This is simple stuff but of course it's not always easy. Or at least, it isn't until you sit up and take note of what Dr Andrew Weil, America's favourite health guru, has to say.

Weil maintains that you can change your lifestyle, boost your body's own healing system and achieve optimum health in eight weeks. What's more, he says it's easy to do so if you implement small but significant changes, focusing on diet, exercise and spirituality Sceptic readers will now have their quack radar on full alert, no doubt expecting an emperor's new clothes rehash of healthy living principles from the 65-yearold bearded medic, who has appeared on Oprah and Larry King Live and who has twice made the cover of Timemagazine. In the sense that Weil's recommendations are not entirely novel, doubters will be correct, but in terms of his medical credentials and the sheer common sense of his advice, the good doctor cannot be faulted.

A graduate of Harvard, where he majored in botany (his thesis examined the narcotic properties of nutmeg), he published his first book, countercultural classic, The Natural Mind in 1972, which looked at how drug users seek external highs, when more satisfying experiences can be found within themselves. Weil's main advocacy is integrative medicine, which combines both conventional therapies alongside complementary and alternative ones, essentially cherry-picking the best of both and taking into account the whole person, mind, body and soul.

While the media often depict him as a proponent of all alternative practices in general, this isn't the case. "If I were hit by a bus, " he says, "I'd want to be taken immediately to a high-tech emergency room."

Reassuringly, money making does not seem to be Weil's primary motive. All of his after-tax profits from Weil Lifestyle (which licenses the rights to his name and image to companies philosophically aligned to his beliefs and the promotion of integrative medicine) are donated to the Weil Foundation, a charitable foundation dedicated to advancing integrative medicine by supporting education and research. He is also famous for practising what he preaches and has spoken out against unhealthy doctors, who serve as very dangerous examples.

"A doctor should be a model of health, " he states. "Showing, rather than just telling, how to live a healthy life is one of the most valuable services a doctor can give to patients." Weil lives a wholesome, simple life, following a lacto-pesco vegetarian diet (he's a veggie who eats fish and moderate amounts of dairy) on his homestead in Arizona.

8 Weeks to Optimum Health, which was first published in 1998 and reprinted last year, is full of gentle advice and suggests taking initial mini steps towards a plan for better living. It's not dictatorial in tone because Weil believes that the change is only possible when the motivation to improve lifestyle is there, and that is very much a personal thing.

"For many, it is simply wanting to avoid the outcomes of poor health or debilitating diseases; for others, it is wanting to enjoy grandchildren or the other benefits of old age, " he says. Starting out, in terms of diet, he suggests a balanced diet with the emphasis on the fresh and organic; discarding all fats except organic olive, rapeseed and toasted sesame oils; reducing consumption of animal fats and dairy products and upping your intake of oily fish, and to start taking a Vitamin C supplement. Walking for 10 minutes, five days a week, is the easiest way to start exercising if you are sedentary and the kind of spirituality he talks about is nothing more alarming than visiting a park in your lunch hour or practising some relaxing breathing techniques.

Over the subsequent weeks, he proposes building gradually on these mind, body and spirit improvements so that, for example, by week eight, you will now be walking for 45 minutes, five days a week; drinking green tea and greater amounts of cooked greens and have greater awareness of the concept of healing, in terms of your own body and your relationships with others.

At the end of the eight weeks, Weil promises that you will have laid the foundations for healthy living, having drawn on the body's own resources for natural healing. The time period is crucial because from his own observations of patients who have changed their lifestyle to control various ailments, he feels that a minimum of six to eight weeks is required for someone to notice the effects of such programmes.

What is very appealing about Weil's theories is that whether you're already a card-carrying health fascist, or coffeeglugging, chain-smoking imbiber, he offers hope. In 8 Weeks to Optimum Health he says that in one sense it's unfortunate that younger bodies are so forgiving. Those in their 20s and early 30s can get away with a junk-food diet and other forms of bodily abuse. It's only in their 40s that many men and women have to contend with serious ill health for the first time, and that the bill for unhealthy living becomes due.

If young people could immediately feel the consequences of their lifestyle, they would clean up their acts early on, he writes.

If this is the case, can the previously badliving contingent really effect any change or are they already doomed to sickness?

"While we can't turn back the clock, it's never too late to start practising healthy habits, " Weil says. "At any age our bodies will benefit from good-eating habits, increased physical activity, practices to address stress and the other steps I recommend to achieve and maintain optimum health."

