Spotlight:  Dr. Andrew Weil
On a Mission

A Proponent of Integrative Medicine
By Liz Sterling

As summer abounds, so do our healthy food choices-and we know that food is one of the great pleasures of life.  In his new book, The Healthy Kitchen: Recipes For a Better Body, Life, and Spirit, Dr. Andrew Weil, M.D., and Rosie Daley join forces to bring us useful tips on how to create easy meals and wholesome recipes.  It is a lively guide (lifestyle book as well as a cookbook) to healthy cooking, packed with essential information and above all, filled with enticing food.

Dr. Andrew Weil, M.D, is a Harvard Medical School graduate who also holds an AB degree in biology (botany) from Harvard University.  Time Magazine named him one of the twenty-five most influential people in America.  He is a clinical professor of internal medicine as well as the founder and director of the Program in Integrative Medicine at the University of Arizona's Health Sciences Center in Tucson.  He is an internationally recognized expert on medicinal herbs, mind-body interactions and integrative medicine and the author of eight books.

Practice Good Nutrition:
Dr. Weil is eager to share his thoughts, "I believe that good nutrition is one of the most important influences on health.  Most of us eat three times a day.  Many of us eat more frequently.  Each time we do, we have an opportunity to nourish the body, delight the senses and calm the mind.  It is a shame to waste those opportunities by eating food that is neither healthful nor delicious."

Dr. Weil has been on a mission of bringing nutrition grounded in science for many years.  We met in my radio studio to discuss nutrition, health, the inimitable spirit and ways to reduce stress and live optimally.  His runaway best-seller, Eight Weeks to Optimum Health, is the perfect program for establishing health and happiness in our lives.  He offers important tips for living well and he's not shy about what he believes.  "Get margarine, vegetable shortening, partially hydrogenated oils, polyunsaturated vegetable oils out of your pantries and refrigerators today.  Purify your drinking water, eat organic foods, sleep more, filter your air and volunteer your time."

Integrative Medicine Defined:
A proponent of integrative medicine, Weil defines it as, "combining the best ideas and practices of alternative and conventional medicine to maximize the body's natural healing ability."

*	It seeks to restore the focus of medicine on health and healing rather than disease and treatment.
*	It views patients as whole persons-minds and spirits as well as physical bodies.
*	It emphasizes a true partnership between patient and practitioner and addresses healing on all levels-especially lifestyle factors such as diet, exercise, stress, quality of sleep, relation- ships, and work, as well as the appropriate use of dietary supplements, herbs and other forms of treatment.
*	It considers simple, inexpensive, low-tech treatment methods especially when conventional approaches are relatively ineffective or potentially harmful.

No Cost Stress Reliever:
His program is simple, yet it takes a serious commitment.  Much to my surprise, many of the stress reducing, mental and spiritual exercises are accessible to us all.  I encourage you to select one or two from the following list:

1.	Visit A Park
2.	Turn Off the News
3.	Read a Good Book
4.	Fill Your Life with Flowers
5.	Breathe
6.	Listen To Music
7.	Reconnect with Someone
8.	Feel Gratitude

One of the fastest and most effective stress-relievers is the "4-7-8 breath."  Place the tip of your tongue against the bony ridge by your upper front teeth.  Breathe in through your nose for 4 counts.  Hold your breath for 7 counts.  Exhale through your mouth (making a whooshing sound) for 8 counts.  Repeat this cycle 4 times, twice a day. Ahhhh.

The common thread that forms the basis of integrative medicine is the consistent focus on the body's own innate mechanisms of healing.  So go ahead...heal yourself by treating yourself well... buy some flowers, eat a healthy meal, take a deep cleansing breath, listen to inspiring music, visit friends and make this your summer for living in optimum health and balance!

Dr. Weil told me he got 30 minutes of nutrition education while in Medical school  "I am working on changing the requirements.  We now have a coalition of medical schools-a group called the Consortium of Academic Health Centers for Integrative Medicine.  It includes schools like Duke, Harvard, Georgetown, Albert Einstein Yeshiva, Columbia, University of Arizona and UC-San Francisco, where the Deans and Chancellors of these institutions have recognized that medical education has to move towards Integrative Medicine."  And with the establishment of The Polaris Foundation, a nonprofit organization, developed to advance Integrative Medicine and optimum health around the world, we can expect to see additional changes in education, research, patient care and public policy.