I write a lot about diet and nutrition, and there’s absolutely no doubt that the food we eat is one of the most important factors that determines our health.

But it’s a mistake to assume that food is the only consideration that matters when it comes to health, and that all health problems can be solved simply by making dietary changes. Unfortunately, this seems to be an increasingly common assumption in the Paleo/Primal nutrition world these days.

I see a lot of people in my practice that have their nutrition completely dialed in, but don’t take care of themselves in other ways. Maybe they don’t manage their stress, they don’t exercise, or they don’t sleep well.

Even if this person eats a perfect diet, are they really healthy?

And what about the person who doesn’t eat particularly well, but sleeps like a baby, gets a massage a couple times a month, has a lot of fun, spends lots of time outdoors, and doesn’t have any health problems?

What is health?

Moshe Feldenkrais, the creator of the Feldenkrais Method, defined health as “the ability to live your dreams“. I think that’s an interesting way to look at it. Using the examples above, it’s entirely possible that the person with the perfect diet but the rest of their life in shambles is less healthy than the person who doesn’t eat that well but takes care of himself or herself in other ways.

If you were to embrace Feldenkrais’ definition of health, how would you live your life differently? Would you put more time and energy into perfecting your diet, or would you spend a little more time focusing on the areas of your life that you tend to neglect? Which path would take you closer to being able to live your dreams?

In a previous article, I argued that the biggest obstacle to optimal health is our mind. The more patients I work with, the more convinced I am that this is true. From the article:

What I’ve observed in myself, in working with patients and in almost 20 years of meditation practice is that each of us has a significant blind spot or area in our lives where we lack awareness and insight. As a crude analogy, let’s call this a weak link in our chain and assume that the chain represents health.

Most of us invest the majority of our time and energy strengthening the parts of our chain that are already strong. These stronger links are where we feel comfortable and confident, where we can operate safely within the bounds of who we think we are.

And this is where the problem lies. No matter how much we strengthen the links in our chain that are already strong, if there’s still a weak link the chain as a whole isn’t stronger. It can break just as easily.

A better approach, of course, would be to focus our efforts on the strengthening the weak link. But that is much, much harder to do. Why? Because it usually requires us to step out of our concept of self and challenge our very identity. It asks us to grow and evolve and shine the light of awareness into the dark corners of our psyche. This isn’t something that happens overnight. It’s not as simple as popping a pill or eliminating nightshades from our diet. It’s a life’s work.

Yes, it’s important to pay attention to how much omega-6 fat you eat. Yes, it’s best to minimize phytic acid consumption by soaking nuts. Yes, it’s wise to avoid excess fructose, especially if you have digestive problems. These finer points of nutrition do make a difference.

But optimizing nutrition is only one variable in the equation of health. And if all of our attention goes there, at the expense of other variables that are also important (like sleep, exercise, stress management, pleasure, etc.), our health will suffer. That’s why only 4 out of my 9 Steps to Perfect Health are explicitly related to food and nutrition.

There’s more to life than health

In the same way that there’s more to health than food, there’s more to life than health.

I’m sure some of you have a friend or acquaintance that eats well and takes great care of themselves, but they’re a wreck in their personal or professional lives. Maybe they’re in a toxic relationship, they have a job that they hate, they can’t get along with co-workers or friends, or they feel lost, empty and unfulfilled.

And maybe you know someone that has struggled with a chronic illness for years, but has deep, rewarding relationships, meaningful work, a sense of purpose, and a rich, vibrant life.

Of course we all want to be as physically healthy as possible. There’s nothing wrong with that pursuit. But the cold, hard truth is that not all health problems are solvable. As much as we’d like to believe otherwise, we don’t have full control over all of the conditions of our lives.

What we do have control over is how we relate to ourselves and these conditions. In my opinion, this – more than anything else – is what determines our happiness and sense of well-being.

It’s possible to be physically healthy, but live in a constant state of struggle and dissatisfaction. Likewise, it’s possible to be ill, in pain, or physically disabled and be happy and at peace. I wrote about this in more detail in a previous article, Living with Chronic Illness: The Power of Acceptance.

I’d like to end this article by asking you two questions:

1. What aspects of health do you tend to ignore? And how does that keep you from living your dreams?
2. What areas of your life – beyond your health – could use more attention? How would addressing those areas bring you more happiness and peace?

Please leave your answers in the comments section!

In Step #6: Manage Your Stress, we talked about how chronic stress contributes to everything from insomnia and anxiety to obesity and heart disease.

