“If there is one difference between the medicine I practice and what I see most doctors doing,” says Dr. Weil, “it is that I believe people can get better. There is enormous interest in disease and very little interest in health and healing and how to promote it. That is the root of a lot of our troubles.”

Weil is the Director of the Program in Integrative Medicine at the University of Arizona. His program is the first effort to change medical education by including courses on alternative therapies, mind/body interactions, healing and other subjects not currently emphasized in medical education.

The Program in Integrative Medicine has led several other Universities to plan similar initiatives, signaling a new day in the training of physicians.

What perhaps resonates most with Weil’s audiences is his advice for healthy living and prevention. In 8 Weeks to Optimum Health, Weil presents a step-by-step program designed to keep the body in peak working order. He shows how to maximize the inherent healing systems of the body through an array of changes in diet, behavior and exercise.

Dr. Weil promotes the middle ground between modern medicine and alternative medicine. He does not restrict his views to a single discipline but rather seeks the benefits of both forms of medical treatment.

I'm sure you've heard this a thousand times, but I'll say it anyway -- you are a most dynamic and motivating speaker. It was a pleasure and privilege to have you as a lecturer at the Garden. The New York Botanical Garden 

“If I were hit by a truck,” says Weil, “I’d want to go to a modern emergency room.” But for chronic conditions such as skin problems, autoimmune disorders and gastrointestinal-tract illnesses — conditions that modern medicine seems largely helpless to remedy — Dr. Weil finds that “gentler, nature-based systems,” can shore up, and even replace modern treatments.

His ideas seem to be catching on. According to a nationwide government survey released in May 2004, 36% of U.S. adults aged 18 years and over use some form of complementary and alternative medicine. The sales of herbal medicines were estimated at five billion dollars in 1997.

Dr. Weil received his A.B. and M.D. from Harvard University. His eight books (including The Healthy Kitchen with Rosie Daley and the international bestsellers Spontaneous Healing and 8 Weeks to Optimum Health) have sold over six million copies. He also publishes a monthly newsletter, Dr. Andrew Weil’s Self Healing,  that garners a half-million hits per week.

In fall 2005 Dr. Weil published Healthy Aging: A Lifelong Guide to Your Physical and Spiritual Well-Being.

With innovative minds like Dr. Weil leading the way, the practice of medicine is evolving and patients are benefiting from a more diverse and comprehensive pool of medical knowledge than ever before.

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