Effortless Healing

Nobody has to instruct a scraped knee to close up, or tell the lungs to breathe, or remind the stomach that it is time to eat. The body handles all of this on its own. Dr. Joseph Mercola builds Effortless Healing on that idea: good health is the natural state of the body, and most of what people need to do is stop getting in its way.

Mercola is a natural medicine advocate, a bestselling author, and an early voice in online health information. Here he lays out nine straightforward principles that he says lead to better health and a lighter weight. Many of his suggestions are small daily changes. He recommends putting ice cubes in your drinking water so it becomes more "structured," and he questions whether eating breakfast is helping or hurting your waistline. He also says fermented foods such as sauerkraut can support your immune system and lift your mood.

Some of his advice runs against common nutrition wisdom. He argues that getting as much as 75 percent of your daily calories from fat can benefit your health, including your risk of heart disease and cancer. He says to be selective about which meat and fish you eat, though butter is welcome. Other tips cost nothing: walk barefoot outdoors to help calm inflammation, and laugh often, which he says does as much for your blood vessels as a quarter hour of exercise.

The book draws on decades of Mercola's work and on current medical research, packaged for readers who want practical steps instead of a punishing regimen. Its promise is that with a few changes, and some trust in your body's own abilities, your health, weight, and daily life can all improve without a struggle.