Naturopathy Books

This book is a straight-talking, often eye-opening account of cancer. A terrifying diagnosis to anyone--this book offers hope and quite literally-food for thought. The book describes in depth exactly what cancer is, why the patient is frustrated having to rely purely on MD's for their information, how to combat it--or at least how to arm yourself to do battle and some theories that are totally contrary to most of the accepted beliefs held by most of today's medical professionals. Not a proponent of chemotherapy by far, Dr. Jack Ferber, a dentist, provides information in the book that at the very least is thought-provoking...and his nutritional counceling may well be worth heeding.

"What Is Toxemia" opened my eyes to my true health picture and what I was doing wrong. According to Dr. Tilden, chronic degenerative diseases are merely symptons of toxic waste products , retained in the blood, causing a crisis (disease). John H. Tilden was a man ahead of his time.

"What Is Toxemia" has been a great help to me personally with my fibromyalgia condition. I want to regain and maintain my health without the use of medication. This book points the way!!

I was extremely disappointed with this book. I paid good money to get what the Infomercial said were lots of secrets for natural cures for just about everything under the sun. Instead, what this book offers is website addresses and names of OTHER publications you should buy (pay even more money for) in order to find out the so-called secrets. In other instances - such as stopping smoking - the book tells you that in order to learn the "secret," you must log onto the author's website and become a "private" (paying) member and THEN, you can find out the secret. This book was a TOTAL WASTE OF MONEY AND TIME!!!

The book is terrible and contains little more than a conspiracy theory. Do not buy this book. Like he said, "I'm not a doctor, I'm just reporting." A lot of these "cures" are fairly well known anyways, even Wikipedia contains most of these "cures".

Shame on those who have panned this book! This book (and others like it) provide a great public service which has nothing to do with its stated (to educate the public) or real (to make more money for a con artist) purpose. Namely, it's a great way to determine if you are (1) a paranoid, and/or (2) lacking in basic intelligence. If you suspect that you (or someone you know) may fit into either (or both?) categories, but aren't sure, buy a copy of this book and read it / have the suspect of your choice read it. If after doing so (actually a chapter or two would suffice) the reader can't tell that the contents are obvious garbage, then the verdict is in! Anyone who has so little knowledge of basic logic, biology, medicine, and the scientific method that they can accept this drivel as fact has just identified themselves as a danger to themselves and others. They probably shouldn't be allowed to vote, have kids, handle sharp implements, or engage in any other activity that would allow them to endanger themselves or society at large. By all means buy a copy (or two ) today, use it as directed above and help identify the truly deficient lurking in our midst. Help stamp out cluelessness today.

Kevin Trudeau may well be as much all about the money as he blames the whole world, have crime records, and more. Yet, people still have to listen to him. Most people in America are very negligent about their obesity and diet despite the epidemics of cancer and more diseases. Everybody has known at least a person with a severe disease, such as diabetes, we all know that the canned and boxed food has chemical that one should never eat alone. But, as Kevin exposes, the power of advertisement, media (so called "liberal") and government has been able to blind our society with very typical lies such as "the food only has small amounts of chemicals, it's OK", "I'm only having minor pains", or the plain denial of obesity, the most typical of all. After all, the medical science has progressed a lot and our health insurance (for those who have it) will deal with any trouble as many think.

No, the medical science has not progressed that much. Walk around a cementary and you'll find plenty of peole who died before 50. The statistics claim we live longer than ever before and much more in favor of medicine, what you may not know is that you can cliam whatever with statistics. The amount of lies out there is so big that we have already bought most of them.

Modern medicine has focused mostly on pain killers, which makes it more appealing than ever before. Yet, it's still typical for many people going from doctor to doctor to tell them all their pains and problems just to be told to drink water, take it easy, pay their copay and take more painkillers, so they neglect their problem. The situation is just like Kevin said, suppose that whenever your car sends you a repair signal the mechanic only turns the signal off. That is what current medicine does. It's pathetic how people are more caring with their cars than with themselves.

Most reviewers dismiss Kevin's challenges, such as drinking a full cup of artificial flavors or colors as gross and unrealistic because we simply dispose all those chemical over time. Never wonder how we can dispose all those chemical when water consumption is dismissal? No, those chemical stay in our bodies, especially in the fatty tissues, which makes far more difficult to expel. People truly drink at least a full cup a poisonous chemicals.

