Dr. Weil Says: Accept What Is

The sun at noon is the sun declining;
The person born is the person dying.

Perhaps what has made Dr. Andrew Weil one of the most famous doctors in the country is his realistic approach to alternative medicine. For some physicians he is not realistic enough, but for many alternative medicine seekers he is just what the patient ordered. However, he makes it abundantly clear in his new book Healthy Aging that if you’re looking for advice on how to reverse the aging process you best be picking up a different book (and a different author). Rather, Dr. Weil is concerned with helping people accept the natural process of aging and learn how to achieve a high-quality of life as one ages.

Question: “What is our biggest misconception about aging?”

Dr. Weil: “That it diminishes the worth of human life and is a calamity to be avoided… We are doing our minds and our bodies a disservice by fighting aging rather than accepting it.”

Dr. Weil’s book is packed full of advice on how to live a healthier lifestyle. In a nutshell he says eat an anti-inflammatory diet: less meat, more fruits, vegetables and fish (with care about the toxicity level in many fish). Drink white, green and oolong tea – up to four cups a day. He recommends taking specific supplements (in balance with one’s diet). Of course, exercise regularly, but don’t over do it - Weil suggests thirty to forty-five minutes a day of aerobic activity, plus strength and balance training. Also, rest your mind, get sufficient sleep, and don’t forget that human touch and contact is important. Learn to work with stress through meditation, breathing, visualization or bodywork.

Question: “In the book, you suggest that stress is more than just an annoyance or temporary problem, that it may actually be unhealthy for the brain and the rest of our bodies, in both the short and long term. How does stress age us?”

Dr. Weil: “The answer is surprisingly straightforward. The principal stress hormone, cortisol, is directly toxic to nerve cells in areas of the brain concerned with memory and emotion.”

Many of us have heard much (if not all) of this before, but near the end of the book Dr. Weil shows us his more spiritual side. He speaks about the unchanging essence within all of us. In fact, he says that how we view aging and death can be a great stimulus for spiritual awakening. He refers to the unchanging spirit within each of us and the paradoxical nature of an aging body when we feel our essence has never changed.

Question: “What is the single most important thing we can do to foster mental well-being as we age? How can we keep our spirits up when we get to an age when mortality is increasingly on our minds?”

Dr. Weil: “We can practice focusing on our unchanging essence, adapting to the changes that age brings to our bodies, and experiencing the positive benefits that aging brings.”

Whether old or young, much of Dr. Weil’s advice applies to us all. Who can go wrong by eating right, sleeping well, exercising, getting loving touch and connecting to our spiritual selves? Best to treat our bodies and our spirits well no matter what age we may be. Oh yes, and don’t forget – accept it! No matter what age we are, we’re all getting older.

From the book Healthy Aging, by Andrew Weil, M.D. © 2005 by Andrew Weil, M.D., published with permission from Alfred A. Knopf, a division of Random House Inc.

Andrew Weil, M.D., is one of the country’s foremost experts on health and wellness, and the world’s leading authority on integrative medicine. It is widely acknowledged that Andrew Weil started the integrative medicine movement – defined as an approach to medicine that recognizes the body’s self-healing potential, the powers of holistic medicine, and the concept of wellness in mind, body, and spirit.