Arden Anderson is both a doctor and a farmer. As a doctor he helps his patients take dynamic control of their health using proven therapies and diet; as a farmer he has long made the connection between healthy and nutritious foods grown in rich soils and the health and vitality they offer to us. In his introduction he mentions several doctors and researchers whose work has been suppressed because it contradicts methods promoted conventional medicine, industrial agriculture, most land grant colleges and even the Department of Defense. Dr. Arden's book is filled with solid advice about diseases modern medicine often cannot alleviate, much less cure. He advocates learning about our bodies using tests that expose our allergies, eliminating toxins and heavy metal contamination from our bodies, emphasizing nutrient dense foods and supplements and, in many cases, obtaining nutrients blended specifically for an individual to target a specific illness.
Many of the treatments he recommends are not available everywhere but must be sought out, sometimes at great expense due to travel, lodging in other cities and because insurance companies do not cover some of the treatments. Sadly, some treatments that are effective are not available because doctors don't know about them, don't understand them or don't believe they will work. That being said, people with chronic pain or life altering or threatening diseases who have not received help from conventional therapies have much success with these alternate methods. He has had great success with manipulation of joints to realign bones and help heal ligaments and tendons that have not responded to the often incorrect treatments normally offered. For instance, he rarely advises icing an injury, perhaps only to stop bleeding or if there is great swelling because that actually restricts blood flow to the injured site and impedes healing -- causing scarring, while heat applied to the site brings nutrient and oxygen laden blood which advance healing.
Part of his book deals with the health of the soil as it pertains to the health of plants and, consequently, our health. He is very clear on why we should avoid pesticides, the research proving that the chemicals cause cancer is now decades old and incontrovertible. Perhaps his most controversial proposition is mentioned only briefly: farmers who are farming organically are still using poisons, albeit organic ones, to control insects and diseases and not actually addressing the issues of soil health and nutrient density in their crops. For many farmers organic farming has become more a political philosophy than a standard of quality and integrity and, unfortunately for us, this is reflected in the produce in our grocery stores that may have no pesticides on it but also has very little nutrition.
Dr. Arden also talks about the importance of healing the spirit. He clearly states that he is a Christian and says that he believes that spirituality, not religious dogma is the key to understanding God and the Creation, and quotes 1 Cor.3:16-17 on the body as the temple of God.
He lectures and writes on soil health and teaches farmers how to correct the soil to reduce or eliminate weeds, insect pests and plant diseases. There is so much more to say about this valuable and densely packed book, covering what seems to be many topics, but at heart there is one common theme: our connection, good or bad, to the world around us.