June 29, 2019

Andrew Weil, M.D., is a world-renowned leader and pioneer in the field of integrative medicine.

Combining a Harvard education and a lifetime of practicing natural and preventive medicine, Dr. Weil is the founder and director of the Andrew Weil Center for Integrative Medicine at the University of Arizona in Tucson, where he also serves as a Clinical Professor of Medicine and Professor of Public Health as well as the Lovell-Jones Professor of Integrative Rheumatology.

He is a best-selling author of 15 books on healthy living, including:

• Mind Over Meds
  
• Fast Food, Good Food
• True Food
  
• Spontaneous Happiness
  
• Healthy Aging
  
• 8 Weeks to Optimum Health
• Breathing: The Master Key to Self Healing
• Dr. Andrew Weil’s Guide to Optimum Health
• Self-Healing with Sound and Music
• Eating Well for Optimum Health
• Natural Health, Natural Medicine
• Health and Healing: The Philosophy of Integrative Medicine and Optimum Health
• The Marriage of the Sun & Moon
• The Natural Mind: A Revolutionary Approach to the Drug Problem
• Spontaneous Healing

Oxford University Press is currently producing the Weil Integrative Medicine Library, a series of volumes for clinicians in various medical specialties, including…

• Integrative Oncology (co-edited with Dr. Donald Abrams, 2d. ed. 2014).
• Integrative Psychiatry
• Integrative Pediatrics
• Integrative Women’s Health (2d. ed. 2015),
  
• Integrative Rheumatology
• Integrative Cardiology
  
• Integrative Gastroenterology
  
• Integrative Nursing
• Integrative Men’s Health
  
• Dermatology
• Integrative Preventive Medicine
  
• Integrative Psychiatry and Brain Health

More volumes are in progress.

Dr. Weil also serves as the editorial director of drweil.com, the leading online resource for healthy living based on the philosophy of integrative medicine, and pens the popular Dr. Andrew Weil’s Self Healing monthly newsletter as well as a regular column in Prevention magazine. He is the founder and Chairman of the Weil Foundation, and the founder and co-Chairman of Healthy Lifestyle Brands. He is also a founder and partner of the growing group of True Food Kitchen restaurants. In 2017, he joined Seabourn and The Onboard Spa by Steiner in their “Spa and Wellness with Dr. Andrew Weil” mindful-living program, offered on all of its cruise ships.

During our discussion, you'll hear: 

-Dr. Weil's morning routine…6:30

• Wake up between 4-4:30
• Sitting meditation
  • Breathing exercises (4-7-8 breathing)
  • Sit for 15 minutes
• Breakfast: Sauteed tempeh (Dr. Weil is a pescatarian)
• Matcha green tea
• Tend to the garden

-Dr. Weil and I discussing the health of our dogs…9:40

• Dr. Weil owns two Rhodesian Ridgebacks
• Ben's Rhodesian ridgeback recently passed away
• What's causing cancer in dogs? Environment, food, etc.
• Rapamycin has been correlated with longevity for dogs
  • Dr. Weil gives it to his dogs every day for 10 weeks

-The breathwork Dr. Weil prefers and why…13:12

• Comes from ancient India; passed on as oral tradition
• By using voluntary system to breathe, it influences the involuntary system of breathing
• 4-7-8 breathing
  • Inhale 4 counts, hold 7 counts, exhale 8 counts
  • Do minimum twice daily
  • You're changing your brain's chemistry; exercise with caution
  • Dr. Weil's resting heart rate is 38-42
  • Heart rate slows, HRV increases in response to the exhale

-Why Dr. Weil thinks matcha green tea is the bee's knees…17:30

• He owns Matcha Kari (Use discount code: GREEN15 and get a 15% discount on any order)
• First found it in 1959 when he was 17 in Japan
• Two things stood out:
  • Bamboo whisk
  • Vibrant color green
• The matcha found in N. America is of inferior quality
• Differences between matcha and green tea:
  • Matcha is finely powdered, made from tea plants shaded for 3 weeks
  • Produce higher quantities of chlorophylls and antioxidants
  • L-theanine modifies the effect of caffeine (alert relaxation)
  • You consume the entire leaf which is powdered up
• Why some people's stomachs don't agree with matcha:
  • Perhaps inferior quality
  • More sensitive to tannins?
• The best way to prepare matcha:
  • Put the powder through a sifter or it will form lumps
  • Keep it in the freezer once opened
  • Don't need a traditional whisk
  • Can be used for cooking, sprinkling, etc.

