Chapter List

• Why Use Herbs
• Healing Not Just Relieving
• Natures Therapy
• Sidestepping Side Effects
• Back to the Future
• Environmental and Ethical Concerns
• Herbal Preparations
• Preparations for Internal Use
• Preparations for External Use
• Homemade Medicinal and Cosmetic Herbal Products
• Choosing the Best Herbal Products
• The Brain and the Central Nervous System
• Addiction
• Depression
• Headaches
• Insomnia
• Memory
• Pain Inflammation
• Pain Nerve and Muscle
• Stress
• The Heart and the Circulatory System
• Angina and Irregular Heartbeat
• Arteriosclerosis
• Blood Pressure
• Varicose Veins and Hemorrhoids
• The Digestive System
• Appetite Loss
• Bowel Diseases
• Candida
• Adult Constipation
• Adult Diarrhea
• Diverticulitis
• Food Allergies and Reactions
• Heartburn
• Gas
• Indigestion
• Nausea and Motion Sickness
• Parasites and Other Alien Invaders
• Ulcers
• The Immune System
• Boosting Immunity
• Cancer
• Chronic Fatigue Multiple Sclerosis and Other Serious Diseases
• The Liver and the Gallbladder
• Liver Diseases
• Gallbladder Problems
• The Urinary Tract the Kidneys and the Bladder
• Bladder Infections
• Kidney Stones
• Water Retention
• The Skin
• Psoriasis Eczema And Other Skin Diseases
• Herbs For Healing The Skin
• Sending Parasites Scurrying
• Womens Health
• The Estrogen Story
• The Progesterone Story
• Anemia
• Cervical Dysplasia
• Endometriosis
• Fibrocystic Breasts
• Heavy Periods
• Womens Infertility
• Irregular Menstruation
• Menopause
• Menstrual Cramps
• Ovarian Cysts
• Pregnancy
• Premenstrual Syndrome(pms)
• Uterine Fibroids
• Vaginal Infections
• Mens Health
• Baldness
• Genital Rash Infections and Irritations
• Impotence
• Mens Infertility
• Male Menopause
• Prostate Enlargement
• Swollen Testicles
• Childrens Health
• Asthma
• Baby Skin Care and Diaper Rash
• Bedwetting
• Childhood Diseases
• Childrens Colds and Flu
• Childrens Constipation
• Childrens Diarrhea
• Earaches
• Fever
• Food Allergies
• Hyperactivity
• Intestinal Parasites
• Sore Throat Congestion and Swollen Glands
• Stomachache Colic and Nausea
• Stress Headaches and Insomnia
• Sugar Blues
• Teething Pain
• Thrush
• Herbs to the Rescue Herbal First Aid
• Stocking Your Herbal First Aid Kit
• Cautions and Considerations
• Safe in Moderation
• Rare Reactions in Sensitive Individuals
• The New Herbal Outcasts
• Some Old Cautions
• Using Herbs and Essential Oils Safely
• Mistaken Identity
• Not Guilty
• Protecting Yourself from Contamination
• Endangered Herbs
• Aromatherapy Healing the Emotions
• Aromatic Research
• Using Aromatherapy
• Aromatherapy Techniques
• Aromatherapy for the Emotions
• Measurements
• Skin and Hair Care
• Body Care the Natural Way
• Back to the Basics
• How to Customize Your Skin and Hair Care
• The Face
• The Body
• The Hair
• Body Care Extras
• Cooking for Health
• The Basics Soup
• Oils and Vinegars
• Spice of Life Seasoning Blends
• Middle Eastern Cuisine Garlic and Parsley
• Pestos Basil and Sage
• Greens Dandelion and Nasturtium
• Hot Stuff Mustard Horseradish and Peppers
• Saucy Dishes Cranberry Elderberry and Tamarind
• Down to the Roots Burdock and Chicory
• Sweet Treats Ginger and Horehound Drops

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Environmental and Ethical Concerns

Another plus for herbal medicine is that it is environmentally sound. One person who has considered the relationship between environmental pollution and drugs is English herbalist David Hoffmann. Author of a number of herb books, including The Holistic Herbal and Successful Stress Control, Hoffmann's major issue when he ran for Parliament in England was global ecology. He focused on what happens when you regularly take a common drug used to treat stomach ulcers and gastritis: "You become very involved in an ecological cycle that involves all of the pollution produced in the factories that prepare the drug. It just happens that this process is a very messy one. In the process of healing our ulcers, we buy into killing fish, into environmental destruction, and we legitimize the destruction of laboratory animals. Is that healing? I suggest that it is not."

Hoffmann also points out that the pharmaceutical industry is one of the biggest practitioners of vivisection (operating on a living animal for research purposes). The research and development of new drugs generally involves killing thousands of laboratory animals. The resulting drugs are then tested on more animals before being declared safe for humans. "You can sip herbal tea without worrying that a rat or a guinea pig had to die to enable you to do so," he says.

Instead of contributing to destroying the environment, herbs bring us closer to it. Herbalist and acupuncturist Michael Tierra, author of Planetary Herbology, believes that herbs can make us more conscious of our place among all of Earth's living things: "The path of the herbalist is one that can offer a vital link to the natural and interaction with nature's wilds. It gives us a point of view by which we can see ourselves as being connected with the entire process of life."

Although herbalism in the United States and Canada is only beginning to recover its lost prestige, other countries have successfully combined it with conventional medicine. In China, for example, traditional medicine that includes herbs is fully integrated into the nation's health care system, and natural remedies are used in nearly half of the cases treated there. In fact, only about 15 percent of the world's population has access to Western-style health care services. Most people in developing nations still rely on herbal treatments.

The World Health Organization, the United Nations agency that monitors health and health problems around the world, considers traditional medicine well-suited for the Third World for several reasons. It is less expensive than Western medicine, it is usually effective for local health problems and it is already well-integrated into most Third World cultures. The first two of these reasons are arguments in favor of reintroducing herbalism into industrialized countries.

As public opinion begins to sway from complete faith in drugs, interest in herbs is increasing. Perhaps the day is not far off when the designations of traditional and modern medicine will have no significance, and all health care practitioners will feel comfortable working in a new system that incorporates both disciplines.