Newsletter #35–April 1996
Book Review: Spontaneous Healing by Andrew Weil, M.D.
Knopf, 309 pages, hardcover, $23
Reviewed by Ferris Crane
We have all heard about cancer patients who have been extremely sick one day, then show no evidence of cancer the next. We marvel at this and consider it a miraculous recovery, but Andrew Weil, M.D. does not believe this type of recovery is exceptional.
Dr. Weil, a pharmacologist, formerly of NIH and Harvard, approaches healing in a holistic manner. From a small cut to a serious illness, he believes in the body’s natural ability to heal itself, although he acknowledges that the more serious the illness, the more difficult it is to heal. Western medicine, he says, attacks the body and weakens it further, often damaging healthy body parts. By contrast, Weil believes in supporting the body’s basic biological organization by making it stronger. Spontaneous Healing is a cookbook of how to do this, and it is very convincing.
Weil believes that stress is a “primary cause or aggravating factor” in illness and that it is important for people to accept life’s circumstances but also to express anger and try to alleviate negative situations.
Healing also requires a healthy metabolism. Weil encourages eating fish, hemp or flax oil, less protein and more vegetables, fruits and grains. He nixes margarine, avocados and nuts and selects olive oil for the fat of choice. Beware of toxins, man-made and natural, he warns. Minimize consumption of foods containing natural toxins, such as black pepper, celery, alfalfa sprouts, peanuts and white button mushrooms. He suggests eating organically grown foods and peeling fruits and vegetables. Reduce consumption of chemical food dyes and artificial sweeteners. Weil sees no difference between drugs and poisons except dosage.
Tonics are Dr. Weil's special interest and he believes they have a beneficial effect on the healing system. He recommends garlic and ginger for general health. For depressed immunity, he suggests astragalus or maitake while milk thistle may counter toxins. Some of his suggestions may not be suitable for cancer surviviors, however. For example, Weil recommends ginseng to restore sexual vitality (after chemotherapy), yet ginseng produces estrogen.
I recommend this book with a caveat. Spontaneous healing can occur when people don't do any of the suggested and it doesn’t always happen when they do. However, the book provides an alternative to harsh Western medicine and offers a recipe for overall healthy living. It provides scarce commodities in our medical community: hope and empowerment.