Michael Murray - Doctor Murrays Total Body Tune-Up: Slow Down the Aging Process, Keep Your System Running Smoothly, Help Your Body H eal Itself—for Life!

*Dry skin? Aching joints? The blahs or the blues?

Change your outlook and your health with the right kinds of fats in your diet see

*Mood swings, poor resistance to disease? The culprit may be Americas sleep deprivation problemget the secrets of enjoying a healing nights sleep see

*Low energy? Chronic flulike symptoms? Yeast may be silently ravaging your body, but an herbal oil can perform miracles see

*Forgetful? Blood pressure soaring? Uncover the hidden dangers of heavy metalsand how to get the lead out safely see

*Overweight and cant seem to lose? Syndrome X, a modern epidemic, may be behind elevated insulin levels; if so, you can be an ex victim fast see

*Cholesterol too high? Diet can help, but so can an amazing B-vitamin extract that does the trick when other remedies fail see

*Do you feel fatigued after eating, suffer abdominal cramps, or have frequent bouts of diarrhea? see

*Are you sensitive to cold, do you have trouble waking up in the morning, and does sugar make you irritable? see

*Do you tend to feel jittery, does your heart pound easily, and do you have a diagonal crease on your earlobe? see

This edition contains the complete text of the original hardcover edition.
NOT ONE WORD HAS BEEN OMITTED .

DR . M URRAY S TOTAL BODY TUNE-UP

PUBLISHING HISTORY

Bantam hardcover edition published July 2000
Bantam trade paperback edition / September 2001

All rights reserved.
Copyright 2000 by Michael T. Murray, N.D.

Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 00-24599.
No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.
For information address: Bantam Books.

eISBN: 978-0-307-83288-7

Published simultaneously in the United States and Canada

Bantam Books are published by Bantam Books, a division of Random House, Inc. Its trademark, consisting of the words Bantam Books and the portrayal of a rooster, is Registered in U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and in other countries. Marca Registrada. Bantam Books, 1540 Broadway, New York, New York 10036.

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I am a doctor of naturopathyan N.D. Naturopathy is the science that harnesses the power of nature to prevent illness and achieve the highest level of health possible. My particular area of focus is clinical nutritionthe use of diet and nutritional supportand herbal medicine.

When people refer to me as an expert in alternative medicine, I usually correct them. I am a proponent of what I like to refer to as rational medicine, which combines the best of both conventional medicine and alternative methods. We have all been helped by the wonders of modern high-tech medicine. It can make a life-or-death difference when heroic measures are needed. As far as improving our general level of health, however, I believe it is woefully deficient. Modern medicine fails us most in the treatment of chronic degenerative diseases such as heart disease, high blood pressure, arthritis, and diabetes. In many diseases, the natural approach is simply much more rational. Rather than relying on drugs and surgery to suppress symptoms, I believe it makes more sense to use natural, noninvasive techniques whenever possible to promote health and healing.

My interest in, and commitment to, natural medicine resulted from personal experience. Years ago, when I was a freshman at the University of Oregon, I underwent a four-hour knee operation for a long-standing injury. The orthopedic surgeon told me that Id be lucky if I walked without a limp. When the cast was removed three months later, I did everything I could to rehabilitate my knee. I wanted to have a full and physically active life, and that meant taking part in basketball games, racquet sports, and jogging. But after a year and a half I was still unable to put any significant stress on my knee. At the suggestion of my father, I went to see Ralph Weiss, N.D., a doctor of natural medicine.

I was skeptical. I knew that Dr. Weiss had helped a lot of people, including members of my family, but I had been treated by one of the top knee specialists in the world. What could Dr. Weiss do that conventional medicine couldnt?

I soon learned. In our first meeting, Dr. Weiss expressed concern not just about my knee but about my diet and lifestyle. He explained things in terms I could understand. He spoke with confidence and wonder about the bodys tremendous ability to heal itself. All we had to do, he said, was remove the obstacles that were preventing my knee from healing properly. His technique was to use electro-acupuncture. As soon as the treatment began I could literally feel my leg come alive again. Within minutes it was almost as strong as my healthy leg. That evening, I played basketball againwithout painfor the first time in years.

It was a life-changing experience. I changed my major from history (I had planned to go on to law school) to pre-med and soon fulfilled the entrance requirements to attend Bastyr College (now a university) to pursue a degree in naturopathic medicine.

This book is the culmination of my years of work in the field. Over the past two decades I have treated thousands of patients in my private practice near Seattle, Washington. I teach medical students at Bastyr University, have published many books and articles on natural medicine, and travel widely, speaking to audiences of doctors and lay people. One of my greatest sources of satisfaction is sharing with listeners and readers my excitement about the results of the latest scientific research in the field. I maintain an ever-growing database of more than fifty thousand articles published in medical journals. This body of scientific research now enables us to better confirm which natural medicines are the most safe and effectiveas well as telling us which popular remedies dont work. The information you find in these pages is based on this research and on my personal experience with patients.

M y purpose in writing this book is to convey the splendor of the human body and motivate you to take the steps necessary to keep it running at its best. My Total Body Tune-Up provides a step-by-step program to improve the function of the vehicle that will carry you through life. By tuning up each key body system, you will achieve better health, greater vitality, and renewed zest for living. Just as taking your car in for routine maintenance can improve its mileage and performance, a body tune-up can help slow down the aging process, get rid of rust, and keep your systems running smoothly for as long as you live.

Several themes, or threads, run through this book. Here are some of the main ideas you will encounter in the chapters ahead.

The health of the body depends on the health of its smallest parts: the cells. These very complex living factories connect to form tissues and organs. In order to function at their peak, cells require a steady stream of chemical building blocks. Cells use these chemical building blocks to build larger molecules just as we use letters of the alphabet to make words, sentences, paragraphs, and books. We truly become what we eat, as the cells utilize the nutrients and energy provided by food to form these larger molecules. Cells are constantly remodeling and reproducing themselves. In fact, that process is the whole basis of healing.