Raising the Dust explores the relationship between human and ecological health through the lens of African traditional medicine, as practiced in the south of Malawi. The book employs an ethnographic methodology using the primary methods of semi-structured interviews and participant observation. The fieldwork for the research was conducted in the Mulanje Mountain Biosphere and the findings are presented as a narrative exploration of insider and outsider positions, in this context. The conceptual framework for the book encompasses a broad range of ecological ideas, focussing mainly on traditional ecological knowledge and radical ecology. The holistic theoretical framework for the book emerges in a grounded way from out of the fieldwork experience. The book is written in plain language and will appeal to anyone interested in holistic health outlooks, particularly cross-cultural health and wellbeing narratives.

Despite new scientific possibilities in diagnostics and therapy, chronic diseases - including cancer - continue to increase dramatically. This is not only a threat to peoples' health, but also a financial problem. A new perspective is necessary: instead of treating symptoms, more causal research needs to be conducted, taking into account environmental causes for these diseases. Citing numerous examples, the study makes a strong case for therapy beyond classic academic medicine and encourages those affected by environmental stress to take their health into their own hands.

This special issue of the Peabody Journal of Education provides a comprehensive overview of the latest developments in peace education reform. School reforms based upon principles of peace education have in common a belief in the power of peace to create a positive learning climate in schools and to address the problems of violence in the broader culture. A peace education strategy for improving school productivity rests upon three main assumptions: 1. Violence contributes to the poor performance of many students. 2. Adults in school settings need to address problems created by violence in order for schools to improve. 3. Anxieties that make it hard for students to master traditional subject matter can best be addressed by a comprehensive peace education strategy that makes school a safe place to learn and provides students with knowledge about alternative nonviolent ways to resolve conflicts. Peace building reforms go beyond responding to immediate forms of violence that may be overwhelming students and teachers to promoting positive images of peace through the study of nonviolence. Written by established experts in the field of peace education from six different countries, this collection of articles not only represents a wide variety of peace education practices from different corners of the globe, but it also represents varying academic perspectives. Educators can play a key role in helping human societies progress toward more sustainable ways of living by implementing peacemaking, peacekeeping, and peace building strategies in school programs. Peace education reforms point to a new way of thinking about schools as vehicles for promoting a peace culture through insights offered by nonviolent theory.

This unique volume initiates a dialogue between bio-medicine and alternative therapeutics. Undertaking a multidisciplinary exploration of the science and spirituality of healing and wellness, it offers varied perspectives from doctors, medical researchers, Ayurvedic practitioners, philosophers, psychologists, sociologists, and cultural critics. It expands the horizons of health sciences in engaging with diverse traditions - bio-medicine, Ayurveda, Siddha, and Jaina bio-ethics. The book will interest scholars and researchers in social and community medicine, biological sciences, sociology and social anthropology, as well as cultural studies.

Ayurveda is widely considered to be one of the oldest health care traditions still in practice today. Originating in India over 3,000 years ago, it is now increasingly recognized and practiced globally including in many European countries and the United States. Food and nutrition play a crucial role in the health care wisdom of Ayurveda. The Ayurvedic Science of Food and Nutrition discusses the various principles of healthy eating as prescribed by Ayurveda. Divided into three sections, it addresses the fundamentals, the clinical applications, and the future challenges of Ayurveda. Specifically, the book discusses issues such as the concept of diet, the use of food as medicine, especially to treat diabetes and cancer, convalescent food practices, and fasting therapy. The Ayurvedic Science of Food and Nutrition is unique in that it is one of the only books to investigate the scientific rationale behind Ayurveda, enabling this health care tradition to potentially be incorporated into a Western clinical practice model when this latter conventional therapy is found to be ineffective.

Caper: The Genus Capparis presents a pharmacognostic and ethnopharmacological exploration of the genus Capparis, emphasizing its medicinal potential. There is a long history of safe usage of Capparis parts both in diet and as plant drugs throughout the world, and the details of this usage are summarized in 39 tables covering numerous Capparis species. This detailed survey of historical and traditional medical uses of capers provides a forum for the integration of ethnomedicine and modern pharmacology. This book tracks the use of the genus Capparis from the present position of caper fruit and its flowers as a niche culinary article of economic importance, to ancient times and its use in traditional medicine of the Mediterranean and the Middle East. Section I covers the various classes of compounds found in Capparis that hold potential for being physiologically and medically active, including alkaloids, flavonoids, vitamins, and proteins and amino acids. Section II examines therapeutic uses for Capparis species for medical conditions such as inflammation, rheumatism, diabetes mellitus, pain and fever, cancer, infections and infestations, hypertension, and more. The authors balance the role of this plant in mythological and religious thinking with advances in modern chemical and pharmacological research. Coverage of ethnomedical usage leads to practical discussions of how the unique evolution of the genus Capparis impacts present and future applications of the different species for medicine and therapeutic nutrition. Providing chemical and pharmacological reviews to an extent not previously undertaken, this book will serve as a firm basis for scientists interested in conducting research on this novel source of safe phytoceutical agents.