Scientists have devoted vast amounts of attention to understanding the mechanisms of the “fight or flight” response. We know that when we’re faced with stress, a cascade of physiological changes occur triggered by stimulation of the sympathetic nervous system: blood flow increases to the muscles, lungs and other areas needed to mobilize us for action, and decreases to areas like the digestive and reproductive system that aren’t necessary for immediate survival. Hormones like adrenaline pump through our body to make us stronger and faster. Extra fuel (glucose) is released from the liver so that it can be burned quickly for energy.

But there’s another nervous system response that’s just as important as fight or flight to our survival that’s often ignored in the scientific literature and in mainstream articles about stress. We’re not only set up to deal with stress or challenges, but also to enjoy life, to relax, to bond and to heal. This is the parasympathetic state, often referred to as the “rest and digest” or “calm and connect” response. It has the opposite biochemical effects on our body to “fight or flight”. Our heart rate and respiration slow down, our blood pressure drops, our blood flow increases to the digestive tract, our skin and reproductive organs and our stress hormones decrease.

We’re not built for chronic stress

Both fight or flight and calm and connect are essential to life. We need the ability to meet challenges and mobilize our physical and mental resources to take action. But we also have the need to digest food, replenish our stores and heal ourselves.

In paleolithic times, it’s likely these to different systems existed in a state of relative balance. Imagine a day of mostly relaxing, interacting with others, gathering food or building shelters. This might be punctuated by an acutely stressful event, such as a hunt or an encounter with a predator. But it would likely be followed again by more “rest and digest” time, such as gathering around a fire and feasting on the day’s hunt.

Human beings are adapted to have this kind of balance between pressure and calm, stress and relaxation, sympathetic vs. parasympathetic stimulation.

But today things are different. Fight or flight isn’t usually a temporary situation – like warding off immediate physical danger or engaging in a hunt – that quickly passes. Instead it’s an almost continuous reaction to the excessive demands placed on us by modern life. Worrying about your 401k plan, watching the news, being skipped over for a promotion, getting cut off in traffic… while these don’t literally threaten our survival, our bodies react as if they do.

The problem is that chronic stress impacts us in much the same way that acute stress does. We have the exact same physiological response – only to a lesser degree. Our heart rate and blood pressure increase, stress hormones start pumping, and blood flow to the digestive and reproductive organs decreases. Is it any wonder that conditions like IBS and infertility have become epidemic?

When fight or flight is no longer simply an acute mobilization of our body’s resources, but instead becomes our default physiological state, we’re in a state of chronic stress. And as you saw in Step 6, chronic stress wreaks total havoc on our bodies.

Pleasure: the antidote to chronic stress

In their book Feeling Good Is Good For You, researchers Carl J. Charnetski and Francis X Brennan set out to review the emerging evidence that pleasure can boost our immune systems and lengthen our lives. According to the authors:

In every way, stress is the antithesis of pleasure. It jangles your nerves, juggles a whole host of your body’s hormones, elevates your blood pressure, and makes your pulse race… It also weakens your immune system’s ability to resist illness and disease.

If stress is the antithesis of pleasure, then it follows that pleasure is the antithesis of stress. So the best way to fight stress is with pleasure.

Our bodies secrete chemicals called endorphins when we experience pleasure. Animal research has revealed, for example, that endorphin levels are up to 86 times higher after animals experience multiple orgasms! But endorphins are also released, albeit at lower levels, in more mundane daily activities such as playing with a pet, watching a funny movie, listening to our favorite music, visiting a favorite place or connecting with loved ones.

The chemicals released when we experience pleasure do more than counteract stress hormones and improve mood. They also:

• Improve immune function by producing an antibacterial peptide
• Enhance the killer instincts and abilities of various immune components, including B cells, T cells, NK cells, and immunoglobulins
• Enable certain immune cells to secrete their own endorphins as a way of improving their disease-fighting capacity

The persistent state of chronic stress in our lives makes the counter-balancing effects of pleasure even more important. This is especially true for anyone dealing with chronic illness or pain, which are both stressors on the body.

Pleasure vs. distraction: not the same!

It might seem strange to you that I’m recommending seeking more pleasure in life. Maybe you’re thinking, “Our entire culture is slavishly devoted to and obsessed with the hedonistic pursuit of pleasure! And you want more?”

But I’d disagree with that assessment. Our culture is devoted to distraction, not pleasure. And there’s a big difference between the two.

