Early anthropological evidence for plant use as medicine is 60,000 years old as reported from the Neanderthal grave in Iraq. The importance of plants as medicine is further supported by archeological evidence from Asia and the Middle East. Today, around 1.4 billion people in South Asia alone have no access to modern health care, and rely instead on traditional medicine to alleviate various symptoms. On a global basis, approximately 50 to 80 thousand plant species are used either natively or as pharmaceutical derivatives for life-threatening conditions that include diabetes, hypertension and cancers. As the demand for plant-based medicine rises, there is an unmet need to investigate the quality, safety and efficacy of these herbals by the "scientific methods". Current research on drug discovery from medicinal plants involves a multifaceted approach combining botanical, phytochemical, analytical, and molecular techniques. For instance, high throughput robotic screens have been developed by industry; it is now possible to carry out 50,000 tests per day in the search for compounds, which act on a key enzyme or a subset of receptors. This and other bioassays thus offer hope that one may eventually identify compounds for treating a variety of diseases or conditions. However, drug development from natural products is not without its problems. Frequent challenges encountered include the procurement of raw materials, the selection and implementation of appropriate high-throughput bioassays, and the scaling-up of preparative procedures. Research scientists should therefore arm themselves with the right tools and knowledge in order to harness the vast potentials of plant-based therapeutics. The main objective of Plant and Human Health is to serve as a comprehensive guide for this endeavor. Volume 1 highlights how humans from specific areas or cultures use indigenous plants. Despite technological developments, herbal drugs still occupy a preferential place in a majority of the population in the third world and have slowly taken roots as alternative medicine in the West. The integration of modern science with traditional uses of herbal drugs is important for our understanding of this ethnobotanical relationship. Volume 2 deals with the phytochemical and molecular characterization of herbal medicine. Specifically, it focuess on the secondary metabolic compounds, which afford protection against diseases. Lastly, Volume 3 discusses the physiological mechanisms by which the active ingredients of medicinal plants serve to improve human health. Together this three-volume collection intends to bridge the gap for herbalists, traditional and modern medical practitioners, and students and researchers in botany and horticulture.

From two of the leading voices in aromatherapy, Amy Galper and Jade Shutes, The Aromatherapy Companion is a concise and essential version of their popular Ultimate Guide to Aromatherapy. Essentials oils have been used across all world cultures for thousands of years. While the popularity of aromatherapy has endured, the methods and applications of the craft have evolved. The Aromatherapy Companion is the modern practitioner's guide to working with the most essential aromatherapy and essential oils for healing and wellness. Using techniques developed over decades of teaching, you will learn the science of aromatherapy and how essentials oils interact with our sense of smell, brain pathways, and skin. The guide also includes over 35 plant profiles, plus recipes and blends for health and beauty. Included are remedies for digestive health, immunity, women's health concerns, and more, such as Hand & Body Wash for Flu Recovery, Self-Love Botanical Perfume, and Tummy Massage Oil for Indigestion. Drawing on the authors' unique methodology and expertise as aromatherapists, herbalists, and healers, you will learn the art of blending formulations with great skill and discernment.

Are you curious about new knowledge about health? Are you not satisfied with the usual explanation to cancer? Is there something that the doctors don't know? What can I do myself to heal my cancer? Is there a connection between my life situation and my cancer? In How I Healed My Life, Dagfrid Kolaas seeks to answer your questions and put the topic of cancer in a whole new light. You will be deeply touched by Dagfrid's history. She candidly shares her journey from divorce, crisis and subsequent cancer diagnosis to her finding her own strength and complete healing. Inspired by Louise L. Hay and Brandon Bay, she let herself be guided by her own inner voice. Much of what she found on the journey may be of great joy and inspiration to others in similar situations. How I Healed My Life shows how cancer can be understood at a much deeper level than most people think. The heartwarming storytelling style makes the book easy to read and informative. The fear of cancer becomes to hope of healing. How I Healed My Life also contains a comprehensive mind-body encyclopedia in which you easily can find what emotions or situations that cause your particular disease or cancer. It is a home pharmacy that deserves to be in every home.

Blending cutting-edge scientific research with useful messages about personal responsibility and prosperity, "Cracking the Cancer Code" is a groundbreaking handbook which will help you understand and apply the principals of abundant health. Dr. Matthew J. Loop provides a brief overview of the nature and causes of cancer while discussing its common treatments, then elaborates on the various external and environmental factors that contribute to its development. He emphasizes the tenets of proper nutrition, and investigates the environmental hazards that people unwittingly expose themselves to on a daily basis. Dr. Loop also examines internal factors-thoughts, feelings, and disposition-and the role they ultimately play in physical health. Shattering commonly held beliefs about the nature and causes of cancer, Dr. Loop's "Cracking the Cancer Code" gives back what many facing the disease feel they have lost: a sense of their own power. Prosperity and abundance, in the form of health, manifests itself from the inside out. "Cracking the Cancer Code" is an easy-to-understand and comprehensive reference guide that will help anyone diagnosed with cancer discover the path to empowerment and optimal health.

The Best of Women's Health" brings to the forefront progressive information on the various medical conditions that affect women in the 21st century. But the informative guide also discusses the social, racial, economic, health care disparities and other inequities that illustrate the alarming differences between how men and women are cared for by our society and the United States government.

