Contents
FOREWORD
IN THE INTRODUCTION to the book Prescription for Nutritional Healing, I described the human body as being composed of millions of tiny little engines. Some of those engines, I went on to say, work in unison while some work independently. All of them are on call 24 hours a day.
What I might have added is this: From time to time, some of those tiny engines may need a bit of fixing. To fix them correctly, you need the correct tools.
Now the tools have arrived, in this wonderfully detailed book, all described and explained by a naturopathic physician who uses those implements of healing with consummate skill every day. Mark Stengler, ND, has treated thousands of people with the natural healing therapies he describes in this book, and his success as a healing physician has won him the respect of peers as well as patients.
I realize, of course, that some people who look through the sections of this book may wonder what I mean by describing these therapies as healing tools. After all, many of us, when we think medicine, think first of drugs, surgical tools, and all the high-tech paraphernalia of the operating room. How often do we consider that acupressure, coenzyme Q10, or ginger root could be healing therapies? Did you ever stop to think that mental imagery, prayer, soy, or water could help you preserve or recover your health? Can these healing therapies really help to repair the myriad tiny engines that power your body?
My reply: absolutely.
In fact, in this book of 162 healing therapies, youll find some of the oldest tools of healing that are known to humankind, alongside some of the newest that todays physicians are researching and exploring. Water, for example. For immunity, for mindpower, for energy, for alertness, for our daily nourishment, we depend on it. If you lack water, all the pharmaceuticals in the world will not be able to save you from the effects of dehydration. A battalion of surgeons wielding scalpels, lasers, X-rays, and cardiac monitors will not be able to rescue your organs from the effects of water depletion, nor can they restore cells that lose their most essential liquid components. Water is absolutely essential for all the engines of your body to work effectively.
Of course, now that I mention it, that may seem self-evident. But too often, the most obvious, natural, beneficial healing ingredients are neglected in favor of more complicated, and sometimes more harmful, modern implements of medical care. When was the last time a conventional medical doctor asked how many glasses of water you drink every day, or described to you the subtle effects of dehydration, or explained how substances like caffeine and caffeine-containing medicines can deplete your body of liquids?
Water is indeed a healing therapy, and an important one at that.
But if some of the therapies in this book seem obvious, others are challenging our foremost medical researchers and biochemists to understand more precisely and definitely how the tiny engines in your body actually work. Take coenzyme Q10more commonly called CoQ10as an example. Heres a chemical substance smaller than the eye can see, almost obscured by myriad other components that power our cells and organs, recently revealed to be one of the most important power sources within and around the human heart. As Mark Stengler says so vividly, When a heart doesnt have enough CoQ10 for proper electronical conduction, it suffers as it starvesand the whole circulatory system pays the price.
As with all the other healing therapies described in this book, Dr. Mark goes on to describe exactly what we know to date about CoQ10, how much you can take, when, for what conditions, and all the ways this essential tool of body maintenance can assist every part of your circulatory system. Its truly another healing therapy. Though not so readily available as water, its certainly just as important.
In addition to presenting us with an impressive array of healing therapies, this book performs another valuable service that speaks to the very essence of healing. It asks us to look outside the framework of conventional medicine for the assistance we need to maintain and improve our health. Too often, in the current healthcare environment, we begin to believe that physicians and surgeons can repairor even replacethe body parts that go wrong, get infected, act up, or refuse to work.
To take this attitude is to deny the bodys most basic need, which is for attention and maintenance. Fat reduction is just one of the healing therapies in this book that contributes to the maintenance processso, too, are exercise, fiber, juicing, phytonutrients, and all the vitamins, from A to K. If you follow the guidelines that Mark Stengler provides, you are doing more than fixing or repairing the parts that dont work. Youre actually ensuring that you get the longest life and best use from the only body youll ever have.
Even to a longtime proponent of natural medicine and nutritional healing, as I am, this book offers interesting surprises and remarkable fascinations. It draws on the healing traditions of numerous civilizations from around the world, and also reports practical applications of the healing process that come directly from the journals of a practicing natural physician. Mark Stengler is to be applauded not only for his healing work but also for his persistent exploration of the real frontiers of natural medicine. With this book, we get a share of the knowledge offered by a truly dedicated healer who harmonizes the best of the art and science of healing.
James F. Balch, MD Coauthor of Prescription for Nutritional Healing
THE NATURAL HEALTH REVOLUTION
THE ORIGINAL EDITION of The Natural Physicians Healing Therapies was published in 2001. Since then I have had hundreds of people tell me personally how they have benefited from the book. The book has been a great success with more than 350,000 copies sold. A lot has happened in the world of natural healing since then. Thousands of studies demonstrating the efficacy of numerous natural therapies have been released. In addition, I have found great success with several natural remedies in my clinical practice that were not available during the original edition of this book. I am excited to introduce more than 50 new natural healing remedies and therapies in this revised and expanded edition. As well previous therapies from the original edition have been revised and updated to reflect current research and understanding. This revised edition is a completely new book that will help readers achieve a new level of health.
Holistic or natural medicine continues to make inroads to mainstream medicine. Why? First, there are many safe and effective natural remedies and therapies. Millions of Americans have experienced the benefits of holistic medicine and the number of visits to holistic practitioners outnumbers that of conventional medical doctors. Also consumers are becoming more wary of the potential adverse effects of pharmaceutical agents. Third, the amount of scientific evidence for natural remedies is more than ample to convince the skeptical person of potential benefits. Also our healthcare system is bankrupt. Studies show that preventative and safer natural remedies would save many billions of dollars each year in healthcare costs. Lastly, conventional medical schools are starting to offer courses in holistic medicine due to consumer demand. Additionally, the healing professions of naturopathic medicine, chiropractic, Chinese medicine, and other natural healing professions continue to grow.
