Reviews for The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Healing Remedies

The average rating for The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Healing Remedies based on 2 reviews is 3.5 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2008-10-27 00:00:00 Bruce Dodds This book looks at alternative methods of treating illness or ailments by using a more natural or holistic form of treatment. In the past, cultures developed treatments using herbs and other natural ingredients. Unfortunately, in many present-day cultures, this art form has been lost and we find it easier to take a pill for almost anything that ails us. This book focuses on taking back the responsibility for our health and reducing our over-dependence on the drug industry. When we have a headache, we take a pain killer, when we have a cold, we take an antihistamine. We suppress the symptoms because we want to feel better--NOW--we ignore the pain or signals our body is trying to tell us. This book focuses on treating the ailment, not just taking a prescription to mask the problem. It aims to treat the whole (mind, body & spirit) in lieu of just the problem. Adverse drug reactions are becoming more common as a result of over medicating. This book steps away from the pharmaceutical industry and focuses on mind, body & spirit healing. Why use a prescription cream for Eczema when that is masking the problem, not treating the problem. There are natural methods to treat problems without involving pill popping and this book has it. Nicely laid out into sections. Easy to follow information, including full color pictures of plants and where they can be found, how to mix, etc. Lots of colorful examples with each section providing different alternatives to treat a single problem. Did you know that using onions in food is actually good for you? Not only do onions produce tears when we cut them, but they stimulate digestive juices as well. Did you know that placing a slice of raw onion on a burn reduces pain? Where necessary, the book indicates "Caution" and explains how improper use can have unfavorable consequences. I've always been fascinated with the healing art in other cultures and this book answers a lot of my questions. Wonderful 9 x 11 inch paperback packed with information separated into 3 parts: 1. Part One: Therapies and Healing Remedy Sources - Ayurvedic remedy - Chinese Herbal Sources - Traditional Home and Folk Sources - Herbal Sources - Essential Oils - Homeopathic Remedies - Flower Essences - Vitamins, Minerals, etc 2. Part Two: Treating Common Ailments - Disorders of the mind and emotions - Disorders of the brain and nerves - Skin and Hair problems - Eye, Ear, Nasal, Dental, Mouth and Throat problems - Lung and Respiratory Disorders - Heart, Blood, etc - Reproductive Disorders (male and female) - Endocrine, Immune, Musculoskeletal Disorders - Common Ailments of the Elderly - Common Childhood Ailments - Chronic Illness - First Aid - The Home Healing Chest 3. Part Three: Reference Section Lots of real-life photos!

Review # 2 was written on 2012-03-09 00:00:00 Carl Liptscher Some people are big fans of this book, and that is fine, but it just wasn't for me and so I plan to resell my copy online. More than anything else, I don't see the point of putting so much effort into buying and taking herbal, aromatherapy, homeopathic and folk remedies when nutritional deficiencies are rampant and are the major cause (along with a high toxic load) of most diseases. These therapies can be useful, possibly, but surely it is far more important to correct actual deficiencies of nutrients that the body needs to function, before taking extra herbs and things that cannot really help very much anyway, while the major nutrient defiencies remain. They are just band-aid solutions and don't get to the real heart of the matter at all. I disagree very much with these therapies being listed in a way that gives them equal importance with basic nutritional and orthomolecular medicine. They are not as important and are secondary treatments at best rather than primary. I could also have done with far fewer pictures and a lot more detailed information. Even serious diseases were given such little amounts of text explaining how to treat them. The information is therefore very superficial. It may well be exciting and helpful if this is one of the first books you have ever read on this topic, but if you're already quite well read, there is nothing here you wont have read before, and in far more complexity and detail, in many other books. Some of the information in the book was also very outdated and much of it disagreed with other experts in the points being discussed. (The very poor section on vitamin C for example.) I bought this book after being impressed with parts of Dr Shealy's website, as well as a prompt and very helpful answer to a question I asked via the website, but I found the book nowhere near as good as the website, unfortunately. I'd instead recommend books by Dr Sherry Rogers, Dr Lawrence Wilson, Dr Abram Hoffer and Andrew Saul, among others. Jodi Bassett, The Hummingbirds' Foundation for M.E.