The acclaimed author of Pandora's Lunchbox and former New York Times reporter delivers an "entertaining and highly useful book that gives you the tools to understand how alternative medicine works, so you can confidently make up your own mind" (The Washington Post). We all know someone who has had a seemingly miraculous cure from an alternative form of medicine: a friend whose chronic back pain vanished after sessions with an acupuncturist or chiropractor; a relative with digestive issues who recovered with herbal remedies; a colleague whose autoimmune disorder went into sudden inexplicable remission thanks to an energy healer or healing retreat. The tales are far too common to be complete fabrications, yet too anecdotal and outside the medical mainstream to be taken seriously scientifically. How do we explain them and the growing popularity of alternative medicine more generally? In The Magic Feather Effect, author and journalist Melanie Warner takes us on a vivid, important journey through the world of alternative medicine. Visiting prestigious research clinics and ordinary people's homes, she investigates the scientific underpinning for the purportedly magical results of these practices and reveals not only the medical power of beliefs and placebo effects, but also the range, limits, and uses of the surprising system of self-healing that resides inside us. Equal parts helpful, illuminating, and compelling, The Magic Feather Effect is a "well-written survey of alternative medicine...fair-minded, thorough, and focused on verifiable scientific research" (Publishers Weekly, starred review). Warner's enlightening, engaging deep dive into the world of alternative medicine and the surprising science that explains why it may work is an essential read.

The fear of death may translate into the desire for longevity. However, longevity is a true blessing only if it is coupled with good health. Healthiness, in today's expectation, is not simply a disease free state. Rather, it is very much a state of wellbeing and competence, both physically and socially. While Oriental medicine emphasizes on the promotion of physiological balance and internal balance as an integral requirement for longevity, other cultures also have various sophisticated concepts and orientations. This book successfully collates all the different views and approaches from Austria, Russia, China and Japan in the exploration of Health, Wellbeing, Competence and Aging.

Modern Western Medicine (MWM) and Ayurveda/Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) can be considered two extreme paradigms to complex systems. The microscopic and reductionist approach of the West prevails in acute and single-gene conditions such as infection and Mendelian disorders. The macroscopic and holistic approach of the East potentially fares well at chronic and complex conditions such as obesity and ageing. The book serves three purposes: 1) to help MWM, Ayurveda and TCM professionals get acquainted with one another; 2) to help identify common grounds for MWM, Ayurveda and TCM, rather than blindly westernizing eastern medicines or vice versa; and 3) to help translate the complementarity of MWM and Ayurveda/TCM toward an integrative multi-component healthcare. To this end, we introduce theories and tenets of the three medicines. We use bioenergetics to reconcile West and East as ATP generation, prana and qi are central to MWM, Ayurveda and TCM. We discuss clinical trials of varying experimental rigors for the assessment of the scientific evidence for treatment effectiveness. We present complementary interventions for chronic disorders and ageing. We hold that a federal unity of therapies consisting of MWM, Ayurveda and TCM better serves the wellbeing of humankind.

A perennial favourite with students and practitioners, this is the go-to reference book for 180 medicinal herbs and their actions. Materia Medica of Western Herbs is designed for worldwide use and contains detailed monographs of 180 of the most commonly used medicinal herbs. Each herb is presented with: • Plant name and picture • Parts used • Actions • Pharmacy • Interaction with drugs • Botanical description • Active constituents • Scientific information • Precaution and/or Safety • Historical uses • Habitat and geographical location • Nutritional constituents • Medicinal uses There are appendices to help students understand pharmacological and medicinal actions, a glossary listing the known actions of common constituents, a table of interactions and a comprehensive therapeutic index. At the start of the book, medicinal herbs are listed by both their medicinal and common names. Based on the original Materia Medica of Western Herbs by Carole Fisher and Gilian Painter, this new book has been reset and streamlined to include botanical, scientific, pharmacy and safety information. This textbook is valuable not only for students and practitioners of herbal medicine but is also of use to any health provider who wishes to know more about how and why herbs work and the safety issues related to them.

