Customer Reviews

How and When to Be Your Own Doctor

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I just finished reading an online version of this book at http://www.enotalone.com/article/13231.html, and it has greatly changed my outlook on health. Using a common-sense, physiological approach to address the causes of disease, the author presents methods for overcoming various afflictions -- major arthritis, high blood pressure, and even cancers, just to name a few. More importantly, though, she addresses what she believes to be the root cause of disease, a fact that many people do not want to face: unhealthy living.

She argues that standard medical professionals fail to address the true causes of disease, instead opting for prescriptions or even disfiguring surgery to remove what amounts to symptoms of other underlying problems. By treating only the symptoms, the true disease (a toxic body) only gets worse and manifests its internal imbalances in increasingly more serious ways. Part of the cause of this "toxemia" is the declining nutrition in the food that we eat on an everyday basis.

She posits that the only thing capable of healing the body is the body itself, and the best approach for overcoming nearly all ailments is giving the body the opportunity to do that. By discovering minor food allergies, imposing a more healthy diet, fasting, and colon cleansing, she puts forward methods for allowing that process to occur. One gem of advice was that of fasting: food digestion burns 30-50% of the energy in the food we eat. By fasting for even short periods of time, this energy (and the toxin-filtering efforts of the liver) can instead be used for purifying and restoring our bodies. She then points out that when we are sick, we lose our appetites for just this reason: we would be much better off to not eat at all, drink plenty of water, and rest, allowing our body the energy to fight the disease, instead of overworking our bodies by eating, fueling the disease with additional food stores, and introducing poisonous antibiotics into our system. It is against-conventional-wisdom-but-highly-sensible (after all, sick animals don't eat) advice like this that make this book really stand out.

I must say that much of the evidence is not up to "scientific snuff", but that is almost to be expected with a work like this. When the main treatment advocated for serious detoxification (and tremendous benefits of various sorts) is a long-term water fast, there is not much profit to be made in promoting or researching it. She does cite various studies throughout, appeals to common sense and history, and presents a slew of anecdotal evidence from her decades of work running Great Oaks School of Health (an alternative healing clinic, for all intents and purposes) in Oregon. She herself even survived two bouts with breast cancer without ever having a mastectomy, chemotherapy, or radiation treatment.

Most importantly, she presents a balanced, realistic view of hygienic healing and healthy living. She does not "religiously" adhere to any one technique, instead presenting the positives and negatives of various methods. She is not overly-optimistic, but truthful instead, accepting and discussing various cases that she could not help. Her descriptions of food in particular, that organic foods are not necessarily any better (in nutrition) than industrial foods, are particularly enlightening. Even while discussing more healthy ways to eat, she accepts that we will sometimes depart from an otherwise healthy diet, and even relates an instance of doing that herself. It is her down-to-earth, pragmatic, truthful, realistic, case-study-driven approach that makes this book worthwhile, and I highly suggest it to anyone.

If you still aren't convinced, at least read Chapter 2: The Nature and Cause of Disease (http://www.enotalone.com/article/13241.html). It simply makes so much sense that it's really hard to ignore, and this is true of the book in general.

I only read documentary/political/health related books. When I decided a fast was for me, after searching around on the internet I realized that this book was also in printed form. So I ordered it. It is jam packed with information/references and resources written in a very easy to understand way. I did the fast according to the book and I feel as if I am a new person, heck, I am a new person. I lost 25kgs in 37 days, but more importantly, my athletes foot is finally gone, my sinuses are unblocked after more than a year, I feel so much lighter, I am not fat anymore. I am 31 years old and I have my life back. The book really smashes personal responsibility into the reader, taught me that only I can cure myself, I must take care of my body. This book is full of all of the information you need to get your life back, from apricot kernels to sinusitis, this book is my most cherished health book full of everything you could ever possibly want, success stories, failures, health information, lifestyle information. Really making a point that the freedoms that we currently have and the choices that we continue to make are our responsibility, and not the responsibility of a doctor. It explains when probably it is best to go see a doctor, and when it is best to go and fix yourself. I just gave away my first book because my friend started to read it and wouldn't give it back, now I have to order a second.

Only downside is... I think I will make an index for it, it is only 200 pages, but man is there allot of useful information, there are at least about 3 dozen things that I would like to quote people and show people. This book is a must buy, I think if I give away this next copy, then I am just going to shell out 100 for the hard copy of the book so then I won't give it to my friends. Bottom line, this is the most important health book you could ever own.

I recommend this book to anyone interested in learning some differences between holistic health care and allopathic, or Western, medicine. The book is actually an autobiography of the author's life as a holistic practicioner when she operated a clinic in Canada. In an entertaining way, she shares her successes and failures. She shares a myriad of ideas about nutrition, organic foods vs. conventional foods, self-intoxication, water fasting, colonics, wheat grass therapies. She followed the practice of the "hygenist" and describes this technique which utilizes prolonged water fasting and colonics in order to purge the body of unhealthy tissue and toxins. She caused her cancer to go into remission twice until she actually succumbed to it the third time around. In her clinic she treated patients whose doctors had given up, as was a last chance for many. Many were actually healed, or at least went into remission using her approach. She also cleared people of food allergy-caused illnesses, by detecting allergies at the pulse level, the method which she describes in detail. She found that often some people who are ill, physically or mentally, have an undiscovered allergy to common foods such as wheat and are wrongfully receiving medication for the illness symptom, rather than the root cause. The book includes an elaborate bibliography which allows for further reading, if this subject intrigues the reader.

This book opened my eyes to the power of the body healing itself. It made such perfect sense to me. I thought the author explained the digestive process in layman's terms, which I found very beneficial and educational. She offered insight on how to correct both serious ailments and irritating conditions within the body. I was just very impressed with this book and I will read it again because it contains so much information and common sense that I must.
I will say that the title did throw me off because it was not what I expected. I was pleasantly surprised once I got into it.

Good information you need to use to stay out of your Doctor's office. Of course when to go.

And that is an understatement! I got this book expecting helpful advice on when one should question your doctor and perhaps some alternative medicine options tailored to specific ailments. I hardly expected a book that basically says that virtually anything that ails you can be cured by fasting and colonics (a polite word for enemas.)
I have no doubt that some people with certain conditions can benefit from this, but the average person is probably not going to do this, nor should they without first consulting an actual doctor. Certain conditions can be made significantly worse with this approach- diabetes is one- and it is hardly the panacea this book makes it out to be.
If it sounds like you want to try something like this, I would recommend an actual doctor's opinion before starting. This is alternative medicine, and you need to be sure you won't be making matters worse by trying it. If your doc says ok, and you like enemas, go to it. If you have no conditions that contraindicate this, you have nothing to lose except some weight.

loved the book! im not a big reader and i finished it in 4 days! very well written and easy to read and understand. thank you!

I find it difficult to really get into a book, but this drew me in instantly! I think everyone should read this book, save yourself some money on unnecessary doctors visits, but ultimately live a better life. This book really changed mine for the better.

I am currently on a fast and found this book to be a great aid and inspiration. I especially like her charts on what foods are easiest to digest.

I thought this book was going to give review of several medical scenarios and applications. I didn't feel the title represented the content of the book and was greatly disappointed.