Peg Moline - The Doctors Book of Natural Health Remedies: Unlock the Power of Alternative Healing and Find Your Path Back to Health

No book can replace the diagnostic expertise and medical advice of a trusted physician. Please be certain to consult your doctor before making any decisions that affect your health, particularly if you suffer from any medical condition or have a symptom that may require treatment.

Copyright 2014 by Zinczenko/AMI Ventures

All rights reserved.

Published in the United States of America by
Galvanized Books,
a division of Galvanized Brands, LLC, New York

Galvanized Books is a trademark of Galvanized Brands, LLC

SECTION OPENER ILLUSTRATIONS BY MARIE-ELAINE CUSSON

LINE DRAWING ILLUSTRATIONS BY MCKIBILLO

QIGONG POSE ON THE COVER PHOTOGRAPHED BY Z. WENDELL

eBook ISBN: 9780989594097
ISBN 9780989594073

v3.1

This book would not be possible without the doctors who have been invaluable to us at Natural Health magazine over the years: the medical doctors, researchers, integrative physicians, acupuncturists, naturopaths, chiropractors, TCM practitioners, yoga therapists, homeopaths and more.

Specifically, thank you to: Andrew Weil, M.D., James Gordon, M.D., Mark Hyman, M.D., Joan Borysenko, Ph.D., Frank Lipman, M.D., Alice Domar, Ph.D., Christiane Northrup, M.D., John Douillard D.C., Dean Ornish, M.D., Neal Barnard, M.D., Judith Orloff, M.D., Elson Haas, M.D., Woodson C. Merrell, M.D., Judith Lasater, Ph.D., Mehmet Oz, M.D., and many, many others. I appreciate the generosity and patience youve shown my staff and writers as they wrestled this wealth of information into place.

The Natural Health staff! Couldnt have done this book without your excellence: Meghan Rabbit, Stephanie Birdsong, Jennifer Carofano, Yvonne Duran, Virginia Pelley, Cassie Tomlin, Maura Weber, Stacey Harper, Sharon Cohen, Beth Katz, Kate Wertheimer, Michele Hauf, Tracey Whitney, Nicole Dorsey, Maria Vega, Tara Thompson, Alexa Joy Sherman, Diana Gonzalez and all past designers and editors: copy, deputy and other-wise. Hillary Dowdle, thank you for your words, wisdom and guidance.

The writers, you know who you are. Im especially appreciative of Kris Carr, Leslie Goldman, Kristina Grish, Lauren Piscopo, Ashley Koff, Susan Hayes, Dorothy Foltz-Gray, Linda Shelton and Teri Hanson.

And the team at Galvanized: Michael Freidson, thank you for your wise and witty editing, Lynette Combs, for your thorough research, George Karabotsos for your beautiful, clean design, Steve Perrine and David Zinczenko for the opportunity. Thanks!

Barbara Harris, you taught us how to be skeptical, report complicated health information responsibly and not jump on any bandwagons. It will serve me the rest of my life.

Ken Ng, youre the best ex a girl ever hadthanks for helping with kids and house so I could work and travel. And to my daughters, Lily and Maggie, love you so much. Thank you for bringing joy and meaning to my life.

Peg Moline
former Editor-In-Chief, Natural Health

Gone are the days when you saw your family physician, filled a prescription and crossed your fingersdoctor knows best. Now the patient is part of the solution, with more choices than ever. Pick your health plan. Change your provider. Select your treatment. Youve got hundreds of sources, thousands of cures and millions of opinions a click away.

What many of us are choosingtoday more than everare natural remedies. And were choosing them because they work.

In fact, natural remedies have been proven effective for thousands of yearsherbal treatments, yoga, massage or simply restoring balance to ones diet. Many of the techniques detailed in this book, all backed by stunning new research, are literally ancient, and still being proven effective today. More than 80% of the worlds population relies on herbs for health and healing. Americans are finally joining them en masse because were sick and tired of our health care system, in addition to being sick and tired. Cue the Natural Health Care Boom.

One number says it all: $740. Thats the average cost of going to the doctor for a common cold, before insurance deductions. Throw in prescription costs, time off work, and money spent on over-the-counter meds, and of course were looking into more affordable alternative therapies. Our countrys health bill is $2.7 trillion annually, and drugs account for 10%how much of that bill are you paying? How much do you desperately need to save?

And more to the point, are you even happy with the expensive health care youre getting? Overworked and underpaid, many Western doctors simply dont have the time to spend with patients, churning them out faster than ever, according to recent studies. There are also more patients than ever, as the obesity epidemic and disease rates soar. And the Affordable Care Act may put even more responsibility into your hands, as well-meaning providers become overwhelmed by an increased caseload and more paperwork.

Additionally, the medications Western doctors prescribe, even the seemingly benign ones, give us pause, as we grow more skeptical of pharmaceutical companies. Most drug ads resemble an episode of The Walking Dead, since side effects may include diarrhea, hallucinations, ejaculation failure, severe depression. One drug, a popular hair-loss product, could cause grown men to lactate. Worse, doctors are overprescribing these curesone new study, in the peer-reviewed JAMA Internal Medicine, found docs doled out antibiotics to 60% of sore throat patientswhen only about 10% can actually benefit. Another headline-making study found azithromycina catch-all antibiotic youve probably taken if youve had an earache or pneumoniaincreases the chances of sudden death in adults. The scariest line from