Distraction is something that prevents us from giving full attention to ourselves and our lives. Pleasure is almost exactly the opposite. When we experience pleasure we are more fully present to life, more grounded in our bodies, more alive and aware. Pleasure activates our calm and connect system; distraction does not.

For example, watching TV and browsing the web are often distractions that divert our attention from our own experience. But getting a massage, listening to our favorite music or taking a walk barefoot on the beach are pleasurable activities that connect us more deeply with ourselves and the world around us.

It is this experience that is crucial to our health and – I would argue – our happiness.

But does that mean there’s never a role for distraction? No. I believe distraction (when used consciously and wisely) can be a helpful and sometimes even necessary way of releasing the pressure valve or hitting the reset button. Sometimes we’re too stressed out, too sick or in too much pain to experience pleasure or figure out how to bring it into our lives in that moment.

In these moments distraction can be a gift. In fact, my Zen teacher Darlene Cohen, who passed away earlier this year, had a special name for this kind of distraction: “down-and-dirty comfort”. She described it in her book Turning Suffering Inside Out:

How do we live through unbearable situations like a catastrophic disease without being destroyed? How do we deal with the mundane anguish of our everyday lives? How do we continue to live under crushing stress? And even further, how do we not just get through these things but have rich, full and worthwhile lives that we actually want to live – under any circumstances?

The important thing to understand here is that pleasure and distraction both have a role to play in protecting us from the ravaging effects of stress. Most people these days are pretty good at distraction. In fact, distraction has become a national past-time. What we’re not so good at is pleasure.

5 ways to bring more pleasure into your life

In their book, Charnetski and Brennan examined several “pleasure inducing” experiences that have been scientifically proven to promote health and well-being.

• Music (listening to it or making it)
• Touch (including massage, sex and simple human contact)
• Pets
• Humor (laughter)
• Light, sight & insight (spending time outdoors, prayer/meditation and positive attitude)

Most of us are already aware of the healing power of those things listed above – at least on some level. But in this culture, there is also an overwhelming reliance on medicine, surgery, diet and other physiological interventions to treat disease. Though we may pay lip service to the idea that stress causes illness and pleasure can prevent it, how many of us actually attribute the same importance to listening to music or watching a funny movie as we do to taking a pill? The evidence is crystal clear now that our thoughts, beliefs, emotions and behavior are all capable of inducing the same physiological changes in our bodies as foods, supplements, pills and even surgery are.

If you doubt that this is true, consider the placebo effect. It has been proven over and over again that pharmacologically inert substances like sugar pills can have identical or even greater therapeutic effects than drugs in certain cases. Even more impressive are the trials that have shown that sham surgery (when small incisions are made to convince the patient they have had the operation, but no surgery is performed) is at times as effective as the actual surgery.

Clearly this points to the power we all have to heal ourselves. If only the suggestion or belief that we will heal is enough to induce the physiological changes that lead to healing, without the presence of any “active” pharmacological substance or surgical intervention, then clearly our thoughts, beliefs and emotions have the potential to be powerful medicine.

Here is your homework: for the next week, make sure to do something pleasurable for yourself every day. Then report back and tell me how you felt at the end of that week.

What brings you pleasure? Join the discussion on my Facebook page.

In Part I and Part II of this series, we examined drug-free alternatives to treating depression including exercise, psychotherapy, light therapy, St. John’s Wort and acupuncture. We have learned that all of these treatments are at least as effective as antidepressants in the short term, and some (exercise and psychotherapy) are more effective in the long-term. All of these treatments have far fewer side effects, risks and complications than antidepressants. In fact, the only “side effects” of exercise and psychotherapy are positive ones: improved physiological and mental health!

Today we will look at other lifestyle-based approaches to treating depression without drugs. As I mentioned in the previous article, because 70% of research is funded by drug companies, many of these non-drug approaches have not been studied as extensively as antidepressant medication.

Nevertheless, there is enough data from clinical and epidemiological studies to support the following strategies – especially since they are superior to antidepressants from a “cost/risk – benefit” analysis. In other words, though some of the approaches I will propose in this article have not been exhaustively proven according to the standards of Western science, there are several lines of evidence supporting their effectiveness and without exception they have beneficial side effects and improve the quality of patient’s lives.

What’s more, all of these approaches can be combined together along with the treatments mentioned in the two previous articles to obtain the maximum effect. Based on the available evidence which we have extensively reviewed, these non-drug treatments should without a doubt be the first line of defense (as well as the second, third, fourth, etc.) in treating depression.

