Out of the Earth

📖 The Scoop

Out of the Earth is indispensable to the practitioner of herbal medicine and of literally vital interest to the layman. In an age when chemical and industrial solution to the problems of healing both the earth and individuals are rapidly being seen to have little validity, Out of the Earth provides a textbook of herbal medicine for modern Western culture. Herbalism is presented as valuable not merely because it is traditional: the book also takes the best of modern medicine and incorporates these two elements into a synthesis which is both philosophically and practically sound. The book is firmly rooted in ancient and medieval herbal lore, from all around the world; and yet the author understands and is not afraid to make use of the best principles of modern scientific medicine. Readers will learn not only about the history and philosophy of herbalism; they will also find the clearest possible account of human physiology, so that the effects of herbs on the human body are set in a lucid and modern context. Simon Mills describes traditional herbal pathology and therapeutics, and also suggests up-to-date research methods to validate herbalism so that it can take its rightful place among the medical sciences. For practising herbalist and lay reader alike, the detailed pharmacology, based on the author's own extensive research and experience, will be of crucial interest: the active constituents of the plants are described, and how these constituents are absorbed by the human body is explained in full. The lengthy materia medica contains thorough analyses of some sixty key herbs, with descriptions of their appearance and habitats; what parts of the plants are to be used for what medicalpurposes; and how to prepare the plants. The book ends with a symptomatic index, which will help to ensure that it remains the standard book on the subject for many years.

Genre: Health & Fitness / General (fancy, right?)