Examining the overuse of modern medicine and how your body can heal itself.

Twenty percent of Americans, half of the elderly British and two-thirds of older Canadians take at least five prescription drugs per day - their lives a nonstop ritual of pill popping and trying to manage side effects. One in 10 people in developed countries takes antidepressants. Millions of boys who can't sit still in school are prescribed methamphetamines. Modern medicine has been overused.

Skyrocketing global health-care costs render this overuse of medicine increasingly unaffordable. The wonders of modern medicine have also obscured the body's ability to heal itself. Your body produces its own drugs that can treat pain as well as drugs, cure some joint problems as well as a surgeon and treat most mild depression as well as a psychologist. We've all heard of endorphins, but did you know endorphin literally means 'morphine made by your body'? Besides the body's self-healing abilities, the latest evidence clearly shows that states of mind affect our health. Relaxing, positive thinking and comfortable social environments can all improve our health as much as blockbuster drugs.

Written using the latest high-quality conventional evidence, Doctor You arms you with knowledge that will empower you to make the right choices about what drugs to take, what drugs to give your children and when you should let your body do its thing.