3 surprising things Dr. Andrew Weil is obsessed with—and thinks you should be too

You’ve probably seen the name Andrew Weil, MD, pop up many times over the years: The founder and director of the Arizona Center for Integrative Medicine and prolific author has been spearheading the idea of wellness long before it was even a thing.

When Well+Good co-founder Melisse Gelula chatted with the integrative medicine pioneer on Facebook Live (watch below!) at this year’s Global Wellness Summit in Palm Beach, Florida, he shared three things he’s obsessed with. And, spoiler, you might already be super into them too.

Keep scrolling to find out which 3 things Dr. Weil is obsessed with.

1. Mushrooms

Although Dr. Weil says mushrooms are a bigger part of daily life in China and Japan than they are in the US, the times, they are a-changin’.

Instead of just focusing on one species (the button variety!), many Americans are starting to realize the benefits of other types and take full advantage—buzzy mushroom tonics, included.

“There’s a great range of mushrooms that enhance immunity and protect us from cancer and infections.”

“I have a long use of mushrooms; I think they’re phenomenal. I’ve [always] been interested in them—especially for medicinal purposes,” Dr. Weil says. “There’s a great range of mushrooms—mainly Asian mushrooms—that enhance immunity, protect us from cancer and infections…they have all sorts of remarkable qualities.”

If you’re just getting into ‘shrooms, which should you try first? Dr. Weil has a few favorites to start with: “Maitake is a delicious edible mushroom that also has immune-enhancing properties, Lion’s Mane, and the white pom pom mushroom, which has a good nerve growth factor that may be useful for preventing dementia and nerve injuries,” he says.

2. Matcha

Dr. Weil had his first matcha when he was just 17 during a trip-of-a-lifetime to Japan, and he’s never looked back: Now, the powdered green tea is getting more popular by the day, popping up in specialized boutiques and your favorite beauty products alike.

“Some people say they don’t like it because it tastes bitter, but they’ve never had good matcha. Good matcha is fabulous.”

But if you’ve already given matcha a shot and hated it, try again—you probably just didn’t get the right kind: “There’s a lot of bad quality matcha around,” Dr. Weil says. “Some people say they don’t like it because it tastes bitter, but they’ve never had good matcha. Good matcha is fabulous.”

3. Taking fewer meds

As crazy as it sounds, nearly 7 in every 10 Americans takes at least one prescription drug—thats 70 percent of the population, according to Mayo Clinic researchers. Just like how people look back with disgust at how popular cigarette smoking once was, Dr. Weil thinks prescription meds might yield a similar reaction of the masses in the coming years.

“I think one thing we’re going to look back on [and regret] is the incredible overuse of medication—especially psychiatric medication,” Weil says. “I think the images of kids lining up in classrooms to get pills like patients in a psych ward—that’s just appalling.”

Instead, he hopes the future means using food as medicine instead of popping pills. Sounds healthy and yummy.

These spirulina-matcha doughnuts are what weekend dreams are made of. And in more benefit-packed food news, you need to try this adaptogenic kombucha.