The popularity of herbal medicine has exploded during the past decade, with herbal remedies becoming increasingly available in such conventional outlets as drugstores and even supermarkets. Prescription for Herbal Healing brings to herbal medicine the same in-depth, easy-to-understand information and accessible style that Prescription for Nutritional Healing successfully brought to diet and nutritional supplements.

This book is divided into three parts for easy reference. Part I discusses the basic principles of herbal medicine and outlines the properties and characteristics of some one hundred sixty single herbs and sixty herbal combination formulas. Part II describes more than one hundred fifty common disorders, conveniently arranged in alphabetical order from acne to yeast infection, and names the herbal therapies that can be used in the treatment of those conditions. Part III is a guide to using various kinds of herbal and other alternative therapies. In addition, it includes self-diagnostic tests and boxed insets throughout, which offer detailed information on a wide variety of topics.

Complete coverage of Chinese and Ayurvedic herbs make this volume entirely comprehensive, and thorough scientific references lend it an authority not found in any other herbal book. Prescription for Herbal Healing is the definitive herbal resource and is a necessity for any health-conscious consumer.

The widely used herbal antidepressant kava is damaging to the liver. Pregnant women should avoid most herbal remedies because of pesticides and preservatives required in the growth and storage of the herbs. Most ayurvedic medicines contain unacceptable levels of lead and other heavy metals. St. John's Wort could complicate any chronic medical condition. Many people see herbal remedies as "natural" and therefore safe, but in Prescription or Poison? Dr. Amitava Dasgupta explains that one of his first pharmacology professors taught him that "medicine" is just another word for "poison" and all medicines of any kind should be treated with great caution. This book, written for the layperson but based on solid science and research, explains how toxic many alternative remedies can be, alone or in combination with widely prescribed drug treatments. He includes detailed information on the proper use of alternative medicines and their history of good results, while also cautioning readers in this wake-up call about the casual, often uninformed, and sometimes damaging use of alternative remedies.