Customer Reviews

The Healing Power of Herbs: The Enlightened Person's Guide to the Wonders of Medicinal Plants

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The Healing Power of Herbs is the most credible and useful herb book on the market, helpful for the consumer and the health professional alike. I especially appreciate the discussions of clinical trials, the medical journal references, and the easy-to-reference summaries of uses and dosages of herbs. This is *the* book I turn to when I have a question about herbal medicine. If you're only going to have one book on herbal medicine on your shelf, this is the one!

This excellent book provides clear, complete, accurate and detailed information about many of the most useful herbs. Anyone interested in herbal medicine - layman or professional - would do well to read this book. It is essential to anyone who wishes to prescribe the covered herbs properly - be it to family and friends or as a health care professional. As well as covering the most useful herbs in detail, a separate section covers common conditions and what herbs and supplements to prescribe for them. This section is especially useful as it is not limited to the herbs covered in detail in the book.

I FEEL I MUST FIRST SAY: TO DO "NO HARM" MUST COME FIRST & DOES IN THIS GUIDEBOOK!

I read a large number of alternative health and medical texts and some are better than others. I borrow as many as possible from the library, but Michael Murray's books, along with James Duke's, are among the few that I purchase and keep handy at all times. The approach of these two men are always safety first, and they follow the first cardinal rule of medicine which is to do "NO HARM". For that reason I feel a level of security that allows me to make the leaps of faith needed in order to try new things that will affect the health of myself and my loved ones.

IN A NUTSHELL: A terrific read, but very useful and efficient too!

The Healing Power of Herbs, contains detailed and coherent discussions about the effects and practical applications of 37 medicinal herbs and 34 common ailments treated by them. A short history of "herbal medicine" precedes these discussions.

WHAT IT IS:

SECTION 1: Pages 1-28

INTRODUCTION: BASIC HISTORY OF HERBAL MEDICINE & PREPARATIONS

SECTION 2: Pages 29-344

MATERIA MEDICA: In alphabetical order from Aloe Vera to Valerian, 37 of the most useful and commonly used herbs are examined. For each Herb examined, the same organization of the discussion is utilized as follows:

GENERAL DESCRIPTION, CHEMICAL COMPOSITION, HISTORY & FOLK USE, PHARMACOLOGY - [effects are itemized and examined in detail], CLINICAL APPLICATIONS - [what ailments the herb may be used for -each ailment is examined as it pertains to the particular herb], DOSAGE - [different forms of the herb and uses are detailed in regard to dose], TOXICITY - [usually described as the toxic effects on lab animals or the lethal dose in 50% of the cases {LD50}].

REFERENCES - [There is a long list of references at the end of each herbs discussion, which both validates the information and gives one other places to research the particular herb.]

SECTION 3: Pages 345-390

RECOMMENDED HERBS FOR SOME SPECIFIC HEALTH CONDITIONS - Again there is a repeated structure:

AILMENT - alphabetically listed, is described to aid in its identification and to illustrate its seriousness. After the description there is an "Herbal Recommendation" paragraph for each ailment. The use of multiple herbs in combination makes
section 3 important and indispensible when dealing with a specific ailment, as section 2 deals with the herbs and their actions individually rather than their uses in combination with other agents.

At the end of the ailments' discussion, there are references for each specific ailment which can lead one to further study quite easily.

GLOSSARY: Page 393-402

INDEX: Page 403-410

BOTTOM LINE: Works well with the "Encyclopedia of Natural Medicine", Revised 2nd Ed. by M. Murray and J. Pizzorno

Currently value-priced at $12.95 through Amazon or other discounters, this is an extreme value and a great read filled with useful Herbal information. Bear in mind that this book, originally written in 1992 and later revised and expanded in 1995, is starting to need a major update. There are herbs like Ephedra that are included in this book, but have been taken off the market due to safety concerns. Though I have the revised second edition I would buy a third edition of this book in a heartbeat.

I have owned this book for 5 years. I still use it on a regular basis. Its one of the best books on basic herbs you can buy. I can't even begin to count how many times it has saved us from a trip to the doctor. Get this book if you want to keep yourself healthy naturally.

I am a Natural Products Chemist and Cancer Researcher. I wanted a book on Herbal Remedies to share with my friends and family containing a synopsis based on the facts without the media-babble. This is an excellent book. It is not an exhaustive work but contains many entry point references to the scientific literature whilst still presenting core material in a manner easily understood by most interested parties. This book helps bridge the gap between those interested consumers who want facts and not hype, and the scientific community. Dr. D.W., City of Hope National Medical Center. CA.

This is the one herb book I would take with me to a deserted island :)

I've had it for years and it amazes me how ahead of its time it is. I've even found articles on coleus and guggul. It's hard to find info on these.

He includes both folklore and research information.

I am a Natural Products Chemist and Cancer Researcher. I wanted a book on Herbal Remedies to share with my friends and family containing a synopsis based on the facts without the media-babble. This is an excellent book. It is not an exhaustive work but contains many entry point references to the scientific literature whilst still presenting core material in a manner easily understood by most interested parties. This book helps bridge the gap between those interested consumers who want facts and not hype, and the scientific community. Dr. D.W., City of Hope National Medical Center. CA.

I wanted some basic, beginner information about herbs and this book provided it. Some of it was too technical for me but that didn't stop me from learning a lot from the book. This is a good resource for cutting through some of the marketing hype about herbs.

I have both the original and the revised version of this book. Both are excellent, the 2nd one however have a lot more information, and for those of us who really like a LOT of information you will get it in this book. Does it cover every herb used out there? Nope. Does it have wonderfully complete information for what it does cover? Yuppers. It has wonderful descriptions, uses, history, references, its a book well worth purchasing and being put at the top of ones list of books to buy

Very well written info on about 40 herbs.
Plenty of detail, including dosage and
potential toxicity. Excellent section that
covers at least 30 ailments, and the
herbs that are most effective. For
instance, the author covers 6 herbs that
are most effective against atherosclerosis. <BR