Herbs and Healers from the Ancient Mediterranean through the Medieval West brings together eleven papers by leading scholars in ancient and medieval medicine and pharmacy. Fittingly, the volume honors Professor John M. Riddle, one of today's most respected medieval historians, whose career has been devoted to decoding the complexities of early medicine and pharmacy. "Herbs" in the title generally connotes drugs in ancient and medieval times; the essays here discuss interesting aspects of the challenges scholars face as they translate and interpret texts in several older languages. Some of the healers in the volume are named, such as Philotas of Amphissa, Gariopontus, and Constantine the African; many are anonymous and known only from their treatises on drugs and/or medicine. The volume's scope demonstrates the breadth of current research being undertaken in the field, examining both practical medical arts and medical theory from the ancient world into early modern times. It also includes a paper about a cutting-edge Internet-based system for ongoing academic collaboration. The essays in this volume reveal insightful research approaches and highlight new discoveries that will be of interest to the international academic community of classicists, medievalists, and early-modernists because of the scarcity of publications objectively evaluating long-lived traditions that have their origin in the world of the ancient Mediterranean.

The book's first three chapters-by Sheehan and Robertson; Wagstaff; Council, Kirsch, and Grant - conclude that three different factors turn imagination into hypnosis. The next three chapters-by Lynn, Neufeld, Green, Rhue, and Sandberg; Rader, Kunzendorf, and Carrabino; and Barrett-explore the hypnotic and the clinical significance of absorption in imagination. Three subsequent chapters-by Coe; Gwynn and Spanos; and Gorassini-examine the role of compliance and imagination in various hypnotic phenomena. Pursuing the possibility that some hypnotic hallucinations are experienced differently from normal images, the following two chapters-by Perlini, Spanos, and Jones; and Kunzendorf and Boisvert-focus on negative hallucinating, which reportedly "blocks out" perceptual reality. The remaining three chapters-by Wallace and Turosky; Crawford; and Persinger-pursue other physiological differences, and possible physiological connections, between hypnosis and imagination.

Recent global cancer statistical data has clearly indicated that prostate cancer is currently the second most frequently diagnosed cancer (at 15% of all male cancers) and globally the sixth leading cause of cancer death in males. This book is a summary of prostate cancer, covering its incidence, epidemiology, and current treatment options. It also serves as an up-to-date review of the status of currently available alternative and complementary medicines for treating prostate cancer, including various plant extracts, herbal formulations, natural products, yoga, acupuncture, Ayurveda, homeopathy, and Siddha medicines used in prostate cancer therapy.

Using original sources, this significant text looks at the transformation of Chinese medicine from a marginal, side-lined medical practice of the early twentieth century, to an essential and high-profile part of the national health-care system under the Chinese Communist Party. The political, economic and social motives which drove this promotion are analyzed and the extraordinary role that Chinese medicine was meant to play in Mao Zedong's revolution is fully explored for the first time, making a major contribution to the history of Chinese medicine.

This book provides a comprehensive and up-to-date account of the HPLC technology and fingerprints of commonly-used Chinese herbs. It contains HPLC fingerprints of over 40 traditional Chinese medicinal herbs and details of their sources, production and quality control. The book provides a practical review of the techniques, relevant materials, and the particular demands for using HPLC in traditional Chinese medicinal herb applications. It also covers HPLC methods used to analyze the herbs.High-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) is increasingly used in the field of traditional Chinese medicine for obtaining fingerprints of Chinese medicinal herbs. Advantages such as high speed, high resolution, high sensitivity, stability, accuracy, and automation make it one of the leading techniques used for quality control, standardization of planting, and new drug development in traditional Chinese medicine.To date, no other books on HPLC fingerprints of traditional Chinese medicinal herbs have been published in English. This is the first book in English devoted to providing readers with state-of-the-art information on HPLC applied in the analysis of traditional Chinese medicinal herbs.

A gentle and loving guide for women healing from an abortion. Many women go through at least one in their lifetime, yet in our society abortion still remains a taboo subject. As lucky as we are in the UK to be able to have safe abortions, the nature of medical care has meant that while the process is quick and efficient, minimal thought that has gone into the aftermath. How has it affected our bodies? Is it acceptable to grieve? How can we honour the loss? Honouring the Loss is a guide that covers a whole spectrum of time; whether you are about to have an abortion or had one many years ago, there are specific exercises, meditations, herbs and rituals for each stage of this journey. Woven throughout is the wisdom of herbal medicine; as you discover which herbs to take for common physical or emotional imbalances, as well as learning how to make your own herbal teas, tinctures and oils to empower your journey back to health. Rituals offer the chance to transform any emotions or feelings in a way of beauty, as they open a new doorway that leads you to a place of peace and acceptance for all you have been through.

