Health, Food & Beauty
Andrew Weil, M.D's Why Our Health Matters, is a landmark book that shows us exactly how we have let health and medicine become a crisis in our society and what we can all do to resolve it.
Healthcare is no longer just a public issue; for millions of Americans it is now a crisis on their own doorstep. Cost of medical care today are a leading cause of personal bankruptcy. Although policy makers have weighed in on all sides, in this book, bestselling author Andrew Weil, M.D., identifies the root of the problem. He shows us exactly how we have become embroiled in the present situation and provides a solution that will not only make healthcare affordable, but will also put each one of us on the road to optimum health.
Dr. Weil states that we have a right to good healthcare that is effective, accessible, and affordable. Many Americans would be surprised to know that our national health is far from the best in the world, even though we spend more money on it than any other country. The World Health Organization recently rated America thirty–seventh in health outcomes, on par with Serbia. Tackling head–on the Three Major Myths of American Medicine, Dr. Weil shows how medical schools fail to give future doctors the education they need to care for patients, how insurance companies have destroyed our opportunity to get excellent care, and how pharmaceutical companies have come to rule our lives. The solution involves nothing less than the creation of a completely new culture of health and medicine in this country, one that we can each start building today.
Read an excerpt from Why Our Health Matters:
Chapter 1
You Have a Right to Good Health Care
"I now understand that when you lose your health, nothing else that you have matters. All you can think about is being well again."
That's what a patient of mine said to me recently, a woman in her mid-sixties who was well until a sudden painful illness, an inflammation of bones in her pelvis, disabled her completely and landed her in a hospital. Even with bed rest and aggressive drug treatment, her recovery was slow. For several weeks she lost control of her life, felt helpless and dependent.
It often takes an experience like this to make us realize the paramount importance of health. Without it, the worth of life diminishes.
Read a Q&A with Andrew Weil, M.D.:
Q. Why did you write Why Our Health Matters?
I wrote Why Our Health Matters because I care very much about health, about my profession, and about my country. I would like to see people become informed, and upset and angry with the facts about health care in America. I want them to understand how much we are paying and how little we are getting. I want to show them all the things that have to change.
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