Synopses & Reviews
The Essential Guide to Building Your Natural Defenses
Bacterial infections are on the rise, and pharmaceutical antibiotics are increasingly powerless to stop them. Pathogenic bacteria are tenacious survivors; they outsmart modern medicine and become virulent "superbugs," resistant to antibiotics and increasingly deadly.
Stephen Harrod Buhner offers conclusive evidence that plant medicines, with their complex mix of multiple antibiotic, systemic, and synergistic compounds, should be our first line of defense against resistant infections. His indispensable reference explains the roots of antibiotic resistance, explores the value of herbal treatments, and provides in-depth profiles of the most reliably effective herbs, giving you the confidence to identify the best herbal formulas and make medicines yourself.
Review
A truely invaluable resource that is also a detailed how-to primer of natural solutions based in time-honored herbal practices. Laurie Regan, PhD, ND, Dean of Classical Chinese Medicine, National College of Natural Medicine, cohost of True Nature Radio
Review
An important book that anyone involved with health care should read. The ideas bridge traditional herbalism, modern phytotherapy, and laboratory and clinical research. It is a major contribution to the healing of humanity's relationship with bacteria. David Hoffmann BSc, FNIMH, medical herbalist
Review
Our immune systems are becoming increasingly burdened, and we desperately need the complexity and synergy of plant-based medicine to help restore the microbial balance in our bodies. This valuable resource book helps you to know what to use, how, and when. Jeff Wulfman, MD, Intergrative Functional Family Physician, Assistant Clinical Professor of Family Medicine, University of Vermont
Review
This book will save your life. Literally. Super-bugs have moved out of our hospitals and into our streets. Do you know how to help yourself and those you love if you contract such an infection? Now you do. Susun S. Weed, author of Healing Wise
Review
"In this timely book, Buhner reveals that plants are the people's medicine, possessing attributes that pharmaceuticals never will."
Review
"Humans have misused antibiotics to the point that these drugs are becoming worthless. In Herbal Antibiotics, Buhner argues that by turning to plants for healing, we would be working with nature--and improving our chances of surviving the superbugs."
Review
"A comprehensive introduction worthy to be on the shelf of any holistic practitioner, herbalist, farmer or parent. The book ... shows an appreciation for the melding of traditional practices, tools, and wisdom with modern research and insight."
Synopsis
With antibiotic-resistant infections on the rise, herbal remedies present a naturally effective alternative to standard antibiotics. Herbal expert Stephen Harrod Buhner explains the roots of antibiotic resistance, explores the value of herbal treatments, and provides in-depth profiles of 30 valuable plants, noting the proper dosages, potential side effects, and contraindications of each.
Synopsis
Antibiotic-resistant infections are alarmingly on the rise, and many people are looking for sound information on herbal alternatives to standard antibiotics. In this indispensable reference, herbal expert Stephen Harrod Buhner explains the roots of antibiotic resistance, explores the value of herbal treatments, and provides in-depth profiles of 30 valuable herbs, noting for each one its antibiotic properties, methods for collection and preparation, dosages, potential side effects, contraindications, and alternatives. As we prepare for the end of antibiotics, this comprehensive guide is a must-have in every family's medicine cabinet.
About the Author
Stephen Harrod Buhner is the author of
Herbal Antibiotics;
Herbs for Hepatitis C and the Liver;
Sacred Plant Medicine; and
One Spirit, Many Peoples. He is a national lecturer on herbal medicine and an adjunct faculty member at the Rocky Mountain Center for Botanical Studies. His work has appeared or been featured in publications including the
New York Times, Apotheosis, Common Boundary, and
Shaman and on television, including
Good Morning America. Buhner has served as president of the Colorado Association for Healing Practitioners and as a lobbyist on herbal and holistic medicines and education in the Colorado legislature. He lives in New Mexico.
Table of Contents
Foreword to the First Edition by James A. Duke, PhD
Preface to the Second Edition
Prologue: Rise of the Superbugs
1 The End of Antibiotics
2 The Resistant Organisms, the Diseases They Cause, and How to Treat Them
3 About Herbal Antibiotics
4 Herbal Antibiotics: The Systemics
-Cryptolepis
-Sida
-Alchornea
-Bidens
-Artemisia
5 Herbal Antibiotics: The Localized Nonsystemics
-The Berberines
-Juniper
-Honey
-Usnea
6 Herbal Antibiotics: The Synergists
-Licorice
-Ginger
-Black Pepper (piperine)
7 The First Line of Defense: Strengthening the Immune System
-Ashwagandha
-Astragalus
-Boneset
-Echinacea
-Eleuthero
-Red Root
-Reishi
-Rhodiola
8 A Handbook of Herbal Medicine Making
9 An Herbal Formulary
Epilogue
Endnotes
Recommended Reading
Resources
Bibliography
Index