New book explains how to recover faster by strengthening healing systems

A new book released as part of AARP’s book line, “Heal Faster: Unlock Your Body’s Rapid Recovery Reflex,” examines how people can recover more efficiently from illnesses, injuries, surgery, and chronic conditions.

Dr. Victoria Maizes, founding Executive Director of the University of Arizona’s Andrew Weil Center for Integrative Medicine, joined “Arizona Horizon” to discuss her book.

In the book, Dr. Maizes introduces what she calls the body’s “rapid recovery reflex,” interconnected systems that regulate immunity, metabolism, inflammation, and resilience.

“Well, your immune system popped in doing what it needs to do to fight that viral infection, and then you’re well again,” Dr. Maizes said, “…we have this innate ability, we just don’t always think about it.”

According to Dr. Maizes, the recovery reflex is all of the physiological mechanisms that every individual has, including one’s immune system, nervous system, or metabolism.

“Your body knows how to bring you back to homeostasis,” Dr. Maizes explained, “…we just don’t necessarily pay enough attention, but this is part of our human body.”

Today, inflammation is known to be one of the potential root causes of many different types of diseases. This could range from heart disease, cancer, alzheimers, and in some cases depression.

“Inflammation is part of your body’s healing system,” Dr. Maizes said, “…that inflammation is part of the acute ability that leads the body to heal.”

Dr. Maizes explained that due to outdated research, previous advice to patients if they twisted their ankle would be to take an anti-inflammatory medicine.

“…we actually now know that that impairs your body’s rapid recovery reflex, it gets in the way of recovery,” Dr. Maizes discussed, “…we have changed our advice, we now tell people to avoid those anti-inflammatories, and let the body do its healing work.”