Reduced production of DHEA associated with the diseases that accompany aging has led to its use as a nutritional supplement for antiaging, metabolic support, and other purposes. While animal studies have clearly shown substantial benefits of DHEA in combating various disease states, the effect of low levels of DHEA in humans is less established, and the mechanisms of action and potential involvement in illnesses remain unclear. DHEA in Human Health and Aging reviews the past ten years of research into this hormone and explores its potential for future study.

With contributions from a cadre of international experts, this volume examines:

• The biology of DHEA relevant to health in humans
• Areas of potential clinical importance concerning low levels of DHEA related to age or physiological change
• Prevention as well as treatment of various human disease states by changing DHEA levels
• The use of DHEA levels in predicting the risk of disease
• The role of DHEA in diabetes, fitness, infectious disease, cancer, AIDS, bone health, cardiovascular diseases, autism, and mental health
• Animal models and their relation to studies done on humans
• The effects of loss of adrenal gland function, the subsequent reduction in DHEA production, and its replacement as therapy
• Adverse effects in DHEA-supplemented women
• Mechanisms of action of DHEA in prostate and ovarian health, vascular modification, stress, memory, aggression, and Alzheimer's disease

Covering a wide range of topics, the book is compiled from contributions of experts who have each studied some aspect of DHEA and human or animal health or disease. Every chapter is self-contained, allowing for focused study on individual topics. Edited by one of the leading experts in the field of nutrition, the book presents a compelling view of the state of the science in DHEA.

This third book in the three-volume Plant Secondary Metabolites examines the relationship between environmental stress and the physiology of plants, leading to stimulation of secondary metabolites. Various stressors are discussed, including plant and soil interfaces, changing climate elements, essential plant nutrients, pest insects, plant pathogens and microrganisms, and more. The chapters, written by experienced experts, also address the diverse utilization of plant-originated secondary metabolites and more.

Alternative medicine is not a fashionable new trend but an established cultural strategy, as well as a dynamic feature of mainstream contemporary medicine, in which elements of folk traditions are often blended with western scientific approaches.The Anthropology of Alternative Medicine is a concise yet wide-ranging exploration of non-biomedical healing. The book addresses a broad range of practices including: substance, energy and information flows (e.g. helminthic therapy); spirit, consciousness and trance (e.g. shamanism); body, movement and the senses (e.g. reiki and aromatherapy); as well as classical medical traditions as complements or alternatives to Western biomedicine (e.g. Ayurveda). Exploring the cultural underpinnings of contemporary healing methods, while assessing current ideas, topics and resources for further study, this book will be invaluable to undergraduate and graduate students in anthropology, sociology, psychology, and health related professions such as nursing, physical and occupational therapy, and biomedicine.

Would you use complementary and alternative medicines (CAMS)? Well, research has shown that up to three quarters of patients with cancer may at least supplement their treatment with such therapies, spending as much on CAMS as conventional drugs. How do you decide? This book provides a full range of perspectives on CAMS from patients and CAMS practitioners to conventional doctors who oppose the use of these alternative treatments because of the lack of evidence of efficacy and safety. Then there are the CAMS researchers, educators and regulators who view CAMS from different perspectives. The broad array of opinions build a complete picture of the issues for discerning readers to be adequately informed to make up their minds and draw their own conclusions.

In August 2004, South Africa officially legalized the practice of traditional healers. Largely in response to the HIV/AIDS pandemic, and limited both by the number of practitioners and by patients' access to treatment, biomedical practitioners looked toward the country's traditional healers as important agents in the development of medical education and treatment. This collaboration has not been easy. The two medical cultures embrace different ideas about the body and the origin of illness, but they do share a history of commercial and ideological competition and different relations to state power. "Healing Traditions: African Medicine, Cultural Exchange, and Competition in South Africa, 1820-1948 "provides a long-overdue historical perspective to these interactions and an understanding that is vital for the development of medical strategies to effectively deal with South Africa's healthcare challenges.
Between 1820 and 1948 traditional healers in Natal, South Africa, transformed themselves from politically powerful men and women who challenged colonial rule and law into successful entrepreneurs who competed for turf and patients with white biomedical doctors and pharmacists. To understand what is "traditional" about traditional medicine, Flint argues that we must consider the cultural actors not commonly associated with African therapeutics: white biomedical practitioners, Indian healers, and the implementing of white rule.
Carefully crafted, well written, and powerfully argued, Flint's analysis of the ways that indigenous medical knowledge and therapeutic practices were forged, contested, and transformed over two centuries is highly illuminating, as is her demonstration that many "traditional" practices changed over time. Her discussion of African and Indian medical encounters opens up a whole new way of thinking about the social basis of health and healing in South Africa. This important book will be core reading for classes and future scholarship on health and healing in South Africa.