Most of Kevin's remedies are not practical or cheap at all, yet he is the single one who has been able to shake me and wake me up from my negligence and made me eat vegetable salads for supper, go organic and cut the meat. I never thought I could go enjoy a vegetable salad! And a salad with just a little organic dressing! Many other people do eat vegetables, but load them with fatty chemical dressing. "Low fat"? "Natural ingredients"? Read what Kevin says, and it's true. Changing my life and relieving me from minor pains that were starting to accumulate on my body was his remedy for me. Other than that, I haven't bought a single one of his products. I haven't even bother to visit his web site!

The fact that most reviewer do not stay on topic but bash his past or anything else and write very short and sloppy reviews make me think that corporations are behind many of those reviews. I am well aware that many people stand for corporation and this system that would always fire them at the slightest chance to outsource their jobs to China, but it's still puzzling to find so many. After all, only circa 30% of Americans admit being conservative, far less than the majority (circa 50%) who don't claim any preference. And just in case you wonder, no I'm not communist, I believe in common sense, more regulation, just like they do in Europe, and still a rich and industrious area. Which one is richer, Europe or America? I don't care; nobody can prove who is richer. They're both rich. Now, let's get back to topic. You still think it's insane paranoia to think on conspiracies, then why is it that when writing this review, this very web site, which should be foucused on selling, recommends tagging this book with marks such as "felon", "con man", etc. All of them, again, off the topic.

Kevin's writing can be scarier than a Stephen King's novel! No kidding! His book should be classified as pure terror, but in a new category, real terror, demonology and drama. The vampires and demons he talks about are real and far more lethal and evil than Voldemort. If this is a problem for you (no blame you), you can read Dr. Don Colbert's books instead.

And lastly, Kevin does provide a some literature to back up his claims, but most of it comes from daily experience that is available to anybody, all the things that we are seeing in public health, for example he exposes the medical corporation and colleges making huge fortunes to support research, publishing obscure articles to cover the fact that they are not solving anything for real. And he explains our system as well: it's all about the money. Suppose that the hospital and companies really cared for finding real cheap cures, they would lose so much!

I noticed that you can buy this book used from prices starting at one cent. I wouldn't pay that for it. Here is some of this joker's "advice" -
don't use sunscreen (they cause cancer; not the sun); don't use an electric clothes dryer; don't eat anything from a microwave oven; never drink tap water; don't eat from chain restaurants; don't eat anything that's pasteurized; don't drink beer or wine unless you have made it yourself. Right! Don't eat anything in a box, can, jar, or package!!!
Take a colon cleanser every day for 15 days; it you can't eat it, don't put it on your skin; don't eat anything with labels that say "fat free", "sugar free", or "low carbs". The stupidity just goes on and on and on. Oh, and I found this interesting - DON'T go to a psychiatrist or psychologist - DO dianetics/scientology. What a surprise! NOT!
As other reviewers have said, all of the "real" advice requires you to buy another book, or go to his web site, or subscribe to his newsletter. In fact, he has an entire chapter, called "The Solution" that involves nothing more than giving him more money.
My husband heard about this book on the radio and purchased it. Trust me, the paper it's printed on is worth more than this author's advice.
Amazon would not let me enter this review without giving it at least one star. I would give it none.

like the successor to this book "the maker's diet" this book assumes everyone has the same biological issues as the author. Mercola's book is better.

I paid 35 cents plus shipping and the book came like it is brand new condition. It is an outdated version but I had no intentions of paying the price for the updated one. Anyone living with chrohn's as myself should read it. I get the Chrohn's newsletters and keep up with anything that comes out for Chrohn's. Anyone with Chrohn's knows there is never enough information we can get on this dreadful disease. If anyone does purchase this book the author does have his own website. Do not hesitate to purchase used books from this company, there better than good in shipping and price on there books.

A good health resource covering an array of suggestions to help improve your health and quality of life.

My husband bought this book and is in the process of reading it now. He says its been great so far, very informative. He is a Crohn's patient and is considering trying these methods in order to reduce his daily steroid intake.
Would recommend this book. Received shipment quickly.

"Patient Heal Thyself" is the story of Jordan Rubin's recovery from Crohn's disease and how improving his diet played a role. It is a great guide to understanding how to attain better health. This book contains a lot of information on diet that is not mentioned in other books such as fermented foods and the good organisms found in soil. It is a good book to read to help bolster your knowledge of health and diet. I applaud the author on his writing achievement; however, I found it disturbing when he promotes his own company's supplements in this book.

