Contents:
With clearly explained and authoritatively informed recommendations, Dr. Weil guides you in fine-tuning your current eating habits - to eat less fat and animal protein, more whole grains and other complex carbohydrates, and more fruits and vegetables - so that your diet becomes more nutritious and increasingly beneficial to general health he also includes simple, flavorful recipes to help you make the dietary changes quickly and easily.
He shows how walking and stretching will satisfy all your exercise requirements throughout your life, and provides a gradual plan by which you can make brisk forty-five-minute walks and some simple stretches part of your weekly regimen. Weil recommends the addition of four antioxidant supplements - vitamins C and E, selenium, and mixed carotenes - to further protect your healing system. He provides instruction in five basic breathing exercises that can impart both greater relaxation and energy.
He discusses the benefits and techniques of visualization. He explains ways to overcome sleeping problems; to test and filter your water supply; to eliminate toxins from your diet; and to avoid environmental hazards such as the sun's ultraviolet rays. He suggestsways to make art, music, and the natural world more important parts of your life. Effects of Breathing Exercises. For Those Over Age Fifty. For Those Over Age Seventy. For Pregnant W11e1 and Those Considering. For Those at Risk for Cancer. The Power of Intimacy. Eight Weeks to Optimum Health: A graduate of Harvard Medical School, Dr.
I'm looking at you, exercise shoes May 15, Helynne rated it really liked it.
I have long admired Dr. Andrew Weil for his honest, down-to-earth philosophy about staying healthy, strong and flexible into old age. He is a big proponent not only of the of the usual advice -nourishing food, exercise, moderation in all things--but also some spiritual and New Age-style approaches to keeping the health and quality in our aging lives. Some of his advice includes: His book includes a lot of healthy recipes, such as muffins made with a fruit juice base instead of oil or butter.
As for diet, he recommends lots of fruits and vegetables, especially broccoli and other cooked greens, fish, flax seed, soy foods, whole grains, olive and canola oils, garlic and ginger. He also says to avoid the use of articial sweeteners and products that contain them. If everyone lived by this wonderfully logical and sane advice, we would be a nation of people who virtually would never die. Sadly, we tend to neglect such basic and logical counsel.
After all, how are we supposed to give up Diet Pepsi and not turn into blimps? This is why Dr. Weil's books should be read and savored regularly--to keep prodding us all into his simple path to better living. Weil also has available "The Heathly Heart Kit," which consists of two CDs, a booklet, and a set of cards with suggestions on exercise, diet, recipes, stress relief, and all sorts of advice for keeping our heart in good shape as we age. I bought one of these for myself and for my brother, and I highly recommend this kit, too. May 08, Mina rated it really liked it.
I usually don't get books like this because of their associations with New Age, Boomer-type literature that is all about connecting with the self and so forth, the type of diet plus pseudo-spirituality that really bothers me. Not that I am against spirituality, I just don't like all of this fake spirituality that is meant to comfort people without making them think! Anyhow, back to Weil's book. It really doesn't have any of this New Age propaganda, and I'm thankful for that.
Now, I mostly skimme I usually don't get books like this because of their associations with New Age, Boomer-type literature that is all about connecting with the self and so forth, the type of diet plus pseudo-spirituality that really bothers me. Now, I mostly skimmed the book for now, as there are different sections pertaining to the weeks you're on his programme, each broken up by week; then are are sections pertaining to women, men, older people, those living in cities, etc. I have to say that Weil has some really good recipes in this book that I'm going to follow.
Unfortunately, the part about buying supplements and so forth will have to be put on hold because it's too expensive for me right now, and I'm always too busy. What I'm going to do is try out some of the recipes; as a vegetarian, I'm always looking for new things to try. I can say that Dr. Weil sounds like he knows his stuff, and I'd recommend this book for that reason; however, as I said, people who can't afford the supplements or have an incredibly fast-paced lifestyle may not be able to implement the entire programme.
Still, this is a book I would recommend, and I think if we all followed it our health and spirituality would be much improved. Now if I could only get my hamburger-loving husband to want to eat some of the recipes. At least he's starting to eat Boca Burgers. Most of the advice in this book is standard stuff, eat whole and fresh foods, get enough sleep, find outlets to reduce stress, etc. A few of my favorites included avoiding news for one or more days per week, focus on walking as exercise, and taking naps. Weil has good suggestions for new habits to incorporate into life.
