This book concentrates on the remedies that form the basis of eight international therapeutic disciplines: homeopathy, aromatherapy, Chinese herbal medicine, herbalism, Ayurveda, flower essences, folk or traditional medicine (also called home remedies), and nutrition. These remedies can be used to encourage and enhance good health and to treat and prevent illnesses, both chronic and acute. Many of these remedies are derived from plants, which have a wide variety of therapeutic uses; indeed, up to 140 conventional drugs in use today are based on plants and herbs.
A large number of these remedies have been in use for thousands of years, and it was the practice of herbalism and other disciplines that made it possible for so many of our conventional drugs to be created. However, pharmaceutical companies isolate and often synthesize the active ingredient of a plant or herb, and many practitioners believe that this causes side-effects and other problems that do not occur when the substance is taken in its whole, natural form.
Isolating the active ingredients of plants produces powerful and often toxic drugs, while medical herbalism offers a gentler, safer, and less disruptive effect, allowing the body to undertake its own natural healing process.
There are over 1000 remedies outlined in this book, many of which you can grow or purchase from a reputable health store. Others will be items from your larder—everyday goods with healing and therapeutic properties that may surprise you. Each of the remedy sources has a data file of features, cautions, and other useful information, and there are often recipes for practical applications. Each of the main eight disciplines is also introduced, which helps you to understand how, for instance, the use of something like cinnamon or ginseng differs between Western and Chinese herbalism, and between folk medicine and Ayurveda. You’ll learn how a rose aromatherapy oil is different from a rose flower essence, how vitamin C and healthy bacteria can encourage good health, and how belladonna, a poisonous substance, can be taken in tiny dilutions to relieve fevers and other problems. You’ll discover natural alternatives to caffeine and sleeping pills, laxatives, and antacids, in remedies that strengthen your mind and body, lift your mood, calm your nerves, and enhance your resistance to infection and illness.
Around 200 common ailments are also discussed in detail, with practical examples of how you can use the remedies from around the world to cure or prevent them. We are on the brink of an exciting new era in healthcare, and with the benefit of these remedies, presented in easy-to-follow files, grouped by the discipline in which they are most often used, you and your family can experiment with safe substitutes to conventional medicines by following the comprehensive instructions. These remedies are the medicine of the future, and this is the essential guide for anyone who wants to take responsibility for their own health. By using only a few of these remedies, you can live longer and with a better quality of life. These are the secrets of good health from around the world; experiment with care and you’ll be amazed at the results.
KAREN SULLIVAN, London
THIS EXHAUSTIVE AND GLORIOUSLY illustrated reference work is dedicated to the whole spectrum of alternative healing remedies. Aimed at the general reader, this comprehensive book covers the origins, methods, principles, and remedies of eight alternative therapies—Ayurveda, Aromatherapy, Flower Remedies, Chinese Herbal Medicine, Herbalism, Homeopathy, Vitamins and Minerals, and Traditional Home and Folk Remedies.
PART ONE: Therapies and Healing Remedy Sources. Eight chapters cover the different therapies. In each case, the background and history of the therapy are covered, together with how it works, information on visiting a practitioner, and extensive guidelines for self-help. Following the introduction to the therapy, the major remedies and remedy sources are covered with details on how they should be taken. “Therapy Connections” highlights the remedy sources which are common to more than one therapy, giving a full picture of the properties and various uses of one particular remedy source.
PART TWO: Treating Common Ailments. Over 160 pages of common ailments and the relevant remedies with which they can be treated. Caution boxes will make clear the situations in which the remedies are not suitable. Cross-referencing directs the reader back to Part One, where the source of the remedy, its properties, and uses are outlined in detail.
PART THREE: Reference Section. A useful and comprehensive index.
AYURVEDA IS A HOLISTIC SYSTEM OF medicine, meaning that our mind, body, and spirit are all taken into consideration in the diagnosis and treatment of illness. In the West we have long believed that each of us has the same anatomy, physiology, and disease process, but it has become increasingly clear that this approach does not take into account our very prominent differences—including our mental attitudes, our lifestyles, and our fundamental energy or spirit. Ayurveda is based on the philosophy that we are all unique, so it addresses each of these things in its treatment of people as individuals, and teaches that all illnesses affect the body and the mind, in isolation from each other.
WHAT IS AYURVEDA?
Ayurvedic medicine is the traditional system of medicine practiced in India and Sri Lanka. Like traditional Chinese Medicine, Ayurveda is a complete system of healthcare, designed to contribute to a way of life, rather than an occasional treatment.
The word “Ayurveda” means “science” or “wisdom” of life, and it embraces elements as diverse as medicine, philosophy, science, spirituality, astrology, and astronomy. Although Ayurveda has been practiced for over 3,000 years, it is a sophisticated and advanced system of living that is as relevant today as it was so many years ago. In fact, as we begin to realize the limitations of our conventional Western approach, it becomes clear that Ayurveda can offer much to treat and prevent many modern diseases that conventional medicine has been unable to treat. Some of these include ME (myalgic encephalomyelitis), stress-related disorders, arthritis, impotence, asthma, eczema, and chronic illness. It offers natural herbal remedies to counter imbalances in the body, and detoxification, diet, exercise, meditation, spiritual guidance, and wide-ranging techniques to improve mental and emotional health.
PRANA - THE ENERGY OF LIFE
The fundamental belief in Ayurveda is that everything within the universe is composed of energy, or “prana.” Like everything else, we too are comprised of energy, which changes according to our circumstances, our environment, our diets and lifestyles, and the world around us. Some of these changes can be positive, and others negative, and in order to ensure that most of the changes are positive, we must live in a way that encourages energy balance. Energy controls the functions of every cell, thought, emotion, and action, so every aspect of our lives, including the food we eat and the thoughts we think, affects the quality of our energy, and consequently our health.
A HISTORY OF AYURVEDA
Over 3,000 years ago, 52 great Rishis, or seers, of ancient India discovered through meditation the “Veda,” or the knowledge of how our world and everything within it works. Contained within the knowledge of the Veda were the secrets of sickness and health. These secrets were organized into a system called Ayurveda, the sophistication of which is apparent in the most famous of all ancient Ayurvedic texts, the Charaka Samhita. The knowledge of the Rishis had three main components: etiology (the science of the cause of illness and disease), symptomatology (the study of symptoms), and finally medication (the process of treating individuals to cure disease or relieve pain).
The beliefs were founded on Hindu philosophy, and were expanded and enhanced by the teachings of the Lord Buddha (d. 483 B.C.E.), who taught that the mind could be