"Patient Heal Thyself" is a good read and has much to teach, if you can get past the promotion for Jordan Rubin's products.

Author Lisa LeVan makes her book easy to read and understand. Lisa herself has had Psoriasis too, so the skin condition is not just a theory for her, she tested her recommendations on herself. I'm very glad that I purchased her book, I have found it very useful. It is obvious that Lisa is a very intelligent woman, but I believe she didn't write this book to prove to the world how smart she is or an ego booster, she wanted to be helpful. I hope Lisa will write more books on this subject.

I am writing this review in response to the negative reviews that this book has received. In response to the person who stated that this was unrealistic the reality is that we are living in a society that is all about making money. There are simple answers to many of our health care problems but that information has been suppressed over many years by the people who make billions of dollars off of keeping us sick the health care industry. The drug companies have complete control over everything the finance the universities who train our doctors & "Nutritionist" to follow a protocol not to think for them selves. And if they try to think for themselves and treat patients outside of the protocols that they have been given they risk having their license revoked. Most Americans have come so accustom to the propaganda that has been feed us by the American Medical Assn., the Food and Drug Administration and The U.S. Dept. Of Agriculture that any idea other than what we have been feed is wrong. Well most of us do not have a Medical License to worry about loosing but we do have our health and our lives so it is best to keep an open mind and remember that a lot of the medical advise we are given is not for our benefit but for a multibillion dollar Health Care Industry.

Finally, an easy to read and understand book that clearly explains what to do to get rid of psoriasis, how to do it, and why other methods commonly in use, such as lots of exposure to direct sunlight or UV light, are potentially very dangerous. Very practical and useful information. I would highly recommend it to anyone who has psoriasis or who has a friend or loved one with psoriasis. It is, as a friend of mine has said, "like a breath of fresh air".

I had terrible guttate psoriasis all over my entire body that morphed into plaqualar psoriasis--I suffered with it for six months, bad enough that I was bed-ridden. Even though I'd given up hope, someone bought me this book and I tried it. Using their diet "do's and don'ts" and supplement regimen (yes, it's like 60 vitamins a day. But when your body is crying out for help like that, severity is necessary). I was CLEARED...in three weeks. I almost wonder if the reason this is not known by all the world is because the insurance companies won't make money if everyone knew! Because, at least for me, this book really was a cure, and 4 years later, I've never had another outbreak. I combined this diet, by the way, with UV treatments (which had previously only helped temporarily).

Psoriasis is an inflammatory response. Your immune system is overactive. Helping to control it through diet is an essential part of succesful treatment. If you get that part out of this book, great. But the diet here is extreme as the nutritionist's review states. You're better off with a book on treating inflammation such as Floyd Chilton's "Inflammation Nation". Also, as for "it works for me", a day in the ocean does more good than any drug I've ever used. Sun and salt water are wonderfull, not to mention stress reducing. A win all the way around. Hope this helps some of you fellow sufferers.

I really liked this book, it told a lot about alternative health that openend my eyes. It is amazing how much more options are out there besides the "allopathic" approach.

Dr. Weil has always given good advice. Alot of it is common sense, which is in short supply nowadays.

I would like to comment on others that have said that Dr. Weil is against weight lifting. This is 100% untrue. He is not against weight lifting or strength training. He disagrees with bodybuilding to the extent that it's more about appearance than health. He states in his book that women who do weight-bearing exercises have better protection against calcium loss and osteoporosis and have increased metabolism.

There is no author/doctor that you should blindly follow. Do your own homework and use peoples' advice where it best fits your own situation. Read a variety of authors such as Dr. Weil, Gary Null and others. Learn about your own situation and what would be best for you to do. Sometimes natural health is the way to go and sometimes you need a conventional doctor. Even Dr. Weil will tell you that! :)

Not too long ago Mr. Weil appeared on a television show giving healthy eating tips. It was apparent that Mr.Weil was carrying lots of extra weight while the interviewers were trim. Wake up America, this guy is bogus. This book is especially riddled with bad advice. He totally denigrates any weight-lifting (crucial for women to elevate their metabolism and ensure healthy bone mass). He also advocates trimming your protein consumption to a bare minimum. Current wisdom is shifting to the value of good supplies of low-fat protein. Don't buy this book.

