Radiant Health The Ancient Wisdom of the Chinese Tonic Herbs (Hardcover)

~ (Author) "One of the great secrets of a long, satisfying, and happy life, according to Eastern wisdom, is to focus on health instead of disease..." (more)
Key Phrases: Dang Gui, Siberian Ginseng, Licorice Root (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

With his 20 years of herbal expertise, Ron Teeguarden is the man celebrities rely on to improve their energy, put a glow on their skin, even renew their sexual vigor. Here he's written a fine and thorough introduction to the theory and art of tonic herbs. Anyone who's seen Woody Allen's Alice may be a bit leery, but there's more philosophy and science to these herbs than the hocus-pocus that the uninformed may associate them with. As Teeguarden points out, many of these herbs have been in use for more than 5,000 years.

He first covers the principles of Chinese health--yin and yang; the Three Treasures of life--qi (energy or vitality), jing (essence), and shen (spirit); the five main organ systems; and the Chinese view of the mind-body connection. These concepts may seem a bit out of this world for those accustomed to Western medicine ("Anger damages the liver"; "The kidneys control the skeleton"), but Teeguarden does an excellent job of explaining it all, even for folks who are complete novices when it comes to these Chinese health principles.

Then, using an organized, easy-to-use format and a handy one- to five-star system, he rates various herbs and classifies them according to their antioxidant qualities, ability to support the organs, and other health-promoting properties. Handy bonuses include the pharmaceutical name of each herb, its organ associations, and its taste. There are herbs for helping knee problems and boosting fertility, for improving immunity and reducing stress, even for promoting longevity. The most interesting of the bunch are the ones that you'd assume appeal to Hollywood folk: tonics to promote hair growth, clear the complexion, and prevent jet lag. Teeguarden then reveals the "recipes" or herb combinations for his tonics, some of which have amusing names like "Gecko Rockclimber," "Super Shou Wu Combination" (for fatigue or exhaustion), and "Yanlin's Beauty Formula." There are plenty of mail-order resources for those who can't find these herbs locally, along with a super chart with the Chinese symbols of each herb, the part used, and primary functions. Overall, this is a very helpful, user-friendly reference for anyone wanting to investigate the benefits that herbs and herbal tonics have to offer. --Erica Jorgensen

From Library Journal

Teeguarden is a master herbalist and researcher of Chinese tonic herbs?"tonic" meaning herbs prescribed to promote "radiant" health as opposed to attacking disease. His publisher's legal department hedges its bets by stating in the review galley that "absolutely no medicinal claims are being made or implied in this book." Nevertheless, Teeguarden's text is replete with claims concerning sexual potency, the immune system, and anti-aging treatments, among others, that are entirely undocumented except by statements such as "Many studies now indicate...." To his credit (or the legal department's), Teeguarden provides information about contraindications and toxicity. Unfortunately, these caveats are equally undocumented. Radiant Health might be useful on a staff-only reference shelf, but only as a glossary to herbal terms. Not recommended.?Catherine Arnott Smith, Predoctoral Research Fellow, Ctr. for Biomedical Informatics, Univ. of Pittsburgh
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 416 pages
• Publisher: Grand Central Publishing; First Printing edition (July 1, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0446518980
• ISBN-13: 978-0446518987
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 5.9 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #856,519 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

27 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars All encompassing - great for someone seeking real knowledge, September 22, 1999

By	Rebecca Adams "massage therapist" (North Carolina) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This is the third book by Ron Teeguarden that I've read and he just keeps getting better. It is laid out in a logical categorical order, which makes it very easy to compare different herbs. Ron has rated the herbs with a star rating that indicates how many treasures each herb will affect. Then he goes on to rate actual patent tonic formulas. It is a wonderful reference book, something you will refer to again and again for information and reinforcement, but it is written in very down to earth layman's language. It has an incredible amount of information, even down to some chemical descriptions and cellular activity, but if you aren't interested in going that deep, the descriptions are arranged so that you can skip whatever you don't want to read and go straight to the pertinent parts. Of all the books on Chinese herbology that I have, this one is quickly becoming my favorite. It's one of those rare books that is good to start with, and it is good to finish out a collection with also.

28 of 33 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Incomplete information, February 17, 2004

By	Rick Johnson "rickyrickjohnson" (Washington, DC) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Radiant Health: The Ancient Wisdom of the Chinese Tonic Herbs (Hardcover)

This book is a great description of what could be done, but the tools to do it are not herein. I was hoping this book was going to have more than just herb descriptions, alas it does not.
Some things that the Author forgot and which seem important: dosage for individual herbs (this is pretty important), chinese name of herbs (neither the pin-yin nor the symbol are given). And, in the formulas section (which was the main reason I bought the book) the formulas just list the herbs and not their proportions! WHAT!?! How unhelpful.
To know that herbs are in a formula is great, but it is not a formula without the proporation of ingredients. Although this book has great descriptions of the herbs and their uses, it lacks the implementational aspects which are critical to using the herbs! The truth is: this book is a marketing tool for the Author's herbal supplement line. Be careful...

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This is my favorite book on herbalism, September 4, 1999

By	[e-mail] (Boston, MA) - See all my reviews

Whatever your interests in life are, Ron Teeguarden shows how the Tonic Herbs can support you. There is a lot of information in this book and it is delightfully presented. It is also a very practical exposition of the basics of Traditional Chinese Medicine. But Ron's approach is not about medicine and treating diseases as much as it is about choosing power superfoods to enhance health. I love it!