With more than five million copies sold, "Prescription for Nutritional Healing" is the most trusted, comprehensive source on dietary supplements, vitamins, minerals and herbs. A pioneer in the field of nutritional healing, Phyllis Balch passionately and meticulously researched and compiled this groundbreaking book. Now a generation later, her message has more relevance than ever: consume fresh foods, avoid processed foods and those high in fat, and optimise your intake of essential nutrients with the right supplements. Today's well-stocked vitamin and natural health stores can be confusing, and people need Balch's clear, concise, landmark guide.
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Book Description
Editorial Reviews
From Library Journal
Written by a medical doctor and a certified nutritional consultant, this comprehensive guide to nutritional, herbal, and complementary therapies discusses natural healing programs for some 300 health conditions. Arranged in alphabetical order, it's a useful ready-reference tool, although it could have benefited from a good bibliography.
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Review
This second edition has been expanded to reflect the latest research on drug-free remedies in the field of nutrition: as such it provides an excellent assessment and review of herbal tinctures and diets. From high blood pressure remedies to handling infections, this is packed with practical advice. -- Midwest Book Review
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
233 of 248 people found the following review helpful
Format:Mass Market Paperback
This is an excellent book in that it contains, in one place, an enormous amount of information about supplements and their use in treating various medical conditions. It also goes through all of the vitamins and minerals, amino acids, digestive enzymes, herbs, etc., explaining their function.
But do your own homework after consulting this book. Under AIDS, St. John's Wort is noted as containing "two substances, hypericin and pseudohypericin, that inhibit retroviral infections and could be useful in the treatment of AIDS." This is bad advice, because one of the most widely known herbal/drug interactions--and widely known since about 1997--is that St. John's Wort and protease inhibitors don't mix. This might actually be THE most widely known and infamous interaction. If you're a person living with HIV/AIDS, and you're taking a protease inhibitor, you should not take St. John's Wort UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES. It is proven fact that St. John's Wort decreases the levels of the PIs in your blood, making them less effective. Meaning that if you have AIDS, are taking a protease inhibitor and St. John's Wort, you could very well be shortening your life expectancy. This is serious stuff, and not to be taken lightly.
Glutathione is also mentioned throughout this book. When introduced, the book does say that "the effectiveness of oral formulas [of glutathione] is questionable. To raise glutathione levels, it is better to supply the body with the raw materials it uses to make this compound: cysteine, glutamic acid...glycine...and N-acetylcysteine". But when this is recommended for use in "The Disorders" section of the book, little mention is made of the ineffectiveness of oral glutathione, and indeed recommends specific amounts of glutathione one should take.
Let me be clearer than this book has been: oral glutathione is worthless. If you're using it, you're not getting any benefit, and the companies that sell oral glutathione know this well. It's frustrating to see reputable companies produce a product just to make money when they know *for a fact* that it has zero benefit. If they really wanted to make money, they should instead put sugar pills in the glutathione bottles. That would be cost-effective! Interestingly enough, my partner is in pharmacy school and they just had a lecture on glutathione yesterday. I won't try to translate the medical techy stuff, but the gist of it is this: it won't be absorbed by the cells.
So why does this book recommend glutathione (by itself, with no disclaimer) throughout? That's a good question, and I'd love to know the answer.
Still, the book has its uses. As I noted, nowhere else will you find such a wealth of information in one place, and so easily accessible and understood. Just be prepared to do your homework.
But do your own homework after consulting this book. Under AIDS, St. John's Wort is noted as containing "two substances, hypericin and pseudohypericin, that inhibit retroviral infections and could be useful in the treatment of AIDS." This is bad advice, because one of the most widely known herbal/drug interactions--and widely known since about 1997--is that St. John's Wort and protease inhibitors don't mix. This might actually be THE most widely known and infamous interaction. If you're a person living with HIV/AIDS, and you're taking a protease inhibitor, you should not take St. John's Wort UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES. It is proven fact that St. John's Wort decreases the levels of the PIs in your blood, making them less effective. Meaning that if you have AIDS, are taking a protease inhibitor and St. John's Wort, you could very well be shortening your life expectancy. This is serious stuff, and not to be taken lightly.
Glutathione is also mentioned throughout this book. When introduced, the book does say that "the effectiveness of oral formulas [of glutathione] is questionable. To raise glutathione levels, it is better to supply the body with the raw materials it uses to make this compound: cysteine, glutamic acid...glycine...and N-acetylcysteine". But when this is recommended for use in "The Disorders" section of the book, little mention is made of the ineffectiveness of oral glutathione, and indeed recommends specific amounts of glutathione one should take.
Let me be clearer than this book has been: oral glutathione is worthless. If you're using it, you're not getting any benefit, and the companies that sell oral glutathione know this well. It's frustrating to see reputable companies produce a product just to make money when they know *for a fact* that it has zero benefit. If they really wanted to make money, they should instead put sugar pills in the glutathione bottles. That would be cost-effective! Interestingly enough, my partner is in pharmacy school and they just had a lecture on glutathione yesterday. I won't try to translate the medical techy stuff, but the gist of it is this: it won't be absorbed by the cells.
