Health And Healing

This interdisciplinary collection takes a deep dive into early modern Hispanic health and demonstrates the multiples ways medical practices and experiences are tied to gender.

Winner of the American Health Book of the Year Award and the Medical Self-Care Book Award, HEALTH AND HEALING is a handbook for people who want to understand the strengths and weaknesses of conventional and alternative medicine. This revised edition includes a new Preface by author Andrew Weil, M.D.

Coconut water is a refreshing beverage that comes from coconuts. It is a powerhouse of nutrition containing a complex blend of vitamins, minerals, amino acids, antioxidants, enzymes, health enhancing growth hormones, and other phytonutrients. Because its electrolyte content is similar to human plasma, it has gained international acclaim as a natural sports drink for oral rehydration. As such, it has proven superior to commercial sports drinks. Unlike other beverages, it is completely compatible with the human body, in so much that it can be infused directly into the bloodstream. In fact, doctors have used coconut water successfully as an intravenous fluid for over 70 years. Coconut water’s unique nutritional profile gives it the power to balance body chemistry, ward off disease, dissolve kidney stones, improve digestion, reduce the risk of heart disease, reduce high blood pressure, fight cancer, and retard aging. History and folklore credit coconut water with remarkable healing powers, which medical science is now confirming.

A bold, expert, and actionable map for the re-invention of America’s broken mental health care system. “Healing is truly one of the best books ever written about mental illness, and I think I’ve read them all." —Pete Earley, author of Crazy As director of the National Institute of Mental Health, Dr. Thomas Insel was giving a presentation when the father of a boy with schizophrenia yelled from the back of the room, “Our house is on fire and you’re telling me about the chemistry of the paint! What are you doing to put out the fire?” Dr. Insel knew in his heart that the answer was not nearly enough. The gargantuan American mental health industry was not healing millions who were desperately in need. He left his position atop the mental health research world to investigate all that was broken—and what a better path to mental health might look like. In the United States, we have treatments that work, but our system fails at every stage to deliver care well. Even before COVID, mental illness was claiming a life every eleven minutes by suicide. Quality of care varies widely, and much of the field lacks accountability. We focus on drug therapies for symptom reduction rather than on plans for long-term recovery. Care is often unaffordable and unavailable, particularly for those who need it most and are homeless or incarcerated. Where was the justice for the millions of Americans suffering from mental illness? Who was helping their families? But Dr. Insel also found that we do have approaches that work, both in the U.S. and globally. Mental illnesses are medical problems, but he discovers that the cures for the crisis are not just medical, but social. This path to healing, built upon what he calls the three Ps (people, place, and purpose), is more straightforward than we might imagine. Dr. Insel offers a comprehensive plan for our failing system and for families trying to discern the way forward. The fruit of a lifetime of expertise and a global quest for answers, Healing is a hopeful, actionable account and achievable vision for us all in this time of mental health crisis.

Every generation must wrestle with the interpretation and practice of the miraculous. Our health fails, accidents happen, and disappointment over mind and bodies that are weak can become a crushing disappointment. Into any health decline, the Christian is challenged to do something through the ancient teaching of Holy Scripture. Is anyone among you sick? Let them call the elders of the church to pray over him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord...the prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective (James 5:14–16, NIV). Lorna Dueck and Dr. Nell DeBoer have sat at the cross-section of hope and faith in their unique roles as journalist and hospital chaplain. In their combined work of For Your Health: A Look into God’s Methods for Healing, they document what happens when people put the mystery of God, obedience to pray for healing, and broken health into spiritual practice. Through a well-selected collection of ailments and healings that are true and diverse, this book explores encounters with God that have helped people get better in body and mind.

A collaboration between a traditionally trained physician and a medical intuitive, The Creation of Health illuminates the deep connection between emotional dysfunction and physical illness. It describes the role that emotional disturbances play in the most common diseases and ailments from the common cold to arthritis, diabetes, heart disease, and cancer. After providing an introduction to intuitive medicine and its history, method of diagnosis, and relationship to traditional medicine, Myss and Shealy detail the deeper emotional and psychic reasons why illness develops in the body. Dr. Shealy offers a traditional account of a particular disease or ailment, while Dr. Myss sheds light on the deeper causes through her corresponding energy analysis. Confirming the link between illness and emotion, The Creation of Health puts forth a groundbreaking vision of holistic healing.

Plants have cultural histories, as their applications change over time and with place. Some plant species have affected human cultures in profound ways, such as the stimulants tea and coffee from the Old World, or coca and quinine from South America. Even though medicinal plants have always attracted considerable attention, there is surprisingly little research on the interface of ethnobotany and medical anthropology. This volume, which brings together (ethno-)botanists, medical anthropologists and a clinician, makes an important contribution towards filling this gap. It emphasises that plant knowledge arises situationally as an intrinsic part of social relationships, that herbs need to be enticed if not seduced by the healers who work with them, that herbal remedies are cultural artefacts, and that bioprospecting and medicinal plant discovery can be viewed as the epitome of a long history of borrowing, stealing and exchanging plants.

This is a complete natural health library in one hefty volume. The goal here is to provide readers concrete and sound advice for not only extending but also enhancing life. Long life is fine, asserts the author. However, if one is not healthy and vibrant, longevity is of limited value. This owners manual to your body provides an overview of your body's operating system, the causes of disease, methods of disease prevention, detox tips, and nutritional information. Also included are recipes, menu plans, and information about nutritional supplements.