Natures
Cures:
Contents
Chapter 1
Acupuncture/Acupressure:
“Point” Your Way to Better Health
Does acupuncture work? • How acupuncture works: The
traditional Chinese view vs. the Western scientific view •
Heal common ailments yourself with acupressure • No-hands
treatment of nausea. • Reflexology: Are the feet, hands,
and ears maps of the body? • How to find a good
acupuncturist • A brief introduction to Chinese medicine.
Chapter 2
Aromatherapy:
Common “Scents” for Healing, Stress Relief and More
The new science of smell • From Cleopatra’s rose petals to
olfactory Muzak • These oils are not oily • Healing with
aromatherapy • How good is your sense of smell? • Never
ingest essential oils • The nose and the new science of
sexual attraction.
Chapter 3
Biofeedback: Mind Over Body
Asian mysteries, Western science • Conditions biofeedback
can help • Should you consult a biofeedback therapist? Or
try it yourself at home? • Types of biofeedback.
Chapter 4
Bright Light Therapy: Quick Relief for Winter Blues and
More
New light on winter depression • Human hibernation? • Let
there be bright light • Dawn’s earlier light • How to
lighten your mood • How to beat jet lag • Light therapy’s
bright future • Home-team advantage? Or jet lag
disadvantage? • Sunlight vs. colon and breast cancer •
Melanoma prevention—naturally.
Chapter 5
Cancer:
Many Oncologists Now Endorse Natural Therapies
The wave of the future in cancer care • Got cancer? A
support group might save your life • The benefits of
vegetarianism • The benefits of exercise, arts, and Chinese
medicine • Conventional oncology doesn’t have all the
answers • A truce in the cancer war • Types of
complementary therapies • Does a macrobiotic diet help
treat cancer? • How to avoid cancer quackery.
Chapter 6
Cognitive Therapy:
Think Yourself Out of Bad Moods and Depression
What causes negative feelings? • The 10 forms of twisted
thinking • Seven ways to untwist your thinking • Just six
steps to feeling better • Count your blessings • The perils
of perfectionism • Are you anxious? • Are you depressed? •
The warning signs of suicide.
Chapter 7
Common Cold and Flu: Natural Prevention and Treatment
Boost your immunity • Outwit cold and flu viruses •
Parents, kids, and colds • Cold treatment: Grandma was
right • Cold symptoms? Blame the immune system, not the
virus • The hazards of over-the-counter cold remedies •
Never treat children’s colds with aspirin or aspirin-like
herbs • Colds: Civilization’s illness • Is it a cold or the
flu? • Flu-related pneumonia: Beware.
Chapter 8
Companionship:
People Who Need People Are the Healthiest People in the
World
How companionship keeps us healthy • The magic—and
medicine—of support groups • Rx: Reach out and touch
someone • The joy of volunteering • The healing power of
pets • Effective help for troubled marriages • How to be
supportive
Chapter 9
The Magic, Mystery, and Healing Potential of Dreams
The science of dreams • What do dreams mean? • How to
recall your dreams • In search of healing lucidity • How to
dream lucidly • Lucid dreaming with a mission.
Chapter 10
Elimination Diets:
Change What You Eat to Control Several Chronic Conditions
Food allergy vs. food intolerance • Why foods can hurt •
Elimination diets for food intolerance • Elimination diet
for lactose intolerance • Elimination diet for MSG
intolerance • Elimination diet for rheumatoid arthritis •
Elimination diet for multiple sclerosis • Fasting: Helpful
or hazardous?
Chapter 11
Exercise:
Even a Little (Very Little) is Terrific for Health
A little exercise—big benefits • What’s stopping you? •
Getting physical in daily living • How fit are you now? •
Calories burned by daily activities • Your best exercise
investment: Good shoes • How to prevent, recognize, and
treat injuries • No pain, no gain? • Aerobics: Finding your
target heart rate • Should you jog in smog?
Chapter 12
Healing Foods: Food Is The Best Medicine
An apple a day...is true • Beans really are good for the
heart • Carrots: Bugs Bunny was right • Cranberry juice:
Women’s best friend • Coffee: Breathe easier, run faster •
Fatty fish: A healthful exception to the low-fat rule •
Garlic: The multipurpose bulb • Ginger: Nature’s cure for
stomach distress • Nuts: Fish’s benefits—with a tasty
crunch • High cholesterol? Feel your oats • Olive oil:
Instead of butter or margarine • Soy foods: Benefits beyond
the other beans • Sugar: A remarkable wound healer • Tea:
New respect as a healer • Yogurt: A culture of cure •
Colorful means healthful • To prevent cancer, “Strive for
Five.”
Chapter 13
Healthy Habits: Goodbye Bad Ones, Hello Good Ones
How bad is your bad habit? • Are you really ready to
change? • Getting ready to change • Taking the plunge • The
power of preparation • Help for people who want to quit
smoking • How to help others change their ways • One day at
a time: Making changes the Alcoholics Anonymous way.
Chapter 14
Heat and Cold: Modern Benefits from Ancient Therapies
Some like it hot, some like it cold • Beyond relaxation:
Healing with heat • The surprising benefits of healing with
cold • First cold, then heat • Beware “Hot Tub Rash” • Hot
tubbing for fitness.
Chapter 15
Herbal Medicine: Getting Back to the “Roots” of Healing
Herbal healing: Ancient and thoroughly modern • Regulatory
limbo • How herbs are sold • Are herbs safe? • About dosage
• How to make the most of your herbal medicine cabinet •
Caffeine: The surprising benefits of coffee...and of
switching to decaf • Herbal aspirin: A new medical miracle
• Gardening mishaps? Herbal infection prevention at your
fingertips • Gather or grow your own herbs.
