Ageless Introduction
Read Foreword
INTRODUCTION
One of the magnificent gifts of maturity is perspective.
You gain a bird's eye view of significant events and of the people who have shaped your
life and brought you to the present moment.
As a young girl growing up in Italy, I was in love with
music. I was blessed with a quality of voice, a dramatic sensibility and a disciplined
nature -- the gifts of every operatic singer. Opera was my family's passion, and I felt it
was my destiny. I was about to immerse myself with great joy in the long hours of study
and practice that such a career requires when something unexpected befell me.
My wondrous world appeared to collapse around me when I
was hospitalized with typhoid fever and death hovered in the wings. I was only 14. But -
as I have learned over the years - even in the depth of darkness, there is always a
glimmer of light. For me, this light came in the form of a young and compassionate
physician.
One afternoon, after I had already spent more than a
month struggling to regain my health, a young, handsome man in a white coat walked into my
hospital room. He sat on my bed, took my hand and gently said to me, "Little girl,
I'm going to warn you about something that can be potentially dangerous for you, but if
you know what to do, there will be no problem."
I was hardly a "little girl", but I then
realized that my sunken eyes in an emaciated body and my long braids did, indeed, make me
look like an 8-year-old. His warm manner (and good looks) were compelling, and I became
very eager to know what he had to tell me. He proceeded to explain, in simple terms, what
happens to the intestine during the healing phase of typhoid fever.
"Where you had all those ulcers in your 'fighting
intestine,' there are now scabs. If a scab is sitting on an intestinal blood vessel, you
might bleed to death when it falls off. When you feel the pain, scream. We'll all be there
in a few seconds to save you," he assured me, smiling.
I spent the remaining days of my hospitalization waiting
for the pain that never came, hoping to see my "white knight" rushing to rescue
me. In my adolescent fantasies, the handsome, medical resident was always the first one to
reach my bed.
That young man changed my life forever. Not only was he
instrumental in my recovery, he also inspired me to pursue a different calling. Motivated
by his example, I decided that I was going to be a physician, and that, like him, I would
make the same effort to educate and support my patients.
I followed my new calling, attended and completed medical
school in Rome, and subsequently moved to New York. Knowing even then that there was far
more involved in the practice of medicine than simply trying to eliminate symptoms or fix
diseased organs, I decided to pursue my residency training in psychiatry.
Fully engaged in my career as a practicing psychiatrist,
my life took another sudden turn in 1972 when a patch of ice propelled the car I was
driving into the path of an oncoming car. Seconds before I lost consciousness, I heard a
terrifying cracking sound in my neck as my head smashed against the car's ceiling. Eight
days later, with a diagnosis of a broken cervical vertebra, I was finally able to stand on
my feet. But I had a long way to go. My doctors insisted that surgery was the only option
for insuring the healing of my neck. Intuitively, however, I knew there were other truths.
That intuition led me to a chiropractor and to a local spa where I could learn yoga.
The spa became my healing sanctuary. Every Monday
morning, before I began my workweek, I did yoga with a wise and compassionate teacher, who
tailored the exercises to facilitate the healing of my neck. A sauna and a session with a
masseuse followed. The masseuse - a stunning South African, with a voice that could span
four octaves, and sensitive, energy-emitting hands - was another beacon of light, pointing
me in a direction I had not yet explored. She suggested that taking some specific
nutritional supplements might speed my recovery. With her recommended list in hand, I went
home and dug into my biochemistry books. The calcium and magnesium she had recommended, I
learned, nourished the bones. The tryptophan would become the calming neurotransmitter,
serotonin. To my great surprise, everything she said was well documented in my
biochemistry books.
A further turning point was my own menopause, which
became yet another teacher for me. When the conventional approach of an estrogen patch led
to an ominous growth in my breast, I again found myself looking for other options. This
included not only natural supplements but also a comprehensive change in my lifestyle.