Dr. Valiere Alcena shares his vast experience as a practicing physician and researcher as he describes the symptoms, diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of today's most common female diseases such as hypertension, diabetes, stroke, heart disease, cancer, anemia, arthritis, osteoporosis, lung diseases, depression, alcoholism, and HIV/AIDS. Dr. Alcena provides intricate details, figures, and graphs that illustrate the inner-workings of the female body as well as practical information on various topics such as the:

Most effective diet for optimal health Reasons for iron deficiency Symptoms of major depression Factors that bring on a migraine

"The Best of Women's Health" will teach women to take charge of their health and demand positive change in our health care system, ultimately ensuring that the female population in our country receives the care they deserve-not only today, but in the future.

This volume brings together basic research on the nature of stress reactivity with up-to-date research on the effectiveness and mechanisms of mindfulness interventions. The chapters review the major research areas that elucidate the impact of stress reactivity on health, and explore the mechanisms and effectiveness of mindfulness-based approaches for stress reduction and improved physical and emotional health. The first section examines biopsychosocial mechanisms of stress reactivity such as allostasis and allostatic load, neurobiology of stress, biology of the "fight-or-flight" and "tend-and-befriend" responses, and psychoneuroimmunology. This section concludes by addressing the roles of perception and appraisal, including the role of perceived threat in stress reactivity as well as the role that negative perceptions of the stress response itself play in compromising health. The second section opens with review of leading psychological models of mindfulness, including self-regulation, reperceiving, and the Intention, Attention, Attitude (IAA) triaxiomatic model. Subsequent chapters discuss mindfulness-based interventions and mechanisms of change for stress and related clinical conditions including chronic pain, traumatic stress, anxiety and related disorders, and clinical depression. The final chapter reviews possible neural networks and brain mechanisms associated with mindfulness meditation practice. As the research on stress reactivity and mindfulness-based stress reduction continues to proliferate, this book offers readers a single volume covering the most relevant information across this vast terrain. Other available volumes offer in-depth coverage of stress research with little mention of mindfulness and stress reduction. Conversely, many texts on the topic of mindfulness and mindfulness-based interventions do not adequately cover the biopsychosocial processes of stress reactivity.

Este libro hace un an lisis de los conceptos de Salud y su educaci n en el contexto de la sociedad y la escuela, y los enfoca hacia la Medicina Tradicional y Natural como una alternativa para desarrollarla en el proceso de ense anza. Es un material bibliogr fico que sirve como referencia para comprender la esencia de esta medicina de manera sencilla y que pueda ser incorporada a la vida cotidiana y sobre todo al proceso educativo en las escuelas. Aunque aborda conceptos de la Medicina Tradicional China es f cil de comprender y aplicar en el mantenimiento de la salud humana.

This book contains Julius A. Dresser's summary of mental science and the ability to heal the sick with mental and spiritual power. As the son of Horatio Dresser - an acquaintance and adherent of Phineas Quimby, the founder of the New Thought movement - Julius felt obliged to carry on his father's legacy by explaining the beliefs he held. Citing both ancient philosophy and religion, Julius begins by saying knowledge of mental healing is neither new nor novel: rather, it has practiced through history. Referring repeatedly to Christianity and Jesus Christ as an example of mental healing in action, Dresser aims to illustrate how P. P. Quimby rediscovered it. His experiences with tuberculosis, where conventional medicine in the form of camomile did more harm than good, are detailed. Quimby would later go on to assert that exciting, uplifting experiences such as riding a horse did far more for his tuberculosis than any other method.

The foot is a very interesting part of the body for therapy. It is easily accessible and is very suitable for self-treatment, which partly explains why it is used so much in reflexology. This chart is particularly interesting and useful for those who treat the feet and/or do energy work. It shows the classical Chinese acupuncture points used to treat the organs and a large number of specific health complaints. The massage and acupressure techniques are clearly explained. Another approach is also presented, especially indicated for the feet (water and earth): moxibustion. It is warming, it stimulates Chi flow, it fights cold and humid pathologies, and feminine disorders. In addition to all these points, the meridians according to Shisuto Masunaga and their use are presented. With this chart, knowledge of the reflex zones will be completed by points and meridians, opening fascinating new therapeutic possibilities.

The twelve volume in the Evidence-based Clinical Chinese Medicine series is a must read for Chinese medicine practitioners interested in neurology or rehabilitation. Using a 'whole evidence' approach, this book aims to provide an analysis of the management of post-stroke shoulder complications with Chinese and integrative medicine.This book describes the understanding and management of post-stroke shoulder complications with conventional medicine and Chinese medicine. Chinese medicine treatments used in past eras are analysed through data mining of classical Chinese medicine books. Several treatments are identified that are still used in contemporary clinical practice.Attention is then turned to evaluating the current state of evidence from clinical studies using an evidence-based medicine approach. Scientific techniques are employed to evaluate the results from studies of Chinese herbal medicine, acupuncture and other Chinese medicine therapies. The findings from these reviews are discussed in terms of the implications for clinical practice and research.Chinese medicine practitioners and students can use this book as a desktop reference to support clinical decision making. Having ready access to the current state of evidence for herbal formulas and acupuncture treatments allows practitioners to be confident in providing evidence-based health care. This book is an easy to use reference, thus allowing practitioners to focus on providing high quality care supported by the best available evidence.This book links formulas, herbs and acupuncture points with treatment efficacy, providing the reader with potential for creating new formulas. Several of the most frequently used herbs from randomized controlled trials were investigated to identify their pharmacological actions in animal and cell-line studies. This gives the reader insight into the potential actions of herbs and their chemical constituents that are relevant to the pathogenesis of post-stroke shoulder complications, and may provide leads for drug discovery.The editors of this series are internationally recognized, well-respected leaders in the field of Chinese medicine and evidence-based medicine with strong track records in research.