This book needs to be updated a little - last update was 1998/99. However, still good common sense advice. His approach is to tell you what he has found but he acknowledges that every BODY is different -- use his advice as a guideline to discover what really works for you. Good for someone suffering from "mystery diseases" or just fed up with the American Medical System.

I found Dr. Weil to be very uninformed on many topics. For instance, he says nobody, including bodybuilders, needs to supplement with protein. Apparently he hasn't read any studies in the last four decades.

He also calls fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue syndrome, and several other diseases "fashionable". (Weil's education taught him what to think rather than how to think.) He talks in a very demeaning manner about victims of these diseases, as if they are all simply crazy people who need mental help. It's unfortunate he used his book as an outlet for his ignorance and poor bedside manner. These diseases are very real and just because doctors like Mr. Weil cannot help sufferers of such diseases is no cause to let his monstrous ego get in the way. Fibromyalgia is still fibromyalgia--regardless what you want to call it.

He also talks about placebo effects with supplements. Again, he didn't do his homework. Placebo effects are always possible with any treatment or preventive measure. However, countless studies have shown the benefit of supplements. For a much more informed view from a real expert, read Lester Packer's books.

An outstanding set of books!!! This set of books is by far, the best set of natural healing books I've found. It was recommended to me by two traditional medical professionals and it has an amazing amount of current information. The first book provides detailed summaries of many natural herbs and supplements, healing therapies, tests you might not hear about from traditional medical doctors and many other ways to improve your health. The second book addresses specific health disorders and how to treat them. This has to be one of the best reference texts on this topic!!!

Much like the naturopathy school founded by one of the authors, this book LOOKS slick, professional and science based. But, a closer look reveals a lack of any real substance. Far too much emphasis is put on questionable diagnoses.Though the treament sections looks to be well referenced, many of the studies cited don't support the author's assertions and others are outright irrelevant! Many of the disease monographs recommend a shoppingbag full of supplements--Polypharmacy at its worst.

Also it should be kept in mind that the second author is a rep for a nutritional supplement company, a potential conflict of interest not noted in the text.

Poor works such as this one only serve to damage the reputation of natural/integrative medicine.


Choose David Rakel's "Integrative Medicine" for more reliable information at a fraction of the price.

i liked the book very much. i am a naturopath, and my studies have been based on the previous edition of the textbook. i use it still, years after i finished my studies. it's the only textbook for naturopathy, and it's getting better with every edition. and now it comes with the e-edition and updates....!!
i also love the integrative tendency of the text, and it's helpful to me in my work in a hospital.
still, of course, there are subjects that i'm missing in it, like the power of special foods, for example, or complete metabolism pathways. these things have to be completed from other books - which is also ok.
so, overall, i'm very pleased with the book, and continue to use it for my students now.

kira levy - naturopath

The third edition of the Textbook of Natural Medicine is an extraordinary accomplishment. This will be seen as the moment when natural medicine truly took its place at the forefront of modern healthcare.

Under the stewardship of Michael Murray and Joe Pizzorno, this edition provides guidance for practitioners and laypersons alike in the application of natural interventions in treating all manner of diseases and afflictions. As a naturopathic practitioner, I owe a debt of gratitude to Murray and Pizzorno, and to all of the contributors to this wonderful text. Such loving attention to the art and science of natural medicine must not go unrecognised.

Some have critcised previous editions for a lack of scientific rigour. If one is to refer to conventional medical texts from only a generation ago, they will find significant errors and outrageous claims. For a system of medicine with little-to-no corporate or government funding, naturopathy has performed extraordinarily well to achieve its current position - where the science exists, we detail it. Where it does not, we demand it. People must realise that in corporate, profit-driven healthcare, there are aspects of natural medicine that shall likely never be researched; this does not, however, invalidate them. Individuals must decide which is the most appropriate healthcare service for them...and then partake of it.

If you are a naturopathic clinician - I implore you...purchase this book. If you are a medico - invest in the future of medicine, and give yourself a head start among your colleagues. If you are a member of the public - buy this text, integrate it, and take charge of you and your family's health and destiny. Your wellness is your responsibility, and yours alone - the Textbook of Natural Medicine is here to help you realise that goal. A landmark publication for an age in desperate need of a more rational, more compassionate system of medicine.

