| The entire Middle East has a rich history of herbal healing. There are texts surviving from the ancient cultures of Mesopotamia, Egypt, and India that describe and illustrate the use of many medicinal plant products, including castor oil, linseed oil, and white poppies. In the scriptural book of Ezekiel, which dates from the sixth century b.c.e., we find this admonition regarding plant life: "... and the fruit thereof shall be for meat, and leaf thereof for medicine. |
Ann Blake Tracy, Ph.D.
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| Ginkgo is an herb which is convincing the medical community to finally take a serious look at herbal healing properties. It has undergone intense medical scrutiny. Ginkgo has been the subject of over 300 scientific studies. It is successfully addressing many of the conditions which affect the elderly. Tens of millions of elderly Europeans have been successfully treated with ginkgo for conditions of the eyes, ears, heart and peripheral circulation. |
Simon Mills and Kerry Bone
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 They gently remind us that the 'magic bullet herbal' (they term it 'alternative allopathic') approach is only a part of a much greater herbal healing tradition, a tradition as yet unexplored by contemporary science. (For example, they discuss the traditional herbalists' approaches of cleansing, heating, cooling, and tonification, and how they fit into an over-all health improvement pattern. |
Robyn Landis
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 Note: If you want to get 100 percent value out of herbal healing, we recommend that you read this entire book from start to finish before merely using it as a reference. This book is designed to be much more than a "remedy reference." If you use it to really understand the subject and its connection to your body and health, you will be able to use herbal medicines far more powerfully.
At minimum, we strongly recommend you read Chapters 1 through 6 (Part I, "Background and History") and Chapters 23 through 25 (Part IV, "Living It: Herbs in Practice"). |
| SOMETHING FOR EVERYONE
Through my own experience, research, and extensive interviews with benefactors and practitioners of herbal healing, I have come to see that there is virtually nothing herbs cannot do—sometimes more slowly than conventional treatments, but often also more safely and surely—from easing pain to building strength and energy, to slowing or reversing the progress of serious illness.
Herbal Defense details stories of healing for everyone to identify with. |
| But there are ways you can learn to recognize what type of infection you have, allowing you to choose the most effective herbal healing method.
Bacterial infections are often characterized by some sort of a colored discharge—yellow or green pus, for example, rather than clear fluid. Bacterial infections also usually occur close to a body opening—hence bladder, kidney, throat, ear, eye, and gum infections are typically bacterial.
Viruses are usually what we think of as "sick all over" kinds of sicknesses, rather than being localized. |
Donald R. Yance, j r.,C.N., M.H., A.H.G., with Arlene Valentine
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 This chapter presents the theory and practice of herbal healing, especially as it pertains to cancer. It covers classifications and descriptions of useful plants in the treatment of cancer, including mushrooms and sea herbs, and offers various healing formulas, plus general guidelines for some of my own.
THE EFFICACY OF HERBAL TREATMENT FOR CANCER
When I prescribe herbs and herbal tonics, I am often asked how they work and whether there are any scientific studies that validate their effects. |
Ralph W. Moss PhD
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 She was convicted, and executed, because the Malleus Maleficarum taught that any knowledge of herbal healing reduced one's dependence on God. As Naiman has written, "European herbal traditions were nearly eradicated by the Inquisition" (296).
When the revival of interest in botanicals came, it came under the stimulus of the New World, and particularly from North American settlers and their Native American tutors.
American Treatments
The American settlers found themselves a long way from home, with no dependable supply of their familiar medicines, and a host of new diseases. |
Kathi Keville
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 Before plunging into an herbal healing program, you need to determine what is wrong. Your gynecologist or a health care clinic can help you do this. You may even have a local clinic that specializes in female problems. If you discover that yours is a serious disorder, be sure to work on the treatment with a professional health care practitioner.
Female hormones are indispensable—they help maintain physical and emotional well-being, as well as physical endurance and sex drive. If you alter their delicate balance, your body will let you know in a variety of ways. |
Robyn Landis
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| Now I translate herbal healing so that it becomes practical and applicable to you every day. Not only can we inform you, but we can also make herbal medicine friendly and familiar, help you find a comfort level with this form of self-care—a place where this world of natural medicines no longer seems "way out" but rather appears as a viable alternative to be weighed seriously with other options.
2. I can be an inspirational example. |
Kathi Keville
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| He doled out small amounts of salve, and as word spread through the village, the locals began requesting his crema herbal (see the herbal healing Salve on page 257). Juan returned home with an empty jar, and immediately called to sign up for next year's herb seminar, promising to pay attention this time! He learned more the second time, but to this day he claims that the herbal salve is the most important item in his first aid kit. Just about the only disadvantage of salves is that they can stain your clothes.
