Own Your Health: Choosing the Best from Alternative and Conventional Medicine

Almost everyone is concerned about health these days, but the more information that is available, the more confusing it all becomes. Conventional medicine? Millions of people are dissatisfied with the care they receive from their doctors, including: The lack of personal attention; drug side effects; contradicting advice on diet, cancer treatments and hormone replacement, the list goes on.

Alternative medicine? Millions have turned to it: yoga, vitamins and herbs, traditional Chinese medicine and others. But are they safe?

So what really works-and what doesn't? How can we live longer, healthier lives? How can we draw on the best from both alternative and conventional medicine and, yes, own our health? The answers are here in one volume that breaks through the confusion of how to reduce stress, prevent heart disease, treat chronic pain or illness, combat depression, fight cancer, manage menopause, and much more.

Written by an award-winning medical writer and the distinguished physician in charge of one of the first complementary medicine programs supported by the National Institutes of Health, this is an indispensable resource for understanding the best of both approaches. Containing interviews with-and stories from-more than 100 doctors, practitioners and patients, and filled with practical advice, easy-to-follow tips, reference sources and Web sites, this is the one book on health every family needs.

Everyone wants good health, but most people are confused about the best ways to achieve it.

Alongside the miracles of conventional medicine are problems: side effects of drugs and chemotherapy; harried doctors juggling too many patients; too much emphasis on surgery and pills and not enough attention to the emotional and spiritual sides of people.

So millions of people are turning to alternative methods such as acupuncture, herbs, massage and yoga. But what works? Which ones are safe? What do you tell your doctor? How can you combine alternatives with conventional care?

Own Your Health will help you navigate the confusing array of choices so that you can take responsibility for your health and find your own power to heal. Authors Roanne Weisman and Dr. Brian Berman give you valuable health information, advice and the latest research evidence from more than a hundred interviews with experts and alternative practitioners.

Did you know, for example, that soy may diminish pain; black cohosh can help with hot flashes; tai chi helps reduce falls in the elderly; you must never take certain herbs if you are taking an anticoagulant?

You will also read moving stories of people who combined alternative and conventional medicine to:

• overcome pain
• recover from heart disease
• live more easily with chronic illness
• find effective, gentle treatments for childhood ear infections, allergies stomach upsets and asthma
• tolerate chemotherapy for cancer
• age gracefully with optimism and good health
• manage anxiety and stress
• get more energy, lose weight, stop smoking, and enjoy life more

This indispensable resource is one that your family will refer to again and again, and will provide you with the knowledge to take charge of your health.

What People Are Saying About Own Your Health . . .

"I recommend this book to all people who want to know how to navigate the confusing world of alternative medicine and choose sensible therapies that work. Whether you intend to use alternative therapies on their own or to integrate them with conventional medicine, the information in Own Your Health can guide you to making the right decisions."
-Andrew Weil, M.D., author, 8 Weeks to Optimum Health

"Own Your Health is truly a landmark book in integrative medicine. It combines moving, personal stories with the latest scientific research in alternative medicine. Most importantly, Dr. Brian Berman is one of the few international authorities with the depth of both clinical and research experience to accomplish this task. With this practical guide, he and Ms. Weisman have elegantly articulated the potency of individual empowerment and informed choice as the cornerstone of health and healing."
-Kenneth R. Pelletier, Ph.D., M.D. (hc), clinical professor of medicine, University of Arizona and University of Maryland Schools of Medicine; former director, NIH Complementary and Alternative Medicine Program at Stanford School of Medicine; author, The Best Alternative Medicine: What Works, What Does Not

"A responsible book for getting the best out of medicine. Inspiring yet grounded in science, Own Your Health is for everyone."
-Wayne B. Jonas, M.D., director, Samueli Institute; former director, Office of Alternative Medicine, National Institutes of Health; coeditor, Essentials of Complementary and Alternative Medicine