I recently viewed the new chapter concerning 'naturopathic philosophy' [in the 3rd edition, 2005] within this text at the University of Bridgeport's library, as there's a naturopathic school there that I attended. The chapter discusses the premises of 'the naturopathic.' Do you really want to be treated by a physician who conflates (blends) supernatural, nonscientific, scientifically discarded, idealistic, metaphysical, religious and scientific information -- and presents the whole thing as [supposedly] scientific? [a misrepresentation: Kitzmiller et al. v. Dover Area School District anyone?]. Check out "The Epistemic Conflation of a School of Thought Claiming to be Scientific" and "Why I Dropped Out of Naturopathy School" - online per me, Rob Cullen. [THIS is future healthcare? I disagree, these prophets are truly 'facing backward']. I'm highly ethically disturbed by this text and naturopathy, still. I'll just make one point about this book's contention that complexity, self-regulation, and evolution indicate that life defies the laws of natural science {and is therefore supernatural} -- particularly the second law of thermodynamics, per physics, in terms of life as supposedly being antientropic as indicated by life's evolving complexity [p.081-082] -- therefore justifying, particularly, vitalism and its handmaiden teleology-finalism. [Beliefs essential to 'the naturopathic'; explanations no longer within science at all; rejected-knowledge in terms of the scientific].[Yes, evolution! Even though evolution is actually the culmination of 'methodological naturalism,' which is HOW science approaches phenomena, that is: SCIENCE DOES NOT INVOKE THE SUPERNATURAL {which includes ideas like naturopathy's vitalism, spiritism and kind}, science determines its contents based upon EMPIRICAL EVIDENCE, and exceptionally LEAN explanatory approaches {per parsimony: as in 'do not multiply entities needlessly'; that is, if not ascribed by the evidence, IT ISN'T A SCIENTIFIC EXPLANATION}]. Ah, HUGE problem. The second law deals with closed systems and life's context is within an open system, in terms of thermodynamics. [For the compliance of the 'living' with thermodynamic law, see Atwater & Rosa's work in 1897 which specifically speaks in terms of the first law {the Kinesiology Dept. of Rice University has a nice web page on biological thermodynamics}; and see 'Biological Thermodynamics' ISBN 0521795494 {p.321 specifically speaks in terms of the second law}]. UB says NDs practice "scientific medicine" and naturopathy is "health science." Hmmm, what kind of [supposed] science text gets something so simple WRONG? Naturopathy is a 'self-labeled science-based' area that won't let go of what has not been considered scientific [the supernatural, the metaphysical, the idealistic, the scientifically-refuted and -discarded -- and kind; i.e., the tenets of their doctrines] for several decades PLUS. This text reflects naturopathic 'epistemic mislabeling nonsense' [e.g. naturopathy's vitalism ("life force"), spiritism ("personal spiritual development; body, mind, spirit"), autoentheism ("god-power within"), teleology-finalism ('life force' as "intelligent, purposeful, goal-directed") and 'whatever else idealism'/ woo-woo AREN'T science-based (or even empirical phenomena, as in therefore 'not scienceable') -- but are falsely labeled as scientific by naturopathy anyway]. In reality, minimally, a mandatory, manipulatable, spiritual, 'underlying' {metaphysical, supernatural, idealistic and what-not} 'life force' {of many aliases} immediately responsible for states of health and disease is INSTEAD AN ARTICLE OF FAITH {aka a 'sectarian medicine' belief set}. Hmmm: "the most thoroughly researched and carefully referenced text on natural medicine has been revised to include the most up-to-date information...." It has been a couple of months since I read that chapter, and I'm still, honestly, LAUGHING OUT LOUD. Naturopathy is, essentially, a 'supernatural science' (an oxymoron; particularly, vital-force-spirit, spiritism, autoentheism, and teleology-finalism as "science-based" are arrived at through a radical unlimiting of the boundaries of 'the scientific'); while evidence from science doesn't support the supernatural / theistic, the metaphysical, or the idealistic; and vitalism and spiritism, in terms of physiological agency, are refuted biological hypotheses. -rc.

This is a great classic about the importance of clean water. Good for the average person. Though written well over 30 years ago, Paul Bragg already recognized the importance of clean water for everything from digestion to eyesight. However, the jury is out on his claims about distilled water being more important than water with natural minerals. A good easy read.

Received the book in just a couple of days and the book was in excellent condition. The information in this book is an eye opener. I could not put the book down. So much information!

