Earth Shall Blossom: Shaker Herbs and Gardening
Author: Galen Beal
The Shakers endlessly fascinate us; they seem always to offer something new. We are drawn again and again to their philosophy of simple, resourceful living, to their artifacts, and to their architecture, music, furniture, and agriculture. This book explores the Shakers' herb gardening heritage. It combines colorful history, practical growing and harvesting advice, and a guide to existing Shaker gardens. You will learn here how to plan and plant you own Shaker garden-a garden you will enjoy all the more by understanding its links to a tradition that began in 1774.
"The Earth Shall Blossom" provides:
* Designs for your own color, fragrance, tea, culinary, or medicinal gardens
* Gardening tips from the 19th-century Shakers' Manual as well as up-to-date advice on growing and preserving herbs
* Descriptions of restored Shaker gardens from Maine to Kentucky
* Shaker herbal recipes for kitchen, bath, and medicinal use
* Over 60 illustrations, including period prints
All of this is woven in with the entertaining and engaging history of the Shakers' agrarian life and their pioneering herb and herbal remedy business.
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Complete Natural Medicine Guide to the 50 Most Common Medicinal Herbs
Author: Heather Boon
The most current scientific information from the world's leading medical journals.
Although there is growing consumer awareness of alternative and complementary medicine, there is a lack of comprehensive information available on herbal products. While pharmacists, physicians and other health care professionals sometimes offer advice, their patients want more information.
The Complete Natural Medicine Guide to the 50 Most Common Medicinal Herbs is a comprehensive, fully-illustrated reference to the 50 most commonly prescribed herbs.
A complete description of each herb is featured along with its other common names, possible adverse effects, therapeutic uses for treating illness and disease as well as potential drug interactions.
Some of the herbs included are:
- Aloe Vera
- Evening Primrose
- Goldenseal
- Scullcap
- Burdock
- Tumeric
- Tea Tree Oil
- Meadowsweet
This guide is written by professional pharmacists, one a naturopathic doctor, using the most current research and clinical testing.
The authors' easy-to-understand text, combined with the latest findings and clear directions for safe dosages, makes this practical reference on medicinal herbs a primary resource of data.
Doody Review Services
Reviewer: Robert E Burke, MSN, MPS, BSN (Pace University)
Description: This book provides students, healthcare professionals and the lay public with easy access to a wealth of information regarding the proper use and application of medicinal herbs. This is an update of The Botanical Pharmacy: The Pharmacology of 47 Common Herbs, by the same authors (Quarry Press, 1999).
Purpose: The authors intend for this book to provide a foundation of knowledge about botanical products to ensure their proper use and safe application. This objective is realistic and is achieved through a comprehensive review of each of the 50 herbs.
Audience: The book is written for healthcare professionals, patients, and consumers. It is intended to provide healthcare professionals with the necessary information needed to counsel their patients about the proper use and safe application of herbal products and it provides patients and consumers with basic knowledge of the subject and acts as a catalyst for posing informed questions to their healthcare providers. It is also a valuable reference for students of the allied health professions who have an interest in herbal medicine. Dr. Boon is a licensed pharmacist and an assistant professor at the faculty of pharmacy, University of Toronto. She is a contributing author to the homeopathy section of I>Non-Prescription Drugs: A Health Professional's Reference and Herbs: Everyday Reference for Health Care Practitioners, by Chandler (Canadian Pharmacists Association, 2000). Dr. Smith is a licensed pharmacist, a naturopathic doctor and head of Botanical Sciences at the Canadian College of Naturopathic Medicine. He is involved in continuing education programs for healthcare providers and advises a number of national charities, government departments, and media agencies on matters related to complementary and alternative health care in Canada.
Features: The book reviews 50 commonly used herbs in the United States and Canada. Each section provides a thumbnail sketch about the herb, followed by a detailed description of it, the parts used, and its traditional and current medicinal use. In addition, relevant research based on active constituents and biological effects, adverse effects, cautions/contraindications, drug interactions and dosing regimens are provided. The introduction provides a nice review of the legislation regarding herbal medicines in the U.S. and Canada. An overview of the various forms in which herbal medicines are prepared is also provided along with a section regarding safety issues, a glossary of botanical medicine terms, and a table matching medicinal herbs for specific health conditions. The thumbnail sketch preceding each herbal section is unique and very helpful, providing the highlights regarding the herb. This book is incomplete in that the content is limited to herbal medicines alone. It does not provide any information about commonly used minerals, vitamins, amino acids, probiotics, enzymes, over-the-counter hormones, or other dietary supplements.
Assessment: This is an affordable and useful guide to a majority of the commonly used herbs in the United States and Canada. The information is concise and efficiently organized. This will be a useful reference for students, healthcare professions and/or the lay public who are interested in gaining an understanding of the proper use and application of medicinal herbs. This book compares favorably to The Complete German Commission E Monographs, Blumenthal, et al. (American Botanical Council, 1998), Natural Medicines Comprehensive Database, 4th edition, Jellin, et al. (Therapeutic Research Faculty, 2002), and The 5-Minute Herb & Dietary Supplement Consult, Fugh-Berman ( Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, 2003).
Rating
3 Stars from Doody
Table of Contents:
Foreword
Introduction
- Legislation (Canada and US)
- Botanical Dosage Forms
- Caveat Emptor
- Format of Reviews
Glossary
Medicinal Herbs for Health Conditions
Alfalfa
AloeVera
Astragalus
Black Cohosh
Calendula
Capsicum
Cat's Claw
Chamomile (German)
Chaste Tree
Cranberry
Dandelion
Devil's Claw
Dong Quai (Angelica)
Echinacea
Elder
Evening Primrose
Feverfew
Garlic
Ginger
Ginkgo
Ginseng (Asian and American/Canadian)
Ginseng (Siberian)
Goldenseal
Hawthorn
Hops
Horsechestnut
Juniper
Kava
Lemon Balm
Licorice
Lobelia
Ma Huang (Ephedra)
Meadowsweet
Milk Thistle
Nettle
Passionflower
Peppermint
Red Raspberry
Saw Palmetto
Scullcap
Slippery Elm
St. John's Wort
Tea Tree Oil
Thyme
Turmeric
Uva-Ursi (Bearberry)
Valerian
Wild Yam
Willow
References
Index