Suzanne Somers Succeeds Again with New Book on Being Well

By Candice Russell

One of the most popular and familiar faces in popular culture is Suzanne Somers. This adept comedienne who came to light in the television sitcom "Three's Company" went on to sing and dance in her own one-woman show, regaling audiences across the country. A scintillating guest on late night talk shows, Somers became a best-selling author and health advocate, extolling the virtues of approaching health in a way that integrates conventional and alternative modalities.

"Breakthrough: Eight Steps to Wellness" is her most recently published book that discusses in detail how to live to a ripe old age with vitality. She knows the value of addressing hormone imbalances, which can trigger peri-menopause, different cancers, depression, anxiety, fatigue, lack of sex drive and sleepless nights. The eight steps laid out by Somers include getting bioidentical hormone replacement therapy; avoiding chemicals and detoxifying your body; taking nutrition seriously; and caring for your gastro-intestinal tract.

The other four steps are avoiding pharmaceuticals unless absolutely necessary; supplementing your diet; exercising regularly; and getting proper sleep. While some methods mentioned book are beyond the finances of most Americans, they are worth considering as alternatives to suffering.

No stranger to personal tragedy, Somers was incredibly graceful while standing among the still-smoking embers of her burned-down Malibu home not so long ago. Optimistic for the future in the face of physical ruin, she accepted the situation with a forward-thinking attitude. Is it any wonder she has legions of fans? 4 In a candid question and answer session, Somers addressed the issues in her book, her own health, and the health of her fellow Americans.

Q.: Why are you proud of "Breakthrough: Eight Steps to Wellness" and what information about health is most vital in it?

S.S..: I can't pinpoint only one thing in "Breakthrough" that is the single most vital piece of information, but perhaps the most important overall message is that we have the power to take control and improve our health and well-being by making simple lifestyle changes and using the new understanding and treatments that are available to us now. "Breakthrough" is like a health Bible, a reference book that you will continue to go back to over and over again. It is not necessary to read it cover to cover. Just check the index and read what interests you.

Q.: When you recommend that people care for their gastro-intestinal tract, what steps do you recommend?

S.S.: Eat real, clean food. Chew your food thoroughly, to aid in digestion. So many people wolf down their food. Their digestive systems have to work twice as hard to deal with it, and that causes bloating, acid reflux, heartburn, constipation and awful discomfort. Also, use something like Bio-K, a probiotic that you can get in Whole Foods, to repopulate your digestive tract with good bacteria.

Q. Have you found the media receptive to your latest book?

S.S.: This is the first of my eighteen books that has not provoked an attack from the pharmaceutical companies or the food companies or their reps.

Q.: Are there foods that personally fuel and energize you, while there are others that bring you down and you avoid?

S.S.: I am one of the lucky ones. I can eat anything without negative reactions. I love a great steak with a couple of finger potatoes with butter and some bok choy sautéed in olive oil and garlic.

Q.: I am personally avoiding pharmaceuticals as much as possible. What is it about pharmaceuticals that makes them a negative?

S.S.: When you need a pharmaceutical -- for mental illness or pain -- nothing beats it. But with most of the popular drugs today, like Lipitor or any statin, Prozac, Valium, diet pills, sleeping pills, and muscle relaxants, there are effective and harmless natural solutions that strengthen your body.

Q.: How would you describe your own health now and the challenges you face as a woman trying to be healthy in a society that works against being healthy?

S.S.: I walk the walk when it comes to eating clean foods and avoiding toxic foods and toxic relationships. I exercise moderately. I do yoga three times a week and I have a life partner who resonates with me and brings me great joy. At 62, I feel the best I have ever felt physically and mentally. I truly have a great understanding now of how my body works and what it needs to maintain peak health and performance.

Q.: Why don't more doctors know about and prescribe bioidentical hormones? Is this the same kind of medical ignorance that goes along with doctors not recommending thermography as an alternative to mammography?

S.S.: The big pharmaceutical companies control the media and the medical establishment. They give bonuses to doctors for prescribing their drugs, pay their rent and bribe them with trips and steak dinners, and all the information these doctors get comes directly from the drug companies. There is no profit in bioidentical hormones since they are not patentable, not a drug, so the drug companies prefer that you take their profit-making synthetic hormones like Premarin or Prempro, which are made from the urine of a pregnant mare, having nothing to do with human hormones. The Women's Health Initiative proved that taking these synthetic drugs will surely harm you and might kill you. The drug companies now make them in reduced dosages so harm and death don't arrive so fast.

Q.: What would your life be without exercise? Why is it so personally important to you and why don't more Americans gets off their couches and exercise?

