Herbal Medicine

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Summary: I'd like to see more books written by this guy!!
Review: I really like this book, I wish he'd do a book focusing on women's reproductive issues. He's thourogh and explains things well. I highly recommend this book.

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Summary: one of the best books on herbalism available
Review: The letters "MD" on the cover of a book about 'alternative' medicine are always reassuring. Weiss combines the thoroughness and concern for verifiability one would expect from someone trained in modern medicine with a refreshing sensitivity to its limits and to the contribution that more traditional types of medicine can offer.

The bulk of the book is devoted to detailed examinations of systems of the body, characteristic diseases, and herbs used in their treatment. Chapter subjects include: the cardiovascular system, the urinary tract, rheumatic conditions, the nervous system, gynaecological conditions, cancer, and skin diseases.

In all these chapters, Weiss "limits himself to a very few remedies that have been shown to be really effective" and goes into each herb in detail, explaining how its chemistry and use differ from those of other, related herbs. Thus, the 100-page chapter on the digestive system starts with a full, properly-referenced, 14-page section on "acute stomach conditions". This is devoted almost entirely to three herbs: chamomile, peppermint, and balm (melissa). The subsection on chamomile tells us where chamomile grows and how to identify it, and then details the different varieties. The author summarises past research into the chemical make-up of chamomile and its use in medicine, and concludes with dosage details, even including advice to doctors on how to write their prescriptions. He then gives the same treatment to the other herbs, and proceeds to explain when we should use chamomile and when peppermint or melissa; when we should combine one of these with another herb; whether the tea is best or a tincture or standardized herbal extract or even essential oil; and so on.

In an age when information arranged in bite-sized pieces is the norm and coffee-table books with numerous colour photos abound, the plainness of this book is one of its charms. And, ultimately, it actually makes it easier to read. With many books available now, the reader has to jump around from section to section, reading profiles of individual herbs, introductions to body systems, indices of complaints, etc, and still not really know what the best remedy is or why a particular combination of herbs was chosen in preference to another. With Weiss, if you've got a digestive problem, you read the relevant chapter (or section if you've no time) and you know everything you need.

The author prefers to refer to herbal medicine as 'phytotherapy'. He is concerned to distinguish 'scientific phytotherapy', on the one hand from folk medicine and on the other from orthodox medicine. The former suffers from "the vast and often highly imaginative range of indications...[often] with no scientific foundation at all". The latter tends to "recognize only those phytotherapeutic agents...which can be statistically confirmed [and] gives preference to fast-acting powerful drugs". An example of his approach comes in the section mentioned above on chamomile, where he gives a table of its chemical constituents and their medicinal effect, while noting that "it is the sum of all the constituents that produces the medicinal action...we do best to use the whole plant drug".

One criticism: While I applaud Weiss's decision to focus on a small number of herbs, one problem with his approach is what to do if you can't obtain his favorites. While the translator sometimes slips in helpful comments for British readers, some may have problems getting hold of Eau de Melisse des Carmes and some of the more obscure herbs mentioned.