You will never look at water in the same way after reading this book. It has helped change my life, along with all the
Bragg books

This book is full of information that is one of the following: plain wrong, stretching the truth (sometimes severely), highly controversial, implications of falsities, but occasionally you may happen upon a basic fact that scientists generally agree about. Those that actually want to look into the issue should seek out double-blind scientific studies, not books with advertisements for the author's products. It is a bit odd that there isn't a single formal reference to a single study anywhere in the book since there is such scientific gospel between the covers. A quote from the book that is typical of all the information inside - "The only scientific way to free the necessary quantities of fissionable Uranium 235, buried in the inert mass of its parent U-238, is to force uranium hexaflouride gas through many acres of porous barriers. The next part of the process gradually concentrates the elements, creating a deadly hazard from radiation. 'Hex' is what they named this vicious stuff." The author decides to mix fact and fiction by giving an impressive-sounding fact, and then adding something completely false. She proclaims that chemists call uranium hexaflouride gas "hex" because of the negative implications of the word (from the German hexe meaning witch). It must have slipped the author's mind that the prefix is not "hex", it is "hexa", a Greek word meaning six, ie hexagon, hexadecimal, etc. The word means that there are six atoms of flourine in one molecule of uranium hexaflouride. If the author did not know that (which I'm sure she did) she should not be writing this book. For the icing on the cake, she implies that flourine is inherently radioactive because it can assist making the atomic bomb. She must not have heard of the H-bomb, made with hydrogen, the same hydrogen that makes up 66% of water. I've only mentioned one instance, but anybody buying this book should only do so for a good joke, this book is full of them. People may be impressed people by scientific jargon, but please realize that there is no mandate that even scientists (much less people trying to sell a product or idea) have to be honest. Honest science is a very good thing, but nearly all the time the only message heard comes from those that have the money to put it forth, and that certainly isn't research facilities. Research before you believe.

The book ought to be called "Flouride, Calcium and Toxic Minerals" or something and not mention water on the front of the book since there are approximately 2-4 pages about water and how it works inside. Water is mentioned repeatedly in conjunction with so-called information about "inorganic minerals" which are blamed, together with but not separately from toxins in our waters, for many health problems; but very little about water on it's own. The Messages in the Water guy, Masaru Emoto, says the most healthy living water has evaporated, precipitated through clean air, filtered through clean earth and percolated back up through mineral rich earth's crust; yet this book claims only distilled water is naturally healthy. My common sense balks at the claim that steam distilled water is 'natural', for a start. This book is more sensational than informative. Not for the serious student of water, IMO. Also reads more like a magazine ad, if that's any consideration.

I echo R. Deal's review sentiments and have a few things to add:

1. Do the entire program with a partner at home! If your spouse or s.o. is eating pizza and Cheetos while you're eating raw veggies and drinking sprouted barley water, it's going to be hard.
2. It can be expensive. When I did the 21 day program, I spent over $400 on the list of things to get just to get started. However, that was eating for two replacing the normal food budget in addition to not eating out. Think big picture.
3. The first few days while my body was exorcising the toxins, I was a real grump and had a constant headache. Once I made it past that hurdle, I felt great. Once I finished the program, I felt amazing.
4. Don't use this as a weight loss method. One of the lamest reviews on this book, from hungrylady or whatever her name was, I believe was way off base. This is a cleansing program as well as a way to learn what foods do to your body and how you can make improvements in diet after the program is over.
5. Use the whole 21 day program if you have the time and are not traveling. Slow down, be methodical, be thoughtful and it will be a great experience.

I also recommend doing two colon-blows at your local colonic house. Once in the first week to help with the toxin evacuation and once at the end of the program. Talk about feeling cleansed.

This book outlines a diet that is a huge waste of time. The diet is impractical, the sections are poorly organized, the shopping lists are worthless (they omit many items needed for meals) and the premise of the whole process is based on pseudo-science and new age mumbo-jumbo. You'd be better off going on a strict, vegan, no protein, no carb diet for three weeks than trying to adhere to this crazy diet! The weight loss experienced by this diet would be due solely to the lower caloric intake and have nothing to do a some 'magical' combinations of 'problem foods' that you have avoided. Of course, my 'problem food' combination is a big mac, french fries and a milkshake -- so maybe it does help???

