Living and Eating Healthy

In 1998, I was filming The Talented Mr. Ripley in Ischia, a little island off the coast of Naples in Italy. I got a call that changed my life. My father had been diagnosed with throat cancer, and it was stage four. Although he underwent treatment and survived for another four years, I watched his health deteriorate slowly until his death in 2002. During this time I began to read about Eastern medicine and the body’s capacity to heal itself. I tried to get my father on board— with mixed results. He loved acupuncture but hated macrobiotic food, which he likened to “biting into The New York Times.” I had read somewhere that in Asia, the concept of going to the doctor when you were already sick was akin to digging a well when you were already thirsty. This struck a chord with me. Over the years I have had my share of medical issues, as we all do. Recently I have found three doctors (one in London, one in New York and one in Los Angeles) who have helped me tremendously. Heeding their advice has helped me out of some very sticky health problems (pneumonia, anemia, stress, etc.). Below they offer their points of view and some ideas about how we can achieve our best health. Below, Dr. Joshi, who runs one of London’s foremost wellness clinics, and his thoughts on the practice.

The Basics of a Holistic Detox

My journey with nutrition came from looking after performance artists and dancers who were trying to find a healthy balance between diet, looking good, and having enough energy to perform. I use the age-old wisdom of Ayurvedic medicine, the holistic approach of osteopathic medicine, and basic common sense to help patients realize how to achieve their own optimum health. The older, more natural forms of medicine work predominantly on promoting and improving the body’s ability to eliminate waste (detoxification) and also towards finding balance and well-being. My motivation is towards not only the nutritional needs of a healthy body, but also on encouraging better sleep patterns, ways of coping with stress and reducing its effects on the body, and teaching individuals how to care for themselves and make healthy lifestyle choices: the true mind-body-spirit sense of health and well-being.

My first bestselling book, Joshi’s Holistic Detox explains in more detail the fundamentals of my detox and dietary program, but its essence lies in:

1. Avoiding all refined carbohydrates including white flour and sugar.

2. Avoiding all foods with chemical preservatives and flavorings including foods that contain toxic elements (such as heavy metals, e.g. tuna).

3. Drinking at least one to two liters of pure water daily to help the body clean and detoxify itself.

4. Eating fruit and vegetables that are ripe, fresh and as free of chemical fertilizers as possible.

5. Minimizing tea, coffee, dairy products, and alcohol.

6. Boosting your health and vitality with a diet rich in organic, ripe fruits and vegetables.

7. Eating protein such as white fish or white meats with each meal.

8. Sleeping at least eight hours a night and practicing some gentle exercise, yoga or meditation every day to reduce the effects of stress on the body.

—Dr. Neish Joshi is the founder of the Joshi Clinic in London, and has developed a unique approach in his practice, embracing centuries-old Indian traditions, ancient Ayurvedic wisdom and a wide variety of other healing philosophies from all over the world with both eastern and western approaches to orthodox medicine.