The popularity of Tibetan medicine plays a central role in the international market for alternative medicine and has been increasing and extending far beyond its original cultural area becoming a global phenomenon. This book analyses Tibetan medicine in the 21st century by considering the contemporary reasons that have led to its diversity and by bringing out the common orientations of this medical system. Using case studies that examine of the social, political and identity dynamics of Tibetan medicine in Nepal, India, the PRC, Mongolia, the UK and the US, the contributors to this book answer the following three, fundamental questions:

• What are the modalities and issues involved in the social and therapeutic transformations of Tibetan medicine?
• How are national policies and health reforms connected to the processes of contemporary redefinition of this medicine?
• How does Tibetan medicine fit into the present, globalized context of the medical world?

Written by experts in the field from the US, France, Canada, China and the UK this book will be invaluable to students and scholars interested in contemporary medicine, Tibetan studies, health studies and the anthropology of Asia.

'Winner of the ICAS Colleagues Choice Award 2009"

"Energy Medicine East and West: A Natural History of Qi" provides a unique, comprehensive overview of Qi or bioenergy for students and practitioners of energy medicines, Chinese and Oriental Medicine, and all disciplines of Complementary and Integrative Medicine. Mayor and Micozzi start with a comparative historical account of the ancient concepts of Qi and vital energy before covering theories of Qi, a discussion of the organized therapeutic modalities based upon Qi and its applications to specific health and medical conditions. Contributions are included from international experts in the field.

?The book moves from anatomical and bioenergetic complementarity of Western vital energy and Eastern Qi, through convergence of perspectives and models to demonstrations of how the traditional therapies are being melded together in a new, original and creative synthesis.

?David Mayor and Marc Micozzi are experienced medical practitioners, authors and editors. David Mayor has been actively involved in bioenergy research, practice and publishing for over 30 years, and is author/editor of Electroacupuncture: A practical manual and resource (2007), as well as other acupuncture texts and studies. Marc Micozzi is Professor in the Department of Physiology and Biophysics at Georgetown University School of Medicine, Washington, DC. As author/editor of Fundamentals of Complementary & Alternative Medicine, 4E (2011), and 25 other books, he has been writing, editing and teaching on bioenergy, Qi and related topics for 20 years.

Endorsements

"This wonderful book has assembled some 25 authors expressing well a view of qi which entirely does justice to its nature. Meticulously referenced, it is a milestone to set beside Maciocias Foundations of Chinese Medicine and Deadmans Manual of Acupuncture. Here at last are the beginnings of a true science of qi...There is truly nothing like it in contemporary literature. Alone, it lays the foundation for the beginnings of a modern science of qi."Richard Bertschinger, Acupuncturist and translator, Somerset, UK.

"This book offers a timely and thorough examination of the experience and nature of qi, including a series of fascinating philosophical discussions with a direct application to our patients. Required reading for acupuncture practitioners seeking to justify and clarify their clinical reasoning."Val Hopwood PhD FCSP, Physiotherapist, acupuncturist, researcher and educator; Course director, MSc Acupuncture, Coventry University, UK.

"Over the last decade most books on Asian medicine paid tribute to the aura of evidence-based medicine - experience counted little, RCTs were convincing. This book, at last, returns to an old tradition of debate, opening up quite a few new horizons. Reading it, my striving for knowledge was married with enjoyment and happiness. This book made me happy " Thomas Ots MD PhD, Medical acupuncturist specialising in psychiatry, Graz, Austria; Editor-in-Chief, Deutsche Zeitschrift f?r Akupunktur.

"To simply review the chapter headings is to know the truly remarkable expanse of this book...a wonderful bridge between the mysteries of the East and the sciences of the West...well documented, well written, and enlarging both. Enlightening...nicely depicts outstanding advances in energy psychotherapeutics, thus ultimately helping to move forward the human condition."Maurie D Pressman MD, Emeritus Clinical Professor of Psychiatry, Temple University School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA; Emeritus Chairman of Psychiatry, Albert Einstein Medical Center, Philadelphia PA; past President, International Society for the Study of Subtle Energies and Energy Medicine, Lafayette, CO, USA.

..".a major advance in the study of qi and related forms of 'energy medicine, ' both in and beyond the East Asian cultural context...bringing together such a wide range of scholars and practitioners, providing much the most serious and thorough overview of the area yet available in English."Professor Geoffrey Samuel, Director, Research Group on the Body, Health and Religion (BAHAR), Cardiff University, UK.