature senility. "This scenario is possible and worth working toward because the body wants to be healthy," says Dr. Weil. Well worth reading if you want to live in better health whatever your age.
Rating:
Summary: Alternative Guide to Health
Review: This bestselling book emphasizes the need to incorporate alternative medicine into current medical practices. Spontaneous Healing decribes a "healing system" that makes use of components of recognized systems of the body, including the immune, nervous, endocrine, and circulatory, to reveal how the body can heal itself and how those who are inflicted can enhance that healing. Dr. Weil asserts that the body has within it a healing system, responsible not only for remissions of life-threatening diseases but also for day-to-day maintenance and for positive responses to everyday illnesses
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