An Interview with Andrew Weil, MD (Prevention Magazine)

Andrew Weil MD, is director of the Arizona Center for Integrative Medicine at the University of Arizona and is a pioneer in the use of natural healing therapies.  He received his medical training at Harvard University.

Following is an intimate chat with the founder of integrative medicine, who details the body’s amazing capacity to repair itself.

• Q: When did you first become interested in natural and alternative medicine?
• A: Long before medical school.  As a boy, I was always in terested in plants and did a lot of gardening.  I also read about things that were off the beaten track, like hypnosis, yoga, mind and body interactions, and Eastern philosophy.
• Q: Not exactly a conventional preparation for medical school.
• A: No, not then.  After I got out, I did a lot of traveling and studied the healing practices of other cultures.  I gradually put together my own system, which I first called natural and preventive medicine and later integrative medicine.
• Q: What is the main tenet of integrative medicine?
• A: The body has an incredible capacity to regulate and heal itself, and good medicine should begin with the assumption that the body can and wants to be healthy.  To that end, we should always consider natural, less expensive treatments first.
• Q: What can the average person do to embrace this natural healing philosophy?
• A: The basic principles of maintaining health are not complicated.  They start with good nutrition, proper physical activity, adequate rest and sleep, maintaining a positive outlook, managing stress, and using natural remedies for common conditions.  Doctors should be guides and teachers in this.
• Q: How do you practice these principles daily in your own life?
• A: I’m very careful about what I eat.  I grow a lot of my own food, like to cook, and eat mostly fish and vegetables.  I take a multivitamin-and-mineral supplement, two low-dose aspirin, co-enzyme Q10, fish oil, vitamin D, and a mixture of Asian mushrooms for immune support.  I sleep a full 8 hours and practice breathing exercises for stress reduction.  I used to run a lot, but now on most days I swim for at least a half  hour. I like the breathing that goes with it, and I get into a kind of altered state that works really well for me.

Andrew Weil, MD shares the same views that we do here, at The Healthy Choice Compounding Pharmacy.  We believe that you need to treat the whole person.  One medication does not fit everyone.  We are all individuals and should be treated as such. For more of Andrew Weil, MD and Prevention Magazine, click on this link.