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Eight Weeks to Optimum Health presents a really neat summary of health from what I guess you'd call a holistic or natural perspective. It's a perspective I've not had much exposure to, but came to appreciate through reading this book. Andrew Weil asserts that our bodies were made to be able to heal themselves.
Coming from the perspective of believing that humans are created by God, I can really appreciate this acknowledgment. God knew what he was doing when he created our white blood Eight Weeks to Optimum Health presents a really neat summary of health from what I guess you'd call a holistic or natural perspective. God knew what he was doing when he created our white blood cells, for example. It's as we age, or encounter injury that we are particularly in need of extra interventions.
In this book, Weil presents elements of a healthy lifestyle that one can adopt to help or encourage the body do what it's naturally supposed to do.
I was intrigued in reading this book by Weil's summary of the place of traditional medicine drugs, surgical procedures, etc. Rather than saying that there is no place for this type of medicine in a holistic health plan, he suggests that there are times when the body's natural healing system is simply overwhelmed and needs the intervention of drugs or surgery.
I like the way he puts that. Weil appeals to a very wide audience in writing this book. He manages to describe things like meditation without totally alienating me as a Christian. I definitely read this book with discernment, and did not agree with everything Weil proposed, but did not find myself totally gagging at new-agey mumbo-jumbo at any point.
Here are the take-away points I gleaned from this book that I'd like to apply to some degree. This is not a comprehensive summary of each week's plan, but rather the elements from each week that I think are realistic for applying in my own life right now: There were plenty of things I didn't mention such as getting an expensive water filtration system , so if you are really interested in trying the program, definitely read the book yourself!
One more take-away from this book that I really appreciated learning about was the "Relaxing Breath. Hold your breath while counting to seven. Breath out through your mouth while counting to eight. Repeat this maybe up to 10 times.
It's amazing how it proves to be instantly relaxing! Mar 04, Joanne Annabannabobanna rated it really liked it Recommends it for: I have loved Dr. Weil since and everything he says makes perfect sense. I continue to refer to his timeless books as I attempt my daily exercise and diet regimen. No trending fads, lame gimmicks or conceited trickery here. Weil is considered the leading proponent of integrative medicine and he is so Not-Dr. He's been combining traditional medical practices with alternative and herbal remedies and writing about them f 4.
He's been combining traditional medical practices with alternative and herbal remedies and writing about them for at least 25 years.
As the "guru of alternative medicine" his practical, no-nonsense advice is unparalleled, imo. And there are definite links to Eastern spiritual traditions in Weil's approach that I appreciate: A clue as to the kind of human being he is: In an appendix to the companion guide book: Totally esoteric and fascinating! Found the mysterious Qigong, and it rules. If you're unfamiliar and plan to live past the age of fifty-five Weil and more and more other 'aging experts' highly recommends it.
To a healthy oldness! Weil may not be as cutesy as Rachael Ray or as studly as Richard Simmons, but the dude is right on the money for the most part. I've devoured several books by Weil with no indigestion so far, and I've savored every last morsel of his wisdom. Though the "New Age" fluff didn't sit well with me I still found 8 Weeks to be a meal fit for a king: The program is about a holistic wellness: Dec 04, Andrea James rated it liked it. This is a detailed prescriptive book about what to do to potentially optimise your health.
Some of the suggestions feel like they need more investigation. I say this not because the recommendations are necessarily dangerous or wrong unlikely to be, though I can't say for certain but more because they require quite a lot of effort especially for people with busy full-time jobs and a non-generous budget. Nevertheless, there are some reasonable sounding suggestions and it is a quick read. The book This is a detailed prescriptive book about what to do to potentially optimise your health.
Now expanded and updated–the #1 New York Times bestselling book in Eight Weeks to Optimum Health, Revised Edition and millions of other books are. Editorial Reviews. donnsboatshop.com Review. "Health," Dr. Andrew Weil writes, "is a dynamic and temporary state of equilibrium destined to break down as conditions .
After hearing about this book for years, and getting more negative health news that I think I should get at this point in my life, I picked up Andrew Weil's book. I finished reading through it in two days, and am looking forward to integrating his recommendations into my lifestyle over the next two months. As a vegan with a regular yoga routine, the changes aren't really all that intimidating and mostly common sense.