ignis.intimus
Jedi Council Member
I have been reading this book lately called Herbal Antibiotics, 2nd Edition: Natural Alternatives for Treating Drug-resistant Bacteria
_http://www.amazon.com/Herbal-Antibiotics-2nd-Edition-Drug-resistant/dp/1603429875
It is largely a reference book about the most effective natural antibiotics the author has come across in his extensive research. The first few chapters are an excellent introduction, in my opinion, to the situation we find ourselves in with regards to resistant bacteria, how cunning a foe bacteria really is, and why turning back the clock and returning to nature is really our only option.
The author mixes sparse but well-placed humour in between pages of well-thought and well-researched evidence supporting the efficacy of a handful of herbal remedies, their preparation, and scientifically supported success rates against certain organisms. He focuses on a relatively small number of plants, which based on his research and personal experience as an herbal healer, have shown to be the most effective. I'm no doctor, but it looks like he has almost every type of infection (and many other ailments) covered in terms of providing natural remedies. Certainly many of the names a person would be familiar with are mentioned, along with very many others. He pleasantly mixes modern scientific studies with traditional native practices side by side, showing that in almost every case, the healers of the past knew what they were doing. At least in terms of matching symptom to solution; knowing what to do, and not necessarily why it worked, arguably being the single most important aspect of healing someone. For every plant he references, he provides snippets of studies along with references to those studies showing that indeed, the compounds present in certain plants have been found to relieve the symptoms they have long been prescribed for. Where available, he gives supporting information for every group of peoples across the planet who have used a particular plant for a number of complaints, from Indian Ayurvedic, to Chinese Traditional Medicine, to various localized African tribes.
Pros:
Cons:
_http://www.amazon.com/Herbal-Antibiotics-2nd-Edition-Drug-resistant/dp/1603429875
It is largely a reference book about the most effective natural antibiotics the author has come across in his extensive research. The first few chapters are an excellent introduction, in my opinion, to the situation we find ourselves in with regards to resistant bacteria, how cunning a foe bacteria really is, and why turning back the clock and returning to nature is really our only option.
The author mixes sparse but well-placed humour in between pages of well-thought and well-researched evidence supporting the efficacy of a handful of herbal remedies, their preparation, and scientifically supported success rates against certain organisms. He focuses on a relatively small number of plants, which based on his research and personal experience as an herbal healer, have shown to be the most effective. I'm no doctor, but it looks like he has almost every type of infection (and many other ailments) covered in terms of providing natural remedies. Certainly many of the names a person would be familiar with are mentioned, along with very many others. He pleasantly mixes modern scientific studies with traditional native practices side by side, showing that in almost every case, the healers of the past knew what they were doing. At least in terms of matching symptom to solution; knowing what to do, and not necessarily why it worked, arguably being the single most important aspect of healing someone. For every plant he references, he provides snippets of studies along with references to those studies showing that indeed, the compounds present in certain plants have been found to relieve the symptoms they have long been prescribed for. Where available, he gives supporting information for every group of peoples across the planet who have used a particular plant for a number of complaints, from Indian Ayurvedic, to Chinese Traditional Medicine, to various localized African tribes.
Pros:
- He provides an informed outsiders opinion to the state of modern medicine, where it relates to treating infection and some other complaints.
- The majority of the book is digestible. In terms of understanding what the author is talking about, it is something the laymen can benefit greatly from. But there are many terms you will probably skip over.
- It is comprehensive. This would be a great book to have on the subject, if you don't have any others.
- References for obtaining these herbs, or in some cases, the seeds for yourself. Along with small bits of information regarding how to plant it, and in which climates it will do well.
- Preparation information. This is something he harps on a lot in the beginning of the book. That many researchers studying the effects of natural antibiotics don't take this into consideration, or in some cases, don't even note the preparation method in their studies. There are many variables to consider to gain optimum effect. Water based solutions, sometimes needing to be acidic. Alcohol based tinctures. Fresh versus dried, time of year, year of the plants life, etc, etc.
Cons:
- By word count alone, most of words he uses will mean nothing to the laymen. He gives the scientific terms for plants and bacteria, which often seem impossible to pronounce, much less knowing what he is actually talking about. But in many cases where a type of disease is commonplace, he will give the common name for it, particularly with the plants he discusses where numerous names are given based on what various localities refer to it as.
- The book is designed to match plant to disease. It seems geared towards informing a person serious about the natural healing arts. It is not a great book for finding a certain disorder, and matching that to an herbal cure. You would pretty much need to read the entire thing and remember which herbs were good for what type of infection.
- No pictures of the plants in question. Although completely understandable given the numerous species within a genus that offer varying degrees of the compounds in question, it means that for identification purposes cross-reference material is critical. I am still putting it as a con, albeit at the bottom of the list of cons, because reading about many of these plants for the first time, it would've been nice to have a visual to associate them to.
