"For thousands of years wild herbs and flowers formed the basis of natural cosmetics, natural remedies and natural preventives. Gradually these properties have lost their credence beside the magic synthetics of 'modern' medicine. Now, at last, we are beginning to take a new interest in what our grandmothers can teach us, and Jean Palaiseul has written a book which is a mine of information about the folk lore, history and modern application of over 150 herbs and flowers.For example, he tells us the Honeysuckle is rich in salycylic acid - the essential ingredient of aspirin - and an infusion of the flowers is a reliable help in bronchial complaint. Garlic, too, can prove an indispensible shield against winter colds, and the Ancient Egyptians and Greeks believed that it gave extra strength - the Pharaohs insisting that the pyramid builders ate a clove every day." -- Back cover.

An Updated and Expanded New Edition of Backyard Medicine! Modern medicine is truly a blessing. Advances are made with astonishing speed every day, using both science and technology to make our lives longer and healthier. But if the era of modern medicine began less than two hundred years ago, how did people treat sickness and poor health before then? This book holds the answer. Researched and written by a practicing medical herbalist and natural healer, and now with even more herbs and medicinal plants, Backyard Medicine is the basis for a veritable natural pharmacy that anyone can create. Featuring more than 120 easily made herbal home remedies and fully illustrated with nearly three hundred color photographs, this book offers fascinating insights into the literary, historic, and global applications of fifty common wild plants and herbs that can be used in medicines, including: Comfrey Dandelion Honeysuckle Yarrow And so much more! Anyone who wants to improve his or her health in a completely natural way will find this book to be an absolute must-have for his or her home—and garden.

In Kitchen Medicine the authors describe the wealth of healing and emergency remedies that sit unused and idle in the kitchen. Superb illustrations adorn a lively text. The ingredients are all easily found in the kitchen although in some cases they are exotic in origin (just think of tea, coffee and chocolate).

Today, more and more people are beginning to rediscover the healing powers of roots and plants. Indeed, some of the most frequently prescribed and powerful drugs are based on plant extracts. Jan de Vries has researched as far back as the twelfth century and has recorded the folk wisdom of various countries, learning from them the popular remedies passed on by their forebears. In Traditional Home and Herbal Remedies, he shares some of these secrets with his readers. Everyone who agrees with his philosophy that nature has a way to help every illness will find this book an invaluable source of information and encouragement.

The first part in a comprehensive two-volume guide on the use of medicinal plants in Western herbal medicine—from an author who has almost forty years of clinical experience The first in a two-volume set, The Earthwise Herbal profiles Old World plants (volume two will treat American plants). Organized alphabetically, the book encompasses all the major, and many of the secondary, herbs of traditional and modern Western herbalism. Author Matthew Wood describes characteristic symptoms and conditions in which each plant has proved useful in the clinic, often illustrated with appropriate case histories. He also takes a historical view based on his extensive study of ancient and traditional herbal literature. Written in an easy, engaging, non-technical style, The Earthwise Herbal offers insight into the “logic” of the plant: how it works; in what areas of the body it works; how it has been used in the past; what its pharmacological constituents indicate about its use; and how all these different factors hang together to produce a portrait of the plant as a whole entity. Ideal for beginners, serious students, or advanced practitioners, The Earthwise Herbal is also useful for homeopaths and flower essence practitioners as it bridges these fields in its treatment of herbal medicines.

There is a wealth of plants growing abundantly all over roadsides, cities, and in your own backyard; this coincides perfectly with alternative medicine and natural healing reaching into every facet of our lives. These plants have numerous medicinal uses that people have largely forgotten. Once valued and widely used, they’ve fallen out of fashion over time as they were bypassed by commercial medicine. A companion to the team’s previous book, Backyard Medicine for All will focus largely on medicinal plants that grow by roads or paths in the countryside or in the city. These nearby but often overlooked ecosystems are significant wild plant communities! This new book is packed with practical information on how to use fifty forgotten plants to cure all sorts of common ailments. Each chapter has an introductory section that puts the plant(s) into historical and botanical context, and its forgotten or traditional medicinal uses, as well as featuring current medicinal applications. Make your own herbal medicines to cure complaints from hayfever to headaches to insomnia. Clear, easy instructions and stunning photographs will guide you to leave the armchair and go out to utilize backyard medicine yourself!