Homemade Medicinal and Cosmetic yi
Herbal Products . |
the Editors of PREVENTION
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 Most herbalists aren't licensed to practice medicine, but the good ones are well-trained in herbal healing. The best way to find a qualified one is to contact the American Herbalists Guild (AHG) to find out if any of their professional members are located near you. "They keep a register of all the professional members—herbalists who have passed an extensive peer-review process," says Chanchal Cabrera, a professional member of the AHG, a member of Britain's National Institute of Medical Herbalists, and an herbalist in Vancouver. The address is American Herbalists Guild, P. O. |
Gabriel Cousens, M.D.
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 This same thinking seems to be found in some Western, natural, herbal healing traditions, as well as in Chinese food preparation. In the Chinese system, there is a definite awareness of the synergistic effects of combining their herbal medicines. In other words, the energies of each individual element combine in a way that enhances their separate qualities, as well as creates a new whole that is more effective than the herbs or foods taken separately. In my own food experiments with live, unheated soups and blended foods, the same principle of synergistic improvement of foods for vatas applies. |
Robert S. McCaleb, Evelyn Leigh, and Krista Morien
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 Handbook for Herbal Healing: A Concise Guide to Herbal Products. Capitola, CA: Botanica Press, 1994.
Hobbs C. Herbal Remedies for Dummies. Foster
City, CA: IDG Books Worldwide, 1998. Hobbs C. Natural Liver Therapy: Herbs and Other
Natural Remedies for a Healthy Liver. Capitola,
CA: Botanica Press, 1993. Hobbs C. Stress and Natural Healing. Loveland,
CO: Interweave Press, 1997. Hoffmann D. The Complete Illustrated Holistic
Herbal: A Safe and Practical Guide to Making and
Using Herbal Remedies. Boston: Element Books,
1996.
Hoffmann D. |
James Green
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 Rosemary Gladstar, in her book herbal healing for Women, gives the following recipe for such an event:
"Melt coconut od in a saucepan over low heat.When the oil is completely melted, remove it from the heat and stir in the powdered herb mixture. Add enough herbs to make a thick paste. When you have added enough powder so that the od is thick, yet still pliable enough to work, add (essential oils). Quickly roll into boluses the size and shape of your smaU finger. They will look like herbal tootsie rolls. |
Mark Bricklin
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 The emphasis here is very heavily on the practical aspects of herbal healing. Many of the great classics of herbal medicine, some written hundreds or even thousands of years ago, have been omitted because they are not what I would consider "practical" books. In general, the best herbal remedies discussed by these earlier authors have been picked up and preserved by the later writers, whose works appear in this bibliography. The person who wishes to approach herbalism from an historical point of view is urged to visit a large public or university library. |
Lesley Tierra
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 Planetherb: This program unifies planetary approaches to herbal healing. Includes more than 490 herbs and formulas from the West, China and India covering over 1700 unique conditions. This program also includes the energy of each herb. It is easy to add new information or herbs and has automatic repeat entries and other advanced features. Based on Michael Tierra's book Planetary Herbology.
Proherb: An electronic library with the 15 most authoritative herbal references, you can choose an herb by the number of references which agree on that herb's use for a given condition. |
| In this book we leam about the many aspects which give herbs their healing potential and how to use them, including their various therapies, remedies and preparations. herbal healing is included in all chapters of the book, yet Part I specifically introduces and teaches the beginning basics of herbal medicine.
The Herbs of Life is organized to encompass the five factors involved in health and healing in the following way:
Part I encompasses the various aspects of herbs and how they are used for healing. |
| Going to an experienced professional, such as an acupuncturist, naturopath or homeopath, can then be invaluable for obtaining an evaluation and an herbal healing program. Further, mechanical injuries are best treated initially with modern medical techniques.
Learning to use herbs can be simple. It can also be a joyous life-long pursuit when all of its complex and various aspects are delved into. On whatever level you choose to encompass herbs within your life, I am sure you will feel enriched and rewarded. |
| We can begin now to reclaim the ancient knowledge of regaining and maintaining health through wholistic herbal healing.
1 This survey was subsidized by the Carnegie andRockefeller foundations and resulted in the Flexner Report issued by the American Medical Association in 1910.
2 In England herbs are used more systematically and wholistically today. Yet, it is still based on pathology, not energy.
The Energy of Herbs
In the West, we use herbs symptomatically. We give an herb to treat the symptoms of the illness according to its known use, such as giving willow bark for a headache. |
| Empowerment is the basis of the arts of shamanism and of herbal healing. The alpha state awareness, focused on the object of our intention, is integral to all spiritual healing. Therefore, after performing the ritual, hold the herb(s) or pouch of herbs in your hands and project your healing intentions into them, either verbally or silently. This wtil transfer your thoughts to the herbs, empowering them as talismans. |
Gale Maleskey
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 In other words, herbal healing is nothing new.