So why does this book recommend glutathione (by itself, with no disclaimer) throughout? That's a good question, and I'd love to know the answer.
Still, the book has its uses. As I noted, nowhere else will you find such a wealth of information in one place, and so easily accessible and understood. Just be prepared to do your homework.
76 of 78 people found the following review helpful
Format:Mass Market Paperback
In 1989, I was working Medical Intensive Care, U.C.I. Hospital. I was a widowed mother with three children in college & high school. My health was great, I loved my career and the security it gave us and my life revolved around my career and children. I worked circles around younger nurses, when I SUDDENLY became so exhausted that I couldn't push myself out of a chair. My doctor & friend, ran tests that revealed Acute Hepatitis B. Long story short, after 3 months - I remained bed ridden and my liver specialist gave me 1 to 2 month life expectancy. My life and my childrens lives had turned upside down. Out of desparation, (the medical field could not help me as the acute hepatitis became chronic), my oldest daughter bought this book. She bought all the vit., mineral, dietary supplements, etc. listed under "esential" and "very important" and started force feeding me. I felt like I was being tortured these last days of my life as I already battled nausea/vomiting/diarrhea and a type of exhaustion beyond explaination. It took all my concentration to force an eyelid open or to ask my tongue to move in order to speak. I knew she and the book were nuts but I saw the desparation in her eyes as she would beg me to swallow the beet juice, alevea juice or some capsule. Never-the-less, she continued to insist, three weeks later - I was out of the bed. Three months later I was able to work one night a week and soon a full week. 13 years later - the good news - I am health, happy, active and alive. The bad news - the Acute Hepatitis B became chronic, (which happens in a low % of cases and though I FELT like I overcame the disease, my doctor says the liver is still being destroyed. I truely believe this book saved my life. I have 30 years in the health field as a nurse, and a teacher but this is the book I most frequently use for information. It lists diseases and disorders from "Acme" to serious diseases like "Cancer". They are listed in alphebetical order, making them fast to find. First a very accurate describtion of the disease is given. Then a simple and consice list of things to use. I have bought copies for friends and families and lent my copies to many. Happy ending: Shortly after my close to death experience, I changed jobs, for fewer hours, leaving time for more activities: hiking, biking, swiming, working out, learned ballroom dancing, and I continued the recommended changes in nutritional eating. I met a wonderful man, we married, and I kept cutting back my work hours till I reluctantly retired from my wonderful position at the hospital last year because our travels, projects, hobbies and activities just didn't leave me time to work. We share an absultely fantastic lifestyle. My health is very dependent on how I eat and drink - even now. I have learned to really "listen" to my body and I can enjoy perfect health if I avoid the foods and drinks that do not leave me feeling well. Pepsi, fats in moderation and sugars are my challenge. I gave out my last copy of this book and am buying another because I fractured my ankle while hiking near our home in Southern Baja, Mexico, last week. Again, I will do EVERYTHING Dr. Balch and Phyllis Balch reccommends and heal rapidly.
42 of 44 people found the following review helpful
Format:Mass Market Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
I am amazed at the information available in this book. I have given copies to anyone interested in learning how to improve their overall health and well-being. This is my "Go to" book. I highly recommend this book to anyone truely interested in making positive changes in their life.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
Informative
I won't go into detail of what this book is about... the title says it all. Worthwhile reading for those with bad eating habits!
Published 25 days ago by CST/CSFA
Alternatives to pharmaceutical drugs
Although this fact is not commonly known, the fourth leading cause of death in the U.S. is the side-effects of pharmaceutical drugs. Read more
Published 27 days ago by D. R. Schryer
My supplement bible
This book lists every single vitamin, mineral, enzyme, amino acid and herb, what each provides, how they work, it writes about deficiencies and so much more :)
I bought mine... Read more
I bought mine... Read more
Published 3 months ago by Dr. Grace J. Gniazdowska
EXCELLENT RESOURCE
This was recommended to me in the health food store I shop in, found it on Amazon for cheap and have been loving it!!!!!!
Published 4 months ago by Hannael
Fantastic Resource
Highly recommend this book. It has helped me with so many different questions that I didn't want to bother my doctor with.
Published 6 months ago by C. Silvernale
Very thorough
Great book on just what the title says. Good resource to have handy just in case and to help along the way. I recommend everyone should have a version of this on hand.
Published 7 months ago by Beauty4ashes83
Nutritional Healing-a must have book
This invaluable resource is not just for the over the top "I won't go near western medicine raw foods only vegan" types. Read more
Published 7 months ago by bizzymudda
Very informative
We received the product about three ago and just getting time to read/research select topics. We are finding the book to be very informative and enjoying learning/understanding... Read more
Published 8 months ago by TSB
My "Go To" Natural Health Guidebook
I have been using this book since the early 90's (earlier editions) and always upgrade to the new ones when they come out. Why? Read more
Published 8 months ago by hojobj
I love this book!
This book is amazing. I had an older edition and was excited to finally get this one. I know several people who have it, and I refer to it all of the time for personal health... Read more
Published 9 months ago by L. McMahon
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