The scores of books on herbs already available generally restate old, often outdated lore about herbs. Now, Herbs Demystified does something entirely different: It is the first book to explain exactly what herbs actually do inside our bodies and how they achieve their effects. Biochemist Holly Phaneuf covers 100 of the most popular herbs-astragalus, black cohosh, chamomile, echinacea, garlic, gingko, ginseng, milk thistle, pine bark extract, saw palmetto, valerian, and many others. Phaneuf's introductory overview lays out the basic chemical principles that underlie the journey herbal molecules make in our bodies. Then, for each of the herbs, she covers its history and folklore; explains what the herb really does-its evidence of action; its good uses and not so good uses, including the forms in which it is typically available and commonly reported dosages; interesting facts and the bottom line. Like no other herb book before, Herbs Demystified allows readers to custom-fit an herb to one's own particular concern, therefore minimizing trial and error.
My fascination with herbs began early, as a little girl. I recall ambitiously hoping to use them to acquire magical powers. I would fly, become invisible, and save the world in three easy steps! My dollhouse contained a secret lab where the occupant could develop magical herbal potions.
My goals have grown more realistic over time, after working in actual labs with no magic potions to show for it. I am now content to quell gas pains with chamomile.
An offer to record my harp music when I was a teenager lead me to Salt Lake, where I was startled to find myself living for 20 years.
I found solace at the University of Utah. After getting bachelors of science in both biology and chemistry, I got my doctorate in medicinal chemistry. Medicinal chemists are trained to synthesize new drugs, or to discover them from nature.
I spent six years inventing new drugs at the University of Utah, as well as performing basic research in molecular biology. Dr. Jeanette Roberts stimulated my interest in antioxidant chemistry, chemoprotection and radioprotection, which was just starting attract the interest of mainstream science at the time.
Kahlil Gibran said "work is love made visible." What I love is in sharing my awe and enthusiasm for seemingly ordinary scientific phenomena with nonscientists. The most fun I ever had working was teaching chemistry full time to college students after I got my PhD, for ten years in Utah.
My accidental discovery an of an asteroid from a homemade observatory launched media opportunities with television and radio stations. (I recently named the asteroid after my husband.)
Now I am fortunate to devote my life to teaching and writing, and have left Utah. I write on an island in Lake Michigan, with my husband, and our cats, Quark and Alberio.
Here's how my book evolved:
Growing up, I collected popular herb books.
I grew annoyed, however, that many maintain distinguish between so-called "natural" and "synthetic" molecules, which in many cases are the same. This artificial separation is rooted in philosophy that is more religious than scientific, and not informative, since both can be helpful or injurious. This philosophical separation between "man" and "nature" is in my opinion harmful, because it provides a subconscious rationale for damaging our environment.
I was also frustrated that most popular herb books vaguely stated that a given herb was good for a particular problem, with no mention of what 'good' meant, or of what was really happening.
As Richard Feynman said, knowing the name of a thing doesn't give you knowledge about the thing. You can know common and Latin names of an herb, and you can even give it the name "antiinflammatory", but what is it doing? A process must be described to explain its action. Naming an entity to gain power over it is an ancient and intriguing theme--I believe it pops up in Rumpelstiltskin. Naming helps, but to really understand a thing, we need to know what it does, step by step, along its journey.
The omission of these processes in popular literature gives you the misleading impression that herbs produce an effect by some mysterious means. But herbs contain a smorgasboard of chemicals that go to different places in the body and do very interesting things.
Chemicals are mysterious because we can't see them with our eyes. But they're real, physical entities, and I hope I portray a vivid picture of what scientists know about their adventures.
After searching unsuccessfully over the years for book for laypeople that describes why each herb is thought to have its alleged effect, I at last decided to fill this void myself, with the aid of some wonderful editors at Marlowe and Co.
I hope that this site will stimulate interest in the topic and keep me in touch with common questions people have about it. So, email me if you have a question. I look forward to talking to you!
