Rating: 
Summary: Nutritional healing that breaks the bank
Review: We bought this book looking for a natural way to treat a problem all four members of our family have, a late-afternoon slump we've been told is probably hypoglycemia. We took the book with us to the health food store and started to load up on just the supplements that it lists as "very important" and "important."A 15-day supply of supplements for the four of us cost $454.69, including tax. And this was shopping at a discount place. Even worse, none of us felt all that much better after trying them for a couple of weeks--although to be fair, at least we parents may have been stressed out by the dent to our budget. Somehow it isn't surprising that one of the authors of this book runs her own health food store. We didn't give up on the idea of using a natural approach, however, and we found a more effective--and much, much less expensive ($38.07 a week for the family)--way to deal with our problem naturally in Encyclopedia of Natural Medicine by Michael Murray and Joseph Pizzorno.
Rating:
Summary: Appealing layout, easy read, waste of time
Review: Having read the 50 glowing recommendations for this book, I purchased it expecting to find easy-to-follow, easy-to-read, well-researched information I could use. I did find easy-to-follow, easy-to-read recommendations, but I won't use them. My confidence in this book is zip. Here's why. If you just read the sections that apply to you--as I did first--you won't notice that the authors' motto could have been one nutrient treats all. For instance, the authors recommend supplemental vitamin B for abscesses, acidosis, acne, adrenal disorders, age spots, aging, AIDS, alcoholism, alkalosis, allergies, Alzheimer's, anemia, anorexia, anxiety, poor appetite, arteriosclerosis, atherosclerosis, arthritis, asthma, athlete's foot, and autism. For whatever reasons, they skip arsenic poisoning. I didn't thumb through the rest of the book to see if vitamin B shows up on virtually every page as it does for the "A's," but either vitamin B is a miracle drug or they are just telling us whatever supplement we're already using is fine. Another problem with the book is the lack of references. The fact of the matter is I wouldn't read all the references, maybe just one or two of the references that were a propos of the topic that concerns me. But Balch and Balch don't give any references at all. Is that because we're just supposed to trust them, the author is a doctor, after all, or is that because they made this stuff up? I believe in nutritional healing. I see a naturopath. I take vitamins. I'd go for nutrition before I'd go for any kind of heavy-duty doctor-prescribed drug treatment. But I'll have to use this book for a 600-page doorstop. I just don't believe the content.
Rating: 
Summary: Simply Wonderful
Review: What a thorough job the Balches have done with this book. My mother in law gave me one copy and when it got tattered, I bought another and took the old one to my classroom for my students to peruse. They also need to know that there are a multitude of ways we can take our own health into our own hands. One student introduced me to a site, PapaNature, that offers not only an abundant supply of supplements, but links to a variety of documentation. He said his whole family is into healthy lifestyles and they shop at PapaNature because Balch's text corroborates their documentation.
Rating:
Summary: This is a book that has been well worth the money
Review: I have several of James Balchs' books and have really benefited from them. There are many stories i could tell about how this book has helped me, but i will limit my storeis to just one. About two years ago i was having chest pains and sleepless nights on a daily basis and i got this book out and read about Reishi Mushrooms. I decided to start taking this mushroom and on the first night sleep 12 hours. To this day i have had no more sleepless nights and chest pains. I'm not a doctor, but i think we can doctor ourselves sometimes, and perhaps cure our problelms. I THINK YOU OWE IT TO YOURSELF TO BUY THIS BOOK
Rating:
Summary: A must-have reference for taking control of your health...
Review: This book is the first one I turn to when I am dealing with any illness or problem with my, or my family's health. I am a mother, with two small children, and I love being able to take control of my own and my children's health needs, rather than being dependant on a doctor to tell me what I should do (especially when I don't always agree!). This book is packed with over 600 pages of information, listing various disorders alphabetically for easy reference. It provides information for treating various illnesses with nutrition, vitamins, and herbs. It has a separate section detailing various suppliments and their effects on the system. It explains the various disorders, and offers alternatives to conventional "allopathic" medical treatments for same (that being said, please be sure to check with your doctor before enbarking on any suppliment or herbal treatment). As with any exhaustive reference of this size, there are a few inaccuracies here and there, but most of those are minor and have been corrected from previous editions. All in all this is an invaluable book for anyone who wishes to take control of their own health, and to use vitamins and herbs wisely and with substantial positive results. Don't hesitate, buy it!