And if even if you're mired in grossly selfdestructive patterns of behaviour, he says change, however daunting, is within your capabilities, provided that the motivation is there. "For those who currently have unhealthy habits, I suggest starting small . . . take a short walk during your lunch break, bring flowers to the office to help appreciate nature, take a few moments at the end of the day to concentrate on one's breathing and try drinking more water or tea. Once these practices begin to become a routine, they will be easier to find time for and require less energy to maintain."

Weil is not unmindful of the role that vanity plays in our pursuit of health and wellbeing, although his is critical of the whole industry that has built up around the idea of 'anti-ageing'. "There is no legitimacy to the concept, we cannot reverse the ageing process . . . it is inevitable, " he says. "I think the denial of aging and the pursuit of eternal youth are detriments to graceful ageing.

Instead, we should embrace it, take steps to protect our health, delay the onset of agerelated illness, and enjoy the benefits that age brings."

But beauty, as a reflection of good health, is something he believes in. "For some, the skin may be the starting point for making the positive lifestyle changes that lead to optimum health, " he says. To this end, he has created a range of skincare products with beauty company Origins, which are based on ingredients such as mushrooms and ginger . . .

inflammation fighters that Weil says should be eaten every day and whose soothing qualities have the same effect when applied to the skin.

The line, Dr Andrew Weil for Origins', makes no ridiculous pseudo-science assertions but modestly claims to "optimise the skin's defences against ageing". "I was aware of the need for a new generation of skincare products that really work, " Weil explains. "Using natural ingredients backed by scientific evidence, the products we have created offer a powerful means to address inflammation in novel ways without producing unwanted side effects."

Ask Weil to describe a typical day for him and he says: "I attend to my lifestyle; I eat a good diet and drink matcha tea daily, I grow some of my own food, exercise every day (swim or cycle or walk), take natural products, including mushrooms, to protect my natural healing capacity, practise breathing exercises, and meditate. I try to balance work and play, keep my mind active, enjoy good relationships and get good quality sleep."

It sounds like such an unbelievably wholesome existence that you can only wonder if he's actually a National Enquirer story waiting to be outted . . . "America's top health guru in marathon booze and McDonald's binge" or similar. But there are no suggestions from any quarter that this could be the case, and of course not from the doctor himself.

"I'm in good health, have never had any serious illnesses, and manage my risk factors . . .

mainly cardiovascular from my father's side of family . . . with both medication and lifestyle, " he says. "My energy is good, I sleep well, and I have an active, interesting dream life."

It's not surprising that so many of us are eager to tap into some of that.

DR WEIL'S WISE WORDS

On supplements
Taking supplements will not guarantee good health, and they should not be used as an excuse for eating a poor diet. Ideally, supplements can provide insurance against gaps in your diet, especially when, for one reason or another, we can't eat as we should. I recommend a daily antioxidant/multivitamin/multimineral supplement that contains vitamin C, natural vitamin E complex, mixed carotenoids, and a full complement of the B vitamins, and a sufficient dose of vitamin D3 along with a source of omega-3 fatty acids, especially if you do not eat fish.

On altered states of consciousness
I've written on the need for all of us to experience altered states of consciousness as part of normal mental health and development. This should not come as a surprise to anyone who has looked around them. Children in every culture spin themselves dizzy. Drugs such as psychedelics are being studied for their profound effects and potential for influencing the mind body connection, but they are only one way to achieve altered states of awareness. Exercise, sex, skydiving, fasting, and meditation can all be equally effective, and all should be explored as ways to influence health.

On navigating the conflicting health information now available
For medical information, finding a physician with whom you can begin a partnership in health is paramount in making good decisions. Further afield, looking to medical practitioners with a record for public education is a prudent way to gather reliable information. The internet can be more challenging in separating good information from clever marketing, but asking to see the science behind recommendations will often help distinguish products or services that are truly beneficial. Use my website, www. drweil. com, as a resource.

On the benefits of an anti-inflammatory diet
Inflammation is increasingly being studied for its primary role in the development of many chronic diseases. Dietary factors that contribute to inflammation include consuming unhealthy fats such as partially hydrogenated oils, trans fats, and polyunsaturated vegetable oils. The good news is that diet can also help tone down inflammation.

This means following a Mediterranean diet, which has plenty of whole grains and fruits and vegetables (preferably organic) from every part of the colour spectrum; monounsaturated fats such as olive oil, nuts, and avocados, and consuming sources of omega-3 fatty acids, which are present in cold-water fish such as wild Alaska salmon, sardines, and anchovies, as well as walnuts and flaxseed.