Too many Americans are taking too many drugs—and it's costing us our health, happiness, and lives.

Prescription drug use in America has increased tenfold in the past 50 years, and over-the-counter drug use has risen just as dramatically. In addition to the dozens of medications we take to treat serious illnesses, we take drugs to help us sleep, to keep us awake, to keep our noses from running, our backs from aching, and our minds from racing. Name a symptom, there's a pill to suppress it.

Modern drugs can be miraculously life-saving, and many illnesses demand their use. But what happens when our reliance on powerful pharmaceuticals blinds us to their risks? Painful side effects and dependency are common, and adverse drug reactions are America's fourth leading cause of death.

In Mind Over Meds, bestselling author Dr. Andrew Weil alerts readers to the problem of overmedication, and outlines when medicine is necessary, and when it is not. Dr. Weil examines how we came to be so drastically overmedicated, presents science that proves drugs aren't always the best option, and provides reliable integrative medicine approaches to treating common ailments like high blood pressure, allergies, depression, and even the common cold. With case histories, healthy alternative treatments, and input from other leading physicians, Mind Over Meds is the go-to resource for anyone who is sick and tired of being sick and tired.

Trick or Treatment: The Undeniable Facts about Alternative Medicine is a groundbreaking analysis that delves into more than 30 of the most popular alternative healing treatments. From acupuncture to homeopathy, aromatherapy to reflexology, chiropractic to herbal medicines, each is examined for their benefits and potential dangers.

Whether you are an ardent believer in alternative medicine, a skeptic, or simply baffled by the range of services and opinions, this guide lays to rest doubts and contradictions with authority, integrity, and clarity.

Authors Simon Singh and Edzard Ernst strive to reassert the primacy of the scientific method as a means for determining public health practice and policy. They answer pressing questions such as: What works and what doesn't? What are the secrets, and what are the lies? Who can you trust, and who is ripping you off? Can science decide what is best, or do the old wives' tales really tap into ancient, superior wisdom?