Product Description
When it was first published in 1994, Women?s Bodies, Women?s Wisdom quickly became an international bestseller, and for the past fifteen years it has remained the veritable bible of women?s health. Now, in this revised and updated edition, world-renowned and much-beloved women?s health expert Dr. Christiane Northrup shares with us the latest developments and advances that will maximize our potential for living well in our bodies today. Inside you will discover
 
? new material on sexuality?and how to have a more fulfilling sex life
? the spiritual and scientific principles behind healing from terminal illnesses, and how you can utilize these principles for your own health and the health of others
? vital information about how to truly dissolve PMS and ease menstrual cramps
? extraordinary facts on Vitamin D?and why it is crucial for breast, cardiovascular, and immune system health
? the importance of the preconception diet and how to greatly decrease your risk of birth defects
? how to birth naturally, despite the current induction and C-section epidemic
? all you need to know about thyroid function, including proper blood tests
? life-saving facts about cellular inflammation?the root cause of all chronic degenerative diseases?and how to prevent this condition
? the essentials on the ?fountain of youth molecule??and how to enhance your levels of it for vibrant health
 
Living a healthy life in a woman?s body can be downright fun?even ecstatic! And that?s good news for everyone?women, men, and their children.
 
Amazon.com Review
Quite possibly every female over the age of 12 will find this huge book enlightening, pain saving, and perhaps even lifesaving. Think of it as a much more empowering and holistic Our Bodies, Ourselves. Northrup is a gynecologist who acknowledges the power of natural therapies and herbs, but also maintains that allopathic treatments, including surgery, are sometimes best. In Women's Bodies, Women's Wisdom, she covers the treatment of many physical concerns--among them PMS, menstrual cramps, breast cancer, fibroids, endometriosis, infertility, depression, childbirth, abortion, cystitis, and menopause--explaining how many of these physical problems have roots in emotional upsets. For example, a woman who is unhappy with her marriage may be infertile because deep down, she knows that her husband is not the right man to have children with; a teenager who has cramps may be having problems accepting society's expectations of her as a woman.

Some readers may be put off at first by Northrup's obviously unconventional ways of thinking. Her medical approach is decidedly feminist, blaming our "addictive" and patriarchal society for many of the health problems plaguing women. She clearly illustrates her ideas, however, by drawing upon two decades of experience from her medical practice and citing dozens of her patients' remarkable personal stories. Northrup also delineates the best way to go about tuning in to one's body and mind in order to start the healing process, a self-induced therapy of sorts. She also includes in the book a copy of the eye-opening health inventory she gives her clients. It includes unusual questions such as "Are you bored with your life?" and "Do you have enough friends or neighbors?"

This book will be of special benefit to women who are pregnant or entering menopause. Northrup is an unequivocal believer in natural births and her dialogue on the birthing process will remove the fears of even the most petrified mother-to-be. She criticizes episiotomies (she should know; she's given birth without one) and supports midwifery. She also warns against the harmfulness of cesarean births and includes illustrations of acupressure points that help turn around a breech baby.

For women in perimenopause or menopause, Northrup will help turn this life phase into one of peace and personal growth instead of one of suffering. She was one of the first doctors to use natural progesterone to treat menopausal symptoms, and this revised edition includes a clear primer on the latest in hormone replacement therapy and how to determine if it's right for you. Northrup also expounds upon the benefits of acupuncture and herbalism--as well as emotional self-analysis--for alleviating hot flashes and mood swings. --Erica Jorgensen