Nutrition

At some point in the future, I hope to dedicate an entire post (or perhaps more) to the subject of nutrition and depression. I personally believe that inadequate nutrition is a significant contributing factor to the continuously rising rates of depression in this country. Consequently, I also believe that proper nutrition can be one of the most effective treatments for depression.

For now, I will go over what I feel are the most important aspects of nutritional causes and treatment of depression, and hopefully address the subject in more detail later.

SUGAR

Diabetes is correlated with higher rates of depression. In 2005, researchers discovered a positive connection between higher levels of insulin resistance and severity of depressive symptoms in patients with impaired glucose tolerance, before the occurrence of diabetes. Based on these findings, it was suggested that insulin resistance could be the result of an increased release of counter-regulatory hormones linked to depression; however, this has not been confirmed.

Sugar can increase fasting levels of glucose and can cause reactive hypoglycemia. Sugar can also cause a decrease in your insulin sensitivity thereby causing an abnormally high insulin levels and eventually diabetes. Based on the study results above, this is one mechanism by which sugar could contribute to depression.

There is no doubt that increased sugar intake leads to hormonal changes that can lead to emotional instability. Therefore, people who are depressed (and all people, in fact) should significantly decrease their sugar consumption.

OMEGA-6 / OMEGA-3 RATIO

Anthropological evidence suggests that the intake of omega-6 (n-6) and omega-3 (n-3) polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) during the Paleolithic era was roughly equal, whereas the present n-6 to n-3 PUFA in western countries has ben estimated to be between 10 and 25 to 1. The n-6 to n-3 PUFA imbalance has been due mainly to the increase in vegetable and seed oil use and the rise in consumption of processed foods (which contain these oils).

Two major studies have provided direct evidence for the role of the n-6 to n-3 PUFA ratio in depression. The studies found that depression is associated with significantly decreased total n-3 PUFA and increased n-6 to n-3 PUFA ratio (Maes et al. 1996; Maes et al. 1999) . A supporting study carried out in 1998 also found a significant depletion in total n-3 PUFA, and in particular DHA, in the erythrocyte membranes of depressed patients.

Epidemiological data show the trend in decreasing dietary n-3 PUFA consumption and the increasing evidence of depression, both over time and between nations (Hibbeln et al. 1995). Further investigation suggests that the significance lies in the increase in n-6 to n-3 ratio, rather than simply low n-3 intake alone, as these two fatty acids compete in binding to enzyme systems that produce chain elongation and further desaturation. A diet high in n-6 fatty acids prevents the incorporation of n-3 PUFA into cell membranes and phospholipids (Spector et al. 1985).

All polyunsaturated fatty acids – including n-3 PUFA – have been shown to make lipoproteins more vulnerable to oxidative damage (Reaven et al. 1991), and oxidative damage is a significant risk factor for heart disease, cancer and many other conditions. As mentioned above, n-6 consumption actually prevents the incorporation of n-3 into our cells. Therefore, rather than increasing our consumption of n-3 PUFA to treat depression, as is often suggested, it makes more sense to dramatically decrease our consumption of n-6 PUFA. This will help our bodies to incorporate the small, but adequate amount of n-3 PUFA we get in a whole-foods based diet. Avoiding n-6 PUFA (primarily found in vegetable and seed oils, and in animals fed vegetables high in n-6 like pigs and chickens) will not only alleviate depression, but also benefit our health in many other ways.

VITAMIN D

In a 1998 controlled experiment, Australian researchers found that vitamin D (400 and 800 IU), significantly enhanced positive affect when given to healthy individuals. Forty-four subjects were given 400 IU cholecalciferol, 800 IU cholecalciferol, or placebo for 5 days during late winter in a random double-blind study. Results on a self-report measure showed that vitamin D3 enhanced positive affect a full standard deviation and there was some evidence of a reduction in negative affect. The authors concluded: “vitamin D3 deficiency provides a compelling and parsimonious explanation for seasonal variations in mood” (Landsdowne & Provost, 1998).

In another study in 1999, the vitamin D scientist, Bruce Hollis, teamed up with Michael Gloth and Wasif Alam to find that 100,000 IU of vitamin D given as a one time oral dose improved depression scales better than light therapy in a small group of patients with seasonal affective disorder. All subjects in the vitamin D group improved in all measures and, more importantly, improvement in 25(OH)D levels levels was significantly associated with the degree of improvement (Gloth et al. 1999).