Chapter 16
Homeopathy: If Less Is More,
This Gentle Healing Art May Have the Cure for What Ails You
OOPS! I FORGOT TO INCLUDE SUBHEADS IN THE CHAPTER. WOULD
YOU LIKE ME TO FILL THE IN? OR HAVE YOU DONE IT IN EDITING?
(SORRY ABOUT THAT.)
Chapter 17
Healing Humor: Those Who Laugh, Last
The emotional benefits of humor • The physical benefit of
humor • Healing with humor • How to bring more humor into
your life.
Chapter 18
Low-Fat Eating:
The Key to Health, Longevity, and Weight Control
How high-fat diets harm • Fat facts • Forward into the past
• Evolving your diet away from fats • If you already have a
fat-related medical condition... • “Lite” or “96 percent
fat-free”—Don’t believe it • Why “diets” don’t work • A
bonanza of guilt-free, low-fat snacks • Restaurant dining
the low-fat way.
Chapter 19
Massage: Healing Hands, Touching Results
Massage for health • Types of massage • How to get—or
give—a good massage • When not to massage • Therapeutic
touch: Massage without touching.
Chapter 20
The Many Ways of Meditation:
Your Portable Safe Harbor on Life’s Choppy Seas
The relaxation response: Meditation comes to the U.S. • The
many uses of meditation • Mindfulness meditation: Living in
the moment • Body scan meditation • The instant calming
sequence • When meditation isn’t calming.
Chapter 21
Mind-Body Healing: The Missing Link in Mainstream Medicine
How the immune system links the mind and body • Mind-body
healing at work • Is illness your fault? The dark side of
mind-body medicine • The marvelous placebo effect.
Chapter 22
Music Therapy: A Note-Worthy Healer
The shorthand of emotion • Healing tapes: The hospital
tests • “Take one tape every four hours” • How to use music
for healing • Turn that down! The health hazards of noise.
Chapter 23
Ornish Therapy:
Reverse Heart Disease Naturally, Without Drugs or Surgery
From a personal crisis to a medical revolution • How hard
is the diet, really? • Beyond the Ornish diet • Type-A
warning signs, and simple exercises for aspiring Type-B’s •
Cheers! A little red wine reduces heart attack risk.
Chapter 24
Sexual Healing: Surprising Health Benefits from Lovemaking
Rx: Sex • When sex is the problem... • Lovers’ little
tiffs: Make a game of healing them • Foods that hurt sex •
Don’t feel guilty: Fantasies enhance sex • Nature’s new
cure for painful intercourse • The hazards of douching.
Chapter 25
A Good Night’s Sleep:
The Lifesaving Therapy That Gets Little Respect
The national sleep debt • One-third of your life • The
lifesaving power of sleep: Accident prevention • Beyond car
wrecks: Sleep’s other remarkable health benefits • How to
get a good night’s sleep • Are you sleep-deprived? • How to
stop his (or her) snoring • Herbal sleep aids • Homeopathic
sleep aids • Acupressure for sleep • How to kick the
sleeping pill habit.
Chapter 26
Sensible Supplementation:
The New Science of Vitamins and Minerals
What dose? RDA’s, megadoses, and supplement safety •
Optimal daily allowances • How to take supplements—without
getting taken • What the experts take • Dietary nutrients
and supplements: A major boon to prevention and treatment.
Chapter 27
Tai Chi:
Healing Gracefully with this Chinese Moving Meditation
600 years young • Chi Gong: The “new” healer that’s much
older than tai chi.
Chapter 28
Vegetarianism: For Human—and Planetary—Health
The many kinds of “vegetarian” • From “an unsafe diet” to
“the best way to eat” • Should you become a vegan? • Should
you buy organically grown produce? • Thanks, but no thanks:
The etiquette of going vegetarian • Taming tofu • The joy
of juicing • The environmental case for vegetarianism • Why
Americans go vegetarian • Famous vegetarians throughout
history.
Chapter 29
Vision Therapy:
An End to Many Eye Problems...Possibly Even Glasses
Vision quest • Seeing is believing • Goodbye
nearsightedness? • Basic vision therapy exercises • How
vision therapy cured a President’s daughter • No more
computer eyestrain • Nutritional and herbal approaches to
macular degeneration.
Chapter 30
Visualization Therapy:
Healing with Guided Imagery and Self-Hypnosis
From mesmerism to visualization • Do-it-yourself
visualization • The healing uses of visualization • Doctors
and visualization • Affirmations: Quick visualizations for
self-confidence • What visualization can’t do • Can
visualization cure cancer? • Divine visualization: Are
prayers answered?
Chapter 31
Walking: Terrific Exercise One Step at a Time
New respect for humanity’s oldest exercise • Energy output
of walking vs. other workouts • Getting started • The
“sole” of walking shoes • Pamper your feet with good socks
• Walking away from illness • The walking wounded • Walking
with kids and the elderly.
Chapter 32
Water Wisdom: A Sip in Time Offers Surprising Health
Benefits
Sip, sip, hooray! • Thirst is worst • Troubled waters •
Water filters and bottled water: Buyer beware • How to
drink safely • Sports drinks vs. water.
Chapter 33
Yoga: A Stretch in Time Feels Sublime
Science documents yoga’s many benefits • Yoga American
style • For best results... • Yoga sampler • Ayurvedic
medicine: A brief introduction to India’s ancient—and
modern—healing art.