Secrets To Healing with Natural Medicine

Dr. Josh Axe says he wrote An Ancient Remedies: Secrets to Healing with Herbs, Essential Oils, CBD, and the Most Powerful Natural Medicine in History because “It’s high time you understand that you don’t need to take dangerous drugs for every ailment, that the Western medical system’s profit-based approach isn’t doing your health any favors, and that there are wonderfully effective alternative therapeutics that can heal your health issues and put you safely on the path to lifelong wellness.”

He includes a caveat about modern medicine: “My criticism of Western medicine isn’t intended to disparage all of the modern approach. If you’re in a car accident or have a heart attack or brain aneurism or fall prey to a flesh-eating bacterial infection, there’s no better place to be than an American hospital. But if you develop a chronic, preventable illness related to poor diet, stress, age, weight gain, or lack of exercise—the kinds of problems that routinely land most of us in a doctor’s office—the pills your physician is likely to give you may not help. In fact, they’ll almost certainly create another problem that actually makes your health worse.”

He gives us a list of safe ancient remedies for treating pain, such as:

1. Acupuncture and acupressure
2. CBD oil
3. Herbal supplements like astragalus (an anti-inflammatory), Schisandra, dong quai, turmeric, capsaicin, and Epsom salt
4. Essential oils like peppermint, frankincense, and lavender
5. Tai chi, yoga, and meditation

He discusses Qi and the balance of Yin & Yang. There is a personality test to determine which element you relate to. Dr. Axe writes, “You’ll also learn how to use the tenets of ancient medicine to find a diet that’s right for your body and how to combine foods in ways that make each healthy ingredient exponentially more beneficial.”

He gives “Ancient dietary lessons you won’t learn from your doctor,” such as:

1. Eat until you’re three-quarters full.
2. Don’t eat until you’re warm—and move around afterward to promote digestion.
3. Consume fruit by itself.
4. Sleep for eight hours and wake up slightly before sunrise.
5. Eat according to the season.
6. Savor your meals.
7. Chew!
8. Eat with gratitude and joy.
9. Heal your body with tea and soup.

He advises we avoid three modern products that “bear no resemblance to ancient food:”

1. Sugar and sugar substitutes
2. Processed oils
3. Refined grains

In Part III, Dr. Axe offers Ancient Prescriptions for over 70 conditions including high cholesterol. The end of the book, Part IV, is Recipes for Ancient Nutrition including a blueberry muffin recipe that uses oat flour, almond flour, and collagen protein powder.