Every encounter with disease became my teacher, but the
first and most powerful teacher of all was my grandmother, Filippa. She introduced me to
my two major passions - music and medicine. During those dark years of the Second World
War, when all family physicians were ministering to dying soldiers, my grandmother became
a highly respected lay healer, working in synchrony with the laws of nature to cure all
types of disorders. She inspired me as a young girl and to this day sustains me in my life
and in my work.
My first entrée into natural medicine, as a physician,
occurred more than 25 years ago, while I was still practicing psychiatry. One of my
patients came into my office with her face twisted into a horrific grimace, a symptom of
what was considered an incurable neurological disease. In fact, as it soon became
apparent, this frightening condition had been caused by the psychiatric medications I had
unwittingly prescribed for her. And so, she became the first patient I treated with
nutritional supplements to detoxify the effects of poisonous medications.
My grandmother's example, my own experiences and those of
my patients have reinforced my faith in and respect for the natural laws of healing. My
primary approach is to restore the body's inborn healing forces through the use of
nutrients, homeopathy, behavioral medicine and any other natural therapy that facilitates
the process. Instead of treating a disease, I treat the whole person - body, chemistry and
spirit.
During the course of my practice, I have observed that
when a patient's innate harmony is restored, there is a concomitant increase in vitality -
one of the major landmarks of youthfulness. My patients often tell me that they never knew
they could feel and look so good. Thus, I have gradually come to realize that what I
practice, in essence, is anti-aging medicine. And, in my opinion, we no longer have an
option. Our society is getting older at a younger and younger age. The cancer wards are no
longer populated only by crippled old people but by a growing number of young mothers and
fathers, and their offspring. Autoimmune diseases that used to occur only in middle and
late age are now afflicting young children. My youngest patient is 29-months-old. She has
rheumatoid arthritis, which was first diagnosed when she was 17-months-old. In contrast, I
see myself and my long-term patients getting younger and younger. People often find it
difficult to place me in a specific chronological frame of reference and have often
commented that I am ageless.
The Ageless Woman is designed to provide you with an
understanding of what aging really is, the multiple insidious forces that age us, and what
you can do yourself to slow the process. Some of the strategies I will share with you are
ancient - a few possibly as old as time itself. Others are derived from the exciting, new
frontiers of physiology, biochemistry and genetics. Synergistically combined, they offer
an unsurpassed path to wellness and longevity.
Much of what you will find in The Ageless Woman, with the
exception of some specific hormonal prescriptions, is also applicable to men. I encourage
you to share this book with the men in your life. As you become younger and more vital,
you will want your male companions to be able to keep up with you! Faust's dream of
eternal youth is within everyone's reach, and you don't need to sell your soul to the
devil. All you need is knowledge and motivation.
This is not a quick-and-easy-fix book. It is not about
simply replacing pharmaceuticals with natural remedies. It is about making comprehensive
and integrated changes that will, over time, restore your organs to optimal functionality
and your entire body to a youthful vitality. If you are in poor health currently, remember
that it took you some time to reach that state. You will need time, discipline and faith
to heal and rebuild. If you are basically in good health, this book will give you the
tools to sustain your health and youthfulness.
I bring to you in The Ageless Woman almost 40 years of
experience as a physician, more than 25 of which have been spent practicing and
continually learning the art and science of holistic medicine. I have treated thousands of
patients with conditions ranging from mild imbalances to serious, life-threatening
diseases. When I see the spark of wellness infusing my patients' bodies - when I see the
light return to the eyes of depleted and depressed patients - it is celestial music to my
ears and unrepressed joy to my heart.
In Latin, docere, from which the word "doctor"
derives, means to teach. I am, first and foremost, a teacher. I teach my patients how to
regain and maintain their health. I invite you now to follow me into my virtual classroom
- and to become a member of my therapeutic extended family. Let me guide you along your
personal path to wellness and longevity. Let me take you to the realm of the ageless
woman. |