S.S.: I look at our grandchildren whose feet have never touched the sidewalk. They don't play outside anymore. They have play dates at their friends' homes. They are missing the natural exercise of biking or running around chasing a ball. Most kids spend too much time with their computers and video and entertainment centers.

Q.: You are doing so many things right in your life to extend your time on this earth. Is it personally frustrating to you to see the rise in childhood obesity and the growing mortality rates for certain cancers?

S.S.: Giving Lipitor to eight-year-olds is tragic. Statins (like Lipitor) inhibit the creation of cholesterol but harm the cells' mitochondria, causing problems both with brain cell development and energy. Their brains will deteriorate before they fully develop and the statin will create a muscle-wasting process in which their muscles disappear. But the fat remains.

As to cancers, there is so much we can do to build up our bodies against cancer. It is estimated that as many as many as seventy per cent of all cancers are related to diet. In a recent study, overall cancer rates were reduced fifty per cent for people who ate the most fruits and vegetables, with the greatest reduction being in cancers of the esophagus, oral cavity, larynx, pancreas, stomach, colon, rectum, bladder, cervix, ovary, endometrium (inner lining of the uterus) and breast. Several studies have shown that eating large amounts of fruits and vegetables -- especially vegetables -- not only retards the growth of cancers but also can convert very aggressive cancers into much more benign tumors.

Q.: If a friend of yours was diagnosed with breast cancer, would you suggest she go through the conventional medical route of radiation and chemotherapy or the holistic route through a radical change in diet plus lots of nutritional supplements?

S.S.: I never offer medical advice. If it were me (which it was eight years ago), I would not take radiation, chemotherapy or Tamoxifen, the after-care drug. Putting poisonous chemicals in my body is a big turn off and isn't it radiation that "gives" you cancer? I would remove the cancerous tumor, eat organic foods, no diet sodas or chemically laden food in boxes or bags, balance my hormones with bioidentical hormone replacement therapy (BHRT) and takes lots of supplements and loads of antioxidants.

Q.: How do we go about avoiding environmental toxins?

S.S.: Environmental toxins can be reduced or eliminated with chelation, IV vitamin C, IV glutathione, IV hydrogen peroxide, and ultraviolet light. Those are just a few ways to deal with mercury and other toxins.

Q.: Do you use dehumidifiers and filters in your house?

S.S.: I try to get as much fresh air as possible flowing through my home to eclipse all the chemicals in the construction and décor materials. I am living in a rented home now until my new home is built. It will be very green and very environmentally and energy savvy, with photovoltaic energy cells to generate electricity and passive solar elements to cool the house in summer and warm it up in the winter months.

Q.: You didn't mention staying stress-free on your list of steps to wellness, but stress seems to be an unfortunately prominent player in many diseases. How do you personally combat stress?

S.S.: To help me remain peaceful, I do yoga several times a week. I follow my yoga practice with a meditation. I concentrate on keeping calm and I make an effort to breathe deeply when the air is pure.

Q.: For you, what are the keys to daily happiness? What are your touchstones in case of feeling a momentary fear or anxiety?

S.S.: I awaken every day happy. I love my husband of forty years. I love my family, which keeps me growing. I love my work and I focus on the positive.

Q.: Do God and spirituality play a role in your life?

S.S.: I am not a churchgoer in the conventional sense, but I am very spiritual. I know there is a higher power when I hike to the top of a mountain and just sit and stare at incredible nature. It sometimes brings tears.

Q. Are the doctors you consult with medical doctors, holistic doctors, chiropractors or all of the above?

S.S.: All my doctors are MDs. Some of them have chiropractors in their offices to do adjustments. My doctors are those who saw their patients getting sicker and sicker, and stepped outside the box to use other non-harmful protocols. One of my doctors told me that for every one thousand patient visits, he only writes one or two prescriptions. My doctors talk about how happy and healthy their patients are. Their patients bring them flowers and hug them and thank them for their health.

Q. What's your feeling about the health of American in twenty years, what with eating disorders and autism rates going rampant?

S.S.: Dr. Russell Blaylock, a neurosurgeon and now a neuroscientist, told me that because of the tragically non-nutritious diets and diet sodas fed to our kids, that in twenty years we will have to provide full care for thirty and forty-year-olds with dementia and Alzheimer's.

Q.: What is the best lesson that people can take from "Breakthrough"?

S.S.: The best lesson from "Breakthrough" is that if you are willing to make minor changes in your lifestyle, you can live a very healthy and robust life and keep doing all the things you love to do with the people you love to be with for many, many decades to come.