Rating:
Summary: Great help for those who don't want to take drugs the time!
Review: In Prescription for Nutritional Healing, M.D. Balch tackles most illnesses with a description of the illness from a medical standpoint and then explains in an easy-to-read method how to treat it with decidedly non-medical means. Herbs like echinacea for colds and as a natural antibiotic, and supplements like zinc gluconate for colds and sinus infections are just some of the remedies the book mentions. But obscure illnesses many of us might suffer from, like "acidosis" and little known forms of thyroid disease, plus discussion of depression and other mental illness also are described, with supplements to help sufferers of these. Since reading this book, echinacea extract can always be found in my kitchen, as can vitamin C, zinc gluconate lozenges and garlic pills. Garlic also is described as a natural antibiotic as well as having cholesterol-lowering abilities. Whether or not readers believe these supplements can do what he says they can (so many media and other reviews have conflicting info), I'm convinced. I always have had allergies turn into sinus infections, and just a few doses of echinacea extract stops it, as do zinc lozenges. When I've gotten a full-blown sinus infection, in which I've in past years had to go on antibiotics to cure, echinacea and zinc lozenges have gotten me through with no drugs. Anyone with questions about supplements and herbs and all the hype should buy this book and take some of the doc's advice. Make up your own mind. You owe it to your health!
Rating:
Summary: This book saved my life!
Review: I must thank the Balch's for their fine research and well written books. In 1995, I was facing the horrible prospect of going on full disability due to problems associated with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. By changing my diet and using several of the treatments in this book, along with chiropractic, massage therapy, and colonic hydrotherapy, I was cured and live a good healthy life today. I am free from the long list of drugs that I was told were keeping me from getting worse...not better! I still refer to this book often and even bought the updated edition. You will not regret buying this book. I highly recommend it for anyone who is tired of feeling bad and who wants to take control of their own health and wellness. You can feel better!
Rating:
Summary: Outstanding reference book...
Review: This is the first book I reach for when I'm dealing with a health issue. I have small children, and as such am always looking for ways to deal with problems from a nutritional or natural medicine standpoint. I have found answers to hundreds of questions in this book. The book is well laid-out, with sections on vitamins, minerals, herbs, and other items. It breaks down health issues by topic, and gives a variety of treatments for just about anything you can think of. The material is well presented, the index is thorough, the suggestions practical. You simply can't go wrong with this book!
Rating:
Summary: the best book on comprehensive nutrition and natural healing
Review: i have 183 nutrition books at my clinic (including this book), and no one is like this book.i am familiar with many other nutrition books, and just no one is like him,(the lion,king of the animals). this book tells you the strategies of the specific diseases, and what are the healing options of natural healing, including the causes of diseases, basic nutritional therapy, and the recommanded suplements. this book will also gives you the conventional options if there is a need, but the main sujestions are for the natural healing. a very well -puted book, but most of all- a true scientific, and comprehensive nutritional book on the subject.
Rating:
Summary: should be call:the best nutrition book!
Review: the most amazing , comprehansive, and guiding informative in the nutrition books i have ever seen.very detailed and simple to understand,yet it could help to the professional therapist in understanding and treating the various types of diseases. the way it is explained is so clear that it turn that knoledgable book to be a private school for natural nutrition healing. it explains the roots of the diseases, plus the preventions and the strategies with nutritional healing with suplements, compare to the conventional medicine, and when and how it should be combined in a very smart and responsable healing way, wich the tendency is toward the natural way. i am not surprised at all to see the tenth's of positive reviewers that wrote such a wonderful recommandations on this book, because it is realy a superb book on natural-nutrition.i am recommand this book as a therapist, and as a reader, and i would like to ask the administration of amazon.com to rank this book to be 12 stars.what are you waiting for?, buy this book today.
|