-Supplements and medications Dr. Weil likes to use…24:00

• Basic antioxidant formula: carotenoids, Vitamin C, Vitamin E
• Multi-nutrient w/ trace minerals
• COQ10
• PQQ
• MitoQ
• Medicinal mushroom supplements (immune support, resistance to infections) (save 15% with code: BENGREENFIELD)
• My podcast with Barrie Tan about Vitamin E and tocopherols vs. tocotrienols
• Preferable to get antioxidants from your diet
  • Nature provides its own “complexes”
• What to look for on the label to ensure you're getting what you think you're getting:
  • Don't take a pre-formed Vitamin A
  • Look for as many carotenoids as possible
• Mega Food for men and for women

-Dr. Weil's interest in the use of psychedelics…32:00

• Books on the topic by Dr. Weil:
  • The Natural Mind
  • From Chocolate to Morphine: Everything You Need to Know About Mind-Altering Drugs
  • The Harvard Psychedelic Club
• First took mescaline at age 18
• Experimented throughout the 60s
• Dr. Weil believes these experiences have been instrumental in his work
• Emphasis on mind/body interactions and therapies
• Led to interest in medicinal plants
• 1P-LSD

-Dr. Weil's history with and thoughts on the cannabisindustry…41:30

• At first, felt nothing
• The highs were full of hilarity, eating, conviviality
• Began to be an introspective high, useful for creativity as a writer and meditation
• Then it began to make him groggy and sluggish
• Doesn't use it at all these days (due to body change, not the make up cannabis)
• Cannabis is a very complex source of compounds
• They are the “dog” of the plant world in that they have co-evolved with human interaction
• “We've been very stupid in our interactions with cannabis”
• Concerns about neurotransmitter imbalances associated with cannabis?
  • You can't take them frequently enough to be concerned about it

-Dr. Weil's thoughts on self-quantification and biohacking…48:30

• Prefers natural methods as much as possible; doesn't use them personally
• Hyperbaric oxygen
• The NuCalm Ben uses for vagal nerve stimulation
• Live02 system Ben uses with his bike
• Ground with the earth preferable to PEMF mat

-How Dr. Weil “coexists” in the natural medicine and mainstream medicine worlds…52:10

• The greater potential of a treatment to cause harm, the more stringent the standards of evidence
• Study in allopathic medicine developed into “integrative” medicine (along with his corresponding library)
• Center of Excellence in College of Medicine at University of Arizona

-“Best practices” Dr. Weil recommends to his patients…56:00

• Learn the basics of nutrition: avoid processed and manufactured foods
• Be physically active throughout your life
• Get good rest and adequate sleep
• Learn and practice means of neutralizing forces on your mind and body
• Spend time outdoors
• Enjoy your life and have strong social connections

-Evening routines and habits Dr. Weil engages in…58:35

• Disconnect from devices in the afternoon
• Swim, work in the garden
• Cook with friends
• Read, walk in the forest, watch a movie
• In bed by 9 pm; do a 4-7-8 breath
• Take melatonin before sleeping (2.5 mg sublingual tablet)

-And much more.

Click here for the full written transcript of this podcast episode.

Resources from this episode:

– Towards natural mimetics of metformin and rapamycin

– Matcha.com (code: GREEN15 and get a 15% discount on any order)

– Almsbio Glutathione with CoQ10 Ben mentioned (code: BENGREENFIELD10)

– FourSigmatic 10 Mushroom Blend (use code: BENGREENFIELD for 15% off)

– My podcast with Barrie Tan about Vitamin E and tocopherols vs. tocotrienols

– Megafood multivitamin

– How To Get Your Own Vitamin and NAD IVs, The Truth About Umbilical Stem Cells, Peptide Injections & Much More With Dr. Craig Koniver.

– Book: From Chocolate to Morphine: Everything You Need to Know About Mind-Altering Drugs

– Book: The Harvard Psychedelic Club

– Book: The Natural Mind

– 1P-LSD

– Live02 system Ben uses with his bike

– The NuCalm Ben uses for vagal nerve stimulation

Episode sponsors:

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Do you have questions, thoughts or feedback for Dr. Andrew Weil or me? Leave your comments below and one of us will reply!