A Physician's Guide to Natural Health Products That Work [Paperback]

James A. Howenstine (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 26, 2007 | ISBN-10: 0970568487 | ISBN-13: 978-0970568489 | Edition: 3

A medical doctor reveals the truth about natural health products that work.

James A. Howenstine, MD

Do natural health solutions really exist?

Yes. Nutritious foods, vitamins, minerals, aminoacids, algae and extracts from herbs, plants, flowers, roots, seeds, bushes, trees, fish, mussels and animals have all been proven to have healing properties

If natural health solutions exist for many modern diseases, why don’t the pharmaceutical companies produce them?

Pharmaceutical companies exist to make money. (As all companies do.) One company makes 90% of its profits from only 6 patented and skillfully marketed drugs. They cannot patent natural products, so there is no profit motive to provide these products.

Why don’t more doctors know about natural health solutions?

The medical profession and pharmaceutical companies work together very closely.

We physicians continue our learning by reading medical journals and attending meetings. These are almost always oriented towards pharmaceutical companies and their drugs. The end result is the average physician has almost no awareness of the curative potential of natural treatments.

Why has there been, in some cases, a negative image regarding natural health solutions?

There’s no question there has been some exaggeration and hype by untrained people talking about these issues. However, that doesn’t take away from the effectiveness of natural health solutions, when carefully chosen by skilled professionals.

There seem to be so many natural health products out there, with all sorts of claims about them. It all seems pretty confusing to me.

I have carefully chosen and screened the premier natural health products we recommend and explain how to take them.

They work and I tell you why they work.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

An important book from a noted medical doctor. Dr. Howenstine describes exactly what natural health products work for specific diseases. A scientifically-trained medical doctor, he "spans" the gap between medical science and natural health products.

From the Author

A Important Message from James A Howentine, MD.

There are in general two kinds of therapies: pharmaceutical drugs and natural treatments.

Pharmaceutical drugs sometimes have unknown side effects which can be severe and only show up years later, after the damage is done. As one such example Baycol, a widely used cholesterol-lowering drug, was recently removed from the market after a number of deaths were linked to it.

This is a problem for some modern day pharmaceutical drugs. Their side effects can be unrecognized until used by large numbers of patients over a period of time.

In other cases, drugs will help solve one problem but create another. This is a dilemma I often faced as a doctor.

Natural treatments are much more in harmony with the body and work with it. In general, natural solutions have far fewer side effects than pharmaceutical drugs.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 345 pages
• Publisher: Penhurst Books; 3 edition (April 26, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0970568487
• ISBN-13: 978-0970568489
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #396,145 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

41 of 42 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Physician Successfully Unites Medicine and Nature, November 24, 2002

By 

MzRiz1 (San Francisco, CA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Physician's Guide to Natural Health Products That Work (Paperback)

I came across Dr. Howenstine's book, "A Physician's Guide," when researching for a Master's paper on holistic care. I was particularly interested in his opinion on holistic care from a medical perspective. Often holistic/homeopathic "authorities" cite remedies to diseases/ailments without having the medical background to know if they've given the right advice. This, unfortunately, can do more harm than good.

Dr. Howenstine breaks down his book into specific sections -- the first chapters discuss how certain foods and additives have affected our body's health. The remaining chapters discuss common diseases/ailments and holistic approaches to dealing with them. Topics covered include immune illnesses, heart disease, malignancies, mental disorders and men's/women's health issues. The final chapter deals with how to take natural products effectively. Throughout the book, Dr. Howenstine cites some interesting ancedotes from his personal practice to back his claims. He also suggests some great holistic alternatives to medicine, conveniently offering several companies which sell the products, including his own company, Natural Health Team.

I was intrigued by many of Dr. Howenstine's insights and was alarmed over how much our society is rife with harmful, overprocessed food. ("Nearly everything in a can, box, bottle or package has artifical fat and sugar.") Since reading his book, I have switched from using margarine to butter (the chemical contents of margarine are like a chemistry experiment gone awry), cut back on frozen convenience foods and take daily Flax Seed oil supplements.

The one downfall to this book is its editing. The book isn't as cohesive as it could be -- at times it jumps from subject to subject without solid transitions, making it a choppy read. Moreover, I wanted to read some of the literature Dr. Howenstine used in his research and was disappointed to find the lack of a bibligraphy or works cited section at the end of the book. However, the information Dr. Howenstine conveyed in his book was interesting enough for me to overlook the book's editorial flaws.

Overall, "A Physician's Guide" is good for someone wanting a crash course in the primary diseases/ailments today, and what you can do to prevent or mitigate them from a sound holistic perspective. Tired of the medical industry pumping drugs through our veins to solve everything, I found this book to be a refreshing alternative.

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Spectacular Investment in Good Health, January 7, 2004

By 

Thomas Smith (United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Physician's Guide to Natural Health Products That Work (Paperback)

Submitted by: Thomas Smith, author of the book: Insulin Our Silent Killer.

Dr.James Howenstine's new best seller A Physicians Guide to Natural Health Care Products That Work is a spectacular investment in good health. Every page is loaded with scientific insight on exactly how the body works and precisely what is wrong and what to do about it when it doesn't work right. From the clear cause and effect tie-in between abortion and cancer, to the obesity-CLA deficiency connection, to a thorough scientific discussion of the vaccination issue, this book is loaded with eminently workable insights to staying healthy in a world that is chronically ill.

The book is information rich and contains an extensive indexing system to facilitate
the rapid recovery of information when it is needed. The table of drug induced nutritional deficiencies is a gem. Suggestions on ways to take natural products is the sort of classic good medicine we'd like to always find when we visit the doctor. All along the way, Dr. Howenstine provides not only the name and explanation of the natural products needed to restore a myriad of health disorders, but also provides two alternate suppliers for the product, along with insight to how to buy it without being deceived.

Dr. Howenstine writes in plain English for the intelligent layman. He avoids the medical language constructs that often effectively prevent many laymen from doing their own research. Where technical medical terms are unavoidable, Dr. Howenstine takes great pains to make them abundantly clear. His thirty four years of clinical experience, together with his compassion for the sick, shine through his recounting of examples from his many case histories. This book, far from merely finding a place in my library, has quickly become one of my most valued references.

16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Review on "A Physician's Guide to Natural Health", December 14, 2002

By 

Harvey Lifsey, Ph. D. (Glendale, AZ United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Physician's Guide to Natural Health Products That Work (Paperback)

Here is the premier book on natural solutions for major health problems. Encyclodedic information in everyday language has clear and simple guidelines for using nature's own products that help to both cure problems and maintain optimum health. An invaluable resource book that should be in every home library.