My wife and I have done this cleanse for five years now and will be soon starting for the sixth year. We do it in Jan/Feb every year as a way to recouperate from the holidays and kick-off the year feeling great. As others mention in their reviews, after only 21 days, I feel completely different, lighter (a by product of the cleanse is that you can lose significant weight - a lot of it is water weight which your body usually retains so it can "flush" out the toxins that comes from eating commerically packaged food so a portion of the weight loss comes from the fact that as your body sheds the water when all you eat are organic foods, drink filtered water and no garbage - alcohol, refined sugar, packaged foods, etc.), your skin truly does glow, more energy, and an all-around feeling of well-being. About 20 co-workers have incorporated this into their lives and many friends have also done it simply by seeing the effect it has on me (my wife and I don't really evangalize it among our friends/family). This is one of the only times I've talked the cleanse diet up in public. Yes it's a bit time consuming as you make most of the food from scratch but that's the whole point. For three weeks, you hit the pause button on your normal intake of food, and shift your daily consumption routines and get really aware and focused on what you put into your body. Really convienent food tends not to be very good for... which shouldn't be news to anybody. Those who are lazy and have no will power will not enjoy or complete this relatively short but highly effective regime.

This book outlines a diet that is a huge waste of time. The diet is impractical, the sections are poorly organized, the shopping lists are worthless (they omit many items needed for meals) and the premise of the whole process is based on pseudo-science and new age mumbo-jumbo. You'd be better off going on a strict, vegan, no protein, no carb diet for three weeks than trying to adhere to this crazy diet! The weight loss experienced by this diet would be due solely to the lower caloric intake and have nothing to do a some 'magical' combinations of 'problem foods' that you have avoided. Of course, my 'problem food' combination is a big mac, french fries and a milkshake -- so maybe it does help???

I've used this book's detox programme twice, once six years ago and once this month, September 2004. I've found it really effective. The first time I did it I felt great, plus I lost 16 pounds and 2 inches off my waist, and kept it there for 4 years! So I recently detoxed again because I do like cookies etc! It worked well again. I found the book's format was very readable, and the articles for each day were interesting. For the daily menus during the 21 day prgramme, I would have preferred it presented more in simple lists and tables, not so many wordy paragraphs. I had to search for the information and write up my own schedule and shopping lists. But that's not much work, and if you really want the detox to succeed, it's worth that effort. Very good; reccomended.

I use this book often.

Of course, acupuncture and herbs are very important.

However, trying to find and correct the underlying cause is what seperates a practioner from the "master".

Since I am no master, I take all the help I can!

I use this book to make diet recommendations/changes.

The stories of the individual herbs are FANTASTIC! Instead of memorizing "pingying", its far easier remembering the stories! (like the chinese do!)

I wish they had more stories of the individual herbs/foods, however its still a great book to use as a reference!

(Written by Monica)
I enjoy learning about alternative healing methods. I also like to impliment what I learn.
A lot of the things in this books are very interesting, but for me, were far from practical.

This book by Henry Lu is, by far, the most comprehensive to date. This book included a discussion on Chinese medical theory. For any practicioner of Chinese Medicine, these are wasted pages. For those unfamiliar with Chinese Medicine, this section may be helpful (though I would recommend other sources for a better discussion). I found Henry Lu's numberical weighting of symptoms to diagnose a condition to be confusing and ultimately not helpful. While I liked the section for specific ailments and their dietary recommendations, they are not organized in alphabetical order so that finding what you are looking for is very frustrating. The section on the stories behind the herbs is great and helps them stick in your mind - a nice resource for those who need to memorize the herbs for classes or practice. Overall, this book has a lot of great information that hasn't been presented before, but the poor organization really cuts into it's usefulness when picking it up off the shelf to quickly gather information. Definitely not a "handbook", but pretty good price for the information - if you are willing to pour through it.

As a student of TCM, I would argue that this book is in no way comprehensive, and shouldn't be looked at as a manual or a text book. Instead, we have an interesting read about some of the patterns, and the various dietary and herbal cures out there for them. I found the stories behind the herbs a real pleasure to read, and the food cures for disease patterns was fairly enlightening.

That said, this book will be virtually useless to a non-practitioner, and it certainly won't be replacing my Bensky or my Wiseman texts any time soon. It is acu-candy, pure and simple.

Although this book has a lot of good information, it will take you awhile to find what you need. It is poorly organized and sometimes wordy. While at first the books unique size and silky appearance are alluring, the book is heavy, does not fit well in my bookshelf and the shiny pages can make it difficult to read.