The Four Pillars of Healing: How the New Integrated Medicine- -the Best of Conventional and Alternative Approaches- – Can Cure You

Dr. Leo Galland, along with Doctors Bernie Siegel and Andrew Weil, has been a key architect in the emerging field of integrated medicine, which combines the best of alternative and orthodox treatments. He is also a renowned medical detective, successfully curing patients whose illnesses have defied prior diagnosis and treatment. In his new book, The Four Pillars of Healing, he shares the breakthrough medical philosophy and program of healing he has developed over the course of three decades of education and practice.

If you’ve ever heard yourself referred to in your doctor’s office as “the chest pain in Room Three,”  you know that most doctors regard patients as the sum of their symptoms and treat them identify the symptoms, name the disease, and try to cure it. Yet you know intuitively that no two people with the same diagnosis respond to treatment in the same way. So why focus on the disease instead of the person? Dr. Galland argues for a fundamental change in this one-size-fits-all philosophy of disease and proposes instead patient-centered diagnosis, viewing each patient as a unique individual and equal participant in treatment.

Dr. Galland explains how to work closely with your doctor through patient-centered diagnosis to identify the mediators, triggers, and antecedents of your illness. A mediator is anything that produces your symptoms, causes damage to your body, or changes your behavior. As Dr. Galland reveals, mediators need not be merely biochemical (e.g., stress hormones)–how we think and feel can mediate our illness. A trigger is anything that provokes a mediator. Triggers range from the physical (infections, drugs, toxins) to the cognitive (social distress, anxiety, even memories of previous sickness). An antecedent is a risk factor that predisposes you to illness, such as your genetics, age, and even learning and conditioning.

Drawing on fascinating case histories of medical detection to illustrate these principles, Dr. Galland guides you in identifying your own mediators, triggers, and antecedents, then teaches you how to implement the four pillars of healing to overcome illness and achieve optimum health. The pillars

building healthy relationships (community is the most powerful healing force)
creating a customized prescription for diet, rest, and exercise
purifying your external environment
detoxifying your internal environment to help your body protect and cleanse itself.

Eloquently written and filled with practical advice about detecting the unsuspected causes of our sicknesses, building resistance to disease, and harnessing our own bodies’ natural desire to heal, Dr. Galland’s innovative book represents mind/body medicine at its best. For anyone whose illness hasn’t responded to treatment or resists diagnosis, or who craves a higher level of health, The Four Pillars of Healing is essential reading.