According to the Vitamin D Council:

If you suffer from depression, get your 25(OH)D level checked and, if it is lower than 35 ng/mL (87 nM/L), you are vitamin D deficient and should begin treatment. If you are not depressed, get your 25(OH)D level checked anyway. If it is lower than 35 ng/mL (87 nM/L), you are vitamin D deficient and should begin treatment.

Recommended intake is up to 5,000 IU per day of vitamin D through exposure to sunshine and/or supplementation. See this article on vitamin D to learn to calculate how much vitamin D is produced given a certain amount of exposure to sunlight, and to learn more about vitamin D supplementation. It is important to remember that D works synergistically with A & K2, so if you increase your intake of D you must also increase your intake of A & K2 to avoid D toxicity.

Finally, I’d like to share with you a comment I received from a reader about how he/she has cured depression with nutritional intervention. Note that I endorse just about every suggested step, with the exception of the significant increase in n-3 intake. Based on the evidence above, I suspect that his/her improvement was a result of the decrease in n-6 PUFA more than it was the increase in n-3 PUFA.

Following the reader’s advice will not only relieve depression, it will dramatically improve all aspects of your physical, emotional and mental health.

Adequate sleep and rest

Recent studies have definitively linked insomnia with depression and increased suicidal behavior. A research abstract that was presented on June 12 at SLEEP 2008, the annual meeting of the Associated Professional Sleep Societies, found a link between poor sleep and suicidal behavior among children and adolescents with depressive episodes. 83.8% of the depressed patients in the study had sleep disturbances, and there was a significant association between suicidal behavior and the presence of sleep complaints.

Another recent study confirmed the persistent nature of insomnia and the increased risk of subsequent depression among individuals with insomnia. According to the study, 17% – 50% of subjects with insomnia lasting just two weeks or longer developed a major depressive episode reported in a later interview.

Other research has indicated that insomnia can cause depressed mood and adversely affect endocrine function (Banks 2007).

Most Americans are chronically sleep deprived. The foundation’s 2001 national “Sleep in America” poll reported that almost seven out of 10 Americans experienced frequent sleep problems, and that most were undiagnosed. The same poll in 2003 found that 67 percent of older adults had frequent sleep problems and only one in eight had been diagnosed.

This alone could explain the epidemic increase in depression over the last several decades. But when sleep deprivation is added to other factors such as increased intake of n-6 PUFA, increased stress, the use of antidepressant drugs, the breakdown of family, community and other social support structures, it isn’t difficult at all to understand why so many of us are depressed.

The American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM) offers the following tips on how to get a good night’s sleep:

• Follow a consistent bedtime routine.
• Establish a relaxing setting at bedtime.
• Get a full night’s sleep every night.
• Avoid foods or drinks that contain caffeine, as well as any medicine that has a stimulant, prior to bedtime.
• Keep computers and TVs out of the bedroom.
• Do not go to bed hungry, but don’t eat a big meal before bedtime either.
• Avoid any rigorous exercise within six hours of your bedtime.
• Make your bedroom quiet, dark and a little bit cool.
• Get up at the same time every morning.

Stress Management

An increasing amount of evidence (along with common sense) indicates that chronic stress directly contributes to depression. Please see my recent article for more information about this.

I am not aware of any well-designed clinical trials examining the effects of stress reduction on depression. However, logic dictates that since stress is a cause of and contributing factor to depression, managing stress is an important aspect of treating depression.

One study published in 1995 showed that meditation can improve mood. Another small study demonstrated that mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) significantly improved depression and reduced relapse. A series of studies and case studies have shown that biofeedback can also be effective for depression and mood disorders.

The reality is that there are many ways to manage and reduce stress, from yoga to meditation to mindfulness-based stress reduction to progressive relaxation techniques. The important thing is not which method you choose, but that you commit to something and do it on a regular basis.

Prayer & Spiritual Practice

You’re not going to see much scientific research into the role of prayer and spiritual practice in treating depression. Nevertheless, for as long as people have been “depressed” they have used their relationship with God, nature, a “higher power” or whatever guiding principles they embrace to get through difficult times.

People who are depressed often feel isolated, alienated or alone. A strong faith in God or in the interconnectedness of all life can re-establish a sense of belonging and support. Prayer and spirituality can also re-frame the depression one is experiencing in a larger and less “personal” context.

In my previous article called The Heart of Depression, we examined how cultural, religious and spiritual beliefs in these traditional societies provide a context in which symptoms of depression and other mental illness can be understood outside of the label of medical disease or pathology. Possession and rites of passage are two examples of such contexts.

