This book is another truly fantastic find in the world of herbal medicine! With 610 pages and 712 herbal remedies the serious herbalist couldn’t find a better stand-alone resource on herbal medicine. The authors, Linda B. White, M.D., Steven Foster, HerbsforHealth staff, and nine other contributing writers–nine highly accredited doctors and medical and herbal professionals–have given the world a new kind of herbal remedies book. Not only will you find a vast array of herbal remedies, but alongside them is printed the most common standard medical remedies and advice given for the same ailment. This allows the reader to compare side-by-side, what he might hear from the family doctor and mainstream medical professionals and the less touted information on natural alternatives. Never before in one herbal book, have I ever seen so much and so varied information. Even my personal favorite herbalist, James A. Duke, Ph.D., author of The Green Pharmacy, reported A rich and rewarding resource for those who want the safest and best treatments for their most pressing health concerns.
The first section gives the herbalist all the groundwork needed to get started with definitions of herbal medicine, and information to help the reader understand, choose, create, use and purchase needed herbal remedies. Following is another section which is an at-a-glance index of the listed remedies for each included ailment. This section is basically a condensed version of the next section which is the main body of the book. It includes all the authors’ known and chosen remedies for 98 of the most common medical complaints alphabetized by ailment for easy reference. For each condition, the author includes a brief introduction and definition of the ailment listed, a fairly extensive listing of the types and names of pharmaceuticals most commonly prescribed, an ordered group of herbs and recommended herbal remedies and several other helpful hints interjected throughout. To wrap up, the authors take a deeper look at what they describe as 58 of the most commonly used herbs. For each of the herbs listed, the reader will also find other known common names, regional sources, parts used, forms available, uses and cautions.
Another great discovery for my herbal library, The Herbal Drugstore (Rodale, ISBN 1-57954-705-2) is indeed one of my new favorites and will no doubt be one of my most loved and used resources! I would highly recommend this to any herbalist regardless of caliber or experience level. No other herbal resource, I own so far, has the amount of information I can get from just this one book. The serious and hobby herbalists alike should all have a copy of this one around.
Tags: ailment, array, definitions, doctors, family doctor, glance index, groundwork, helpful hints, herbal book, herbal drugstore, herbal medicine, herbal remedies, herbalist, herbs, james a duke, linda b white, medical complaints, medical professionals, natural alternatives, pharmaceuticals