What Is an Herb?
Simply put, a healing herb is a plant, so the range of potential sources of medicines is just as diverse as the plant kingdom. Herbs range from the towering, rock-hard lapacho tree of the Brazilian rain forests, which has an inner bark that helps cure fungal infections, to the lowly, common feverfew, a weed found in roadside ditches that does a remarkable job of preventing migraine headaches.
Discovering that a plant or part of a plant has healing properties is only part of the challenge, however. |
Kathi Keville
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| Dermatitis Skin Salve
Vi teaspoon each tinctures of pau d'arco bark and goldenseal root (or barberry bark)
8 drops each tea tree and chamomile essential oils
2 ounces skin salve (buy a comfrey salve from a store, or use the herbal healing Salve on page 257)
•V Using a toothpick, stir the tinctures and essential oils into the salve. This will make the salve semi-liquid. Apply throughout the day.
Herbs for ^ A
Healing the Skin i
Many internal remedies for dermatitis start with the herb sarsaparilla. Michael Murray, N.D., and Joseph Pizzorno, N.D. |
James A. Duke, Ph.D.
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 In the Handbook for herbal healing, California herbalist and botanist Christopher Hobbs recommends echinacea for treating gingivitis, among many other conditions. The herb is antibacterial and immune-stimulating. Add a dropper or two of echinacea tincture to anti-gingivitis teas and mouthwashes. (Although echinacea can cause your tongue to tingle or go numb temporarily, this effect is harmless.)
VV Licorice (Glycyrrhiza glabra). Licorice is a sweetener that won't cause cavities or gingivitis. Try it in teas instead of sugar or honey. |
Michael Castleman
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 For more on using medicinal herbs safely, see herbal healing on page 214.)
Take vitamin C. Many people take vitamin C as a cold preventive. The vitamin is an effective cold treatment, but a Finnish review of 21 scientific studies of vitamin C showed that even high doses have no cold-preventive value. What about the people who swear that since they've begun taking vitamin C, they've caught fewer colds? Perhaps they haven't documented their experience rigorously. Or maybe they're experiencing a placebo effect.
Placebos are dummy treatments that have no pharmacological value. |
John Heinerman
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 Qualified practitioners and scientists gave several interesting workshops covering many aspects of herbal healing.
One of those with whom I spoke told me she had used tea extracts of cascara bark for treating herpes simplex in some of her college-age patients. However, for fear of reprisal from state or federal health authorities for practicing medicine without a license, she asked that I not use her name or even mention where she resided. I agreed to this reasonable request. |
Thomas Bartram
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 Experiences of herbal healing with prescriptions for specific diseases. European best-seller of over three million copies in one year. In Maria's own words: "At a time when the majority of mankind has moved away from life's natural ways, when illness, caused by a changed attitude to life threatens, we should turn again to medicinal herbs which God in His goodness has provided for us since time immemorial. As Abbe Kneipp (famous European herbalist) says: 'There is a plant for every illness'."
TREMOR. Practitioner: Datura stramonium. |
volker schulz and Rudolf Hansel
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 Paracelsus may have known about its use in the treatment of psychiatric disorders (Czygan, 1993). The German poet-physician Justinus Kerner (1786-1862) reported on the use of St. John's wort in the treatment of mood disorders in the early nineteenth century (Engelhardt, 1962).
With the rise of scientifically oriented medicine, SJW was all but forgotten as a psychotropic drug. A full century passed before reports were again published on the successful use of St. John's wort in the treatment of depression (Daniel, 1939).
A treatise on the St. |
Schuyler W. Lininger, Jr. DC
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 Gladstar R. herbal healing for Women. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1993, 177.
22. Dale A, Cornwell S. The role of lavender oil in relieving perineal discomfort following childbirth: A blind randomized trial. / Adv Nursing 1994; 19: 89-96.
23. Bingel AS, Farnsworth NR. Higher plants as potential sources of galactagogues. Econ Med Plant Res 1994; 6: 1-54 [review].
24. Mohr H (1954) [Clinical investigations of means to increase lactation.] Dtsch Med Wscbr 79: 1513-16 [in German].
25. "Weiss RF. Herbal Medicine. Gothenburg, Sweden: Ab Arcanum and Beaconsfield, UK: Beaconsfield Publishers Ltd. |
Andrew Chevallier
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 The judicious incorporation of scientific principles and methods into traditional herbal healing offered the possibility of greatly refining the effectiveness of traditional treatment.
However, in India under British rule, Western medicine eventually became the only alternative. Ayurveda was seen as inferior to biomedicine (see India, p. 37). Western practice was introduced not as a complement to traditional medicine but rather as a means to supplant it. |
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