The words and labels we use to “frame” our experience have tremendous power. In the U.S. today, depression is viewed as a sickness that must be cured, as a pathology, as a “biological disease”. There is little doubt that the people who seek treatment for depression are suffering. But should psychological and emotional suffering always be viewed as “something to get rid of”?

Great religious and spiritual traditions from around the world view suffering as an avenue to greater understanding of oneself, life and God. Suffering can be viewed as a signal drawing our attention to issues in our life that need to be addressed.

Spirituality and prayer can help people who are suffering to understand their experience in a more empowering and self-validating context than what is offered by mainstream medicine. When one views their suffering as an opportunity for growth and evolution, rather than as a disease requiring treatment with drugs, it is far more likely that lasting, positive change will occur.

In the next and final article (for a while, at least) in my series on depression and antidepressants, I will summarize everything we’ve covered so far and offer my recommendations for treating depression holistically.

There’s no doubt that optimal nutrition plays a significant role in supporting our health and well-being. But nutrition, as important as it is, obviously isn’t the only factor that influences our physiology.

Over the past several years, an increasing amount of research has focused on the role of emotions, behavior and beliefs in contributing to both health and disease. In fact, an entirely new discipline called “psychoneuroimmunology” (say that three times fast!) has emerged to study the connection between the mind and the body. In short, what has been revealed is that the separation we make between “the mind” and “the body” is largely an illusion. Mind and body exist in a continuous and interrelated web of connections that is only now beginning to be discovered by western science.

But though the idea that our thoughts and emotions can directly influence our physiology is new to modern biomedicine (just ten years ago it was dismissed by most physicians and researchers as so much “New Age” fluff), it has been deeply ingrained in our cultural paradigm for centuries. It is embedded in our language; consider the phrases “worried sick” or “scared to death”, and you’ll know what I mean. I’m sure all of you have had the experience of becoming ill after a particularly stressful period at work, or feeling moody and perhaps depressed while you are physically ill. These are both prime examples of how interconnected our mental and emotional health is.

In their book Feeling Good Is Good For You, researchers Carl J. Charnetski and Francis X Brennan set out to review the emerging evidence that pleasure can boost our immune systems and lengthen our lives. According to the authors,:

If stress is the antithesis of pleasure, then it follows that pleasure is the antithesis of stress. And the best way to fight stress, say Charnetski and Brennan, is with pleasure. Our bodies secrete chemicals called endorphins when we experience pleasure. Animal research has revealed, for example, that endorphin levels are up to 86 times higher after animals experience multiple orgasms! But endorphins are also released, albeit at lower levels, in more mundane daily activities such as playing with a pet, watching a funny movie, listening to our favorite music, visiting a favorite place or connecting with loved ones.

The chemicals released when we experience pleasure do more than counteract stress hormones and improve mood. Consider these additional effects:

• They improve immune function by producing an antibacterial peptide
• They enhance the killer instincts and abilities of various immune components, including B cells, T cells, NK cells, and immunoglobulins.
• They enable certain immune cells to secrete their own endorphins as a way of improving their disease-fighting capacity

Charnetski and Brennan examine several “pleasure inducing” experiences that have been scientifically proven to promote health and well-being.

• Music
• Touch
• Pets
• Humor
• Positive attitude and insight

Most of us are already aware of the healing power of those things listed above – at least on some level. But in this culture, there is also an overwhelming reliance on medicine, surgery, diet and other physiological interventions to treat disease. Though we may pay lip service to the idea that stress causes illness and pleasure can prevent it, how many of us actually attribute the same importance to listening to music or watching a funny movie as we do to taking a pill? The lesson in this book is that our thoughts, beliefs, emotions and behavior are all capable of inducing the same physiological changes in our bodies as foods, supplements, pills and even surgery are.

If you doubt that this is true, consider the placebo effect. It has been proven over and over again that pharmacologically inert substances like sugar pills can have identical or even greater therapeutic effects than drugs in certain cases. Even more impressive are the trials that have shown that sham surgery (when small incisions are made to convince the patient they have had the operation, but no surgery is performed) is at times as effective as the actual surgery.

Clearly this points to the power we all have to heal ourselves. If only the suggestion or belief that we will heal is enough to induce the physiological changes that lead to healing, without the presence of any “active” pharmacological substance or surgical intervention, then clearly our thoughts, beliefs and emotions have the potential to be powerful medicine.