5/5 stars
by Susan Curtis, Pat Thomas, Julie Wood, Fran Johnson and Fiona Waring
I have always been interested in holistic health care. I don’t like taking a lot of medicine and I always feel that if I can take care of something at home, I would rather do that. I am fascinated by old home remedies and how many maladies were treated at home using herbs and tinctures. Many of the women in my family feel the same way; my husband’s stepmother is an herbalist as was her grandmother whom she apprenticed under; my husband’s mom was a hippie who always had a ton of books (many of which I inherited) and always kept a cabinet stocked with dried herbs, tinctures and home remedies. My mom, who was trained as a nurse, has always found natural healing fascinating and gave me one of her favorite books, Prescription for Nutritional Healing over twenty years ago, when I was a newlywed!
We go to the doctor for annual physicals and if there is something really wrong that we don’t think we can take care of at home. I have seen a naturopath for my allergies – – and I was not just given an antihistamine, but was cured from my allergies! After having an ulcer for many years, I cured it at home by drinking cabbage juice once a day for two weeks straight–it was putrid and I did projectile vomit once, but it did work. How do I know it worked? Because drinking orange juice or having anything acidic used to feel like someone was stabbing me in the gut. Now I can drink huge glasses of orange juice, eat salsa and spicy foods.
My Review:
This is actually THE BOOK that I have been looking for for years! It lists conditions and which herbs, essential oils AND FOODS can help.
I love that this book incorporates food as a part of a holistic health plan. What we eat is so important and should, in my opinion, be considered part of a holistic health plan. Food is medicine. We can prevent so many conditions just by eating the right foods or avoiding certain things like a lot of salt, sugar or processed foods.
I love the very simple page on How Herbs Heal. The different types of herbs Mucilaginous, Adaptogens, Carminative, etc. are laid out and very simply explained. Mucilaginous herbs help with inflammation; adaptogens help the body deal with stress; carminative help with gastrointestinal issues. Essential oils are also explained in terms of type – antimicrobial, antispasmodic, toning, etc.
There are detailed explanations on making tinctures, macerated oils, decoction.
There were holistic suggestions of eating disorders, such as the herbs oat straw, chamomile and ashwagandha; the essential oils rose, bergamot and ylang ylang; fermented foods, fibre, milk and bananas. I have never seen eating disorders and specific instructions for anorexia and bulimia in a book of this kind. Yet my personal experience with having an eating disorder is that by following a whole food, plant based diet, and eliminating processed foods, I don’t have the feeling that I overdid it and need to purge. I believe it is something in the processed foods that made me feel that way.
I am putting this on my Christmas list!! I have other books like this, but none that add food as an element of healing and I think that is a critical element. Our bodies require certain nutrients and our modern diet is often lacking some of those nutrients, thus we end up with issues but by knowing what ailments respond to which nutrient we can heal ourselves without ingesting a lot of supplements (I view supplements similarly to medicine–only if absolutely necessary). The information on food is not something I have seen in books before, therefore I am giving this 5 stars.
From the Publisher:
Enjoy long-lasting holistic health and prepare natural health remedies for common ailments with essential oils, herbal remedies, and pure foods.
Complete Wellness delivers a head-to-toe guide to healing for every part of your body. Targeted instructions allow you to tap into the restorative powers of herbs and plants and their therapeutic essential oils and use tried-and-true, centuries-old herbal remedies to treat a host of common ailments.
In addition to healing remedies, the book explores the key building blocks for optimizing health and well-being in each part of the body, pointing you to the top herbs, nutrients, and essential oils each area needs not only to stay well, but to reach the very peak of wellness–whether to boost circulation, enjoy glowing skin, balance gut flora, or maximize energy levels. Guidance is given on incorporating ingredients into everyday regimens, helping you to stay in optimal health.
Follow step-by-step demonstrations on how to blend your own teas and tinctures; concoct all-natural-ingredient creams; create therapeutic aromatherapy oil blends; discover delicious recipes for wellness; and master a variety of other practical techniques and tips for lifelong well-being. Make the most of nature’s resources with Complete Wellness.
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