Doctor You – ‘Read This Book!’ – Deepak Chopra
‘Read this book!’ – Deepak Chopra
Ok, Ok, I’m sure you’re thinking this is just a quack book supported by anti-vaxxers and those that believe eating well will cure your cancer. Let me start by saying it is far from that.
Doctor You is focussed on the American market for pharmaceuticals. Did you know that prescription drugs kill more Americans that heroin and cocaine combined? The Western World have become massive pill poppers. One in 7 American kids are given ADHD medication, which is a frightening statistic, and there are pills for anxiety, mild depression, and pain killers for all kinds of pain on supermarket shelves and promtional tables of drug stores across the country.
So, when do we take a pill, see the doctor, and opt for surgery? When is it time to look to seek alternatives and find a way for our body to heal? Doctor You does not tell you to avoid a visit to your GP if you have something serious. What it does do is ask you to do your research first and not reach for a pill at the slightest tummy twinge or stressful day. Not everyone who says they are an expert are and there is a lot of marketing out there. The large pharmaceuticals spend millions on commercials for diet supplements and pain relievers are big marketing hitters, but check the facts and be sure to read the small print at the bottom of advertisements. Check out what the truth is behind astonishing medical claims, are your vitamins going to help you, or are they just smartly marketed sweets? Ask yourself:-
Who are the experts?
Are they on the payroll for the pharmaceutical company they are spruiking?
Is the data bias?
What is the size of the trial?
What is the demographic of those doing the trials? For example, it’s probably not fair to have a batch of super fit ex-athletes trialling the benefits of vitamins. They are healthy already and perhaps not your average person in need of supplements, or will notice much difference.
Duffy’s Thoughts On Doctor You
Doctor You gives the reader a few websites to check out so you can do your own research before committing to a prescribed medication. There is also a strong focus on the connection between mind and body. Your brain needs looking after too and Doctor You shares the benefits and the research behind meditation, wellbeing and diet. The pages don’t preach, they teach.
I had a vested interest in this book. Last year I was told I had to take a beta blocker every day for the rest of my life and I struggled with it. I hate to even take a headache tablet unless it’s really bad, so taking a pill a day forever was a real blow for me. But, I did my research, and my medication has changed my life and reduced the heart issues I was having. It’s about making considered decisions and knowing what is going into your body.
Doctor You is a great read if you are looking to understand more about the connection between mind and body, and to help you make a considered opinion before popping another pill for a minor ailment. It’s also an eye-opener into the big world of global pharmaceuticals.
4 out of 5 from me.
The Book Blurb For Doctor You
‘A timely book on a timeless problem of how body and mind interact to affect our health and well-being.Beautifully written by an international expert in the field, it challenges old habits of thinking and promises new ways of exploring what it means to live an integrated life. – Mark Williams, author of Mindfulness, Professor of Clinical Psychology and former director of the Oxford Mindfulness Centre
Twenty per cent of Americans, half of the elderly British, and two thirds of older Canadians take at least five prescription drugs per day – their lives a non-stop ritual of pill popping and trying to manage side effects. One in ten people in developed countries take antidepressants. Millions of boys who can’t sit still in school are prescribed methamphetamines. Modern medicine has been overused.
Skyrocketing global healthcare costs render this overuse of medicine increasingly unaffordable. The wonders of modern medicine have also obscured the body’s ability to heal itself. Your body produces its own drugs that can treat pain as well as drugs, cure some joint problems as well as a surgeon, and treat most mild depression as well as a psychologist. We’ve all heard of endorphins, but did you know ‘endorphin’ literally means ‘morphine made by your body’?
Besides the body’s self-healing abilities, latest evidence clearly show that states of mind affect our health. Relaxing, positive thinking, and comfortable social environments can all improve our health as much as blockbuster drugs.
Written using the latest, high quality, conventional evidence Doctor You arms you with knowledge that will empower you to make the right choices about what drugs to take, what drugs to give your children, and when you should let your body do its thing.
