Product Description

For more than ten years, people interested in alternative healing and preventive therapies have relied upon this invaluable reference as a guide to improve health through nutrition and supplementation. Now, completely updated and over one-third revised, this third edition of Prescription for Nutritional Healing incorporates the latest information on nutritional supplements, herbal remedies, and their health-promoting effects on hundreds of disorders and diseases.

This book's unique format and accessible style are instantly recognizable. Part One lists and explains the various types of nutrients, natural food supplements, and herbs found in health-food and drugstores; Part Two describes more than 250 common disorders, from acne to yeast infection, arranged conveniently in alphabetical order, and names the supplements that can be used to combat the conditions; Part Three is a guide to alternative remedies and therapies that can be used in conjunction with a nutritional program. In addition, self-diagnostic tests throughout the book offer in-depth coverage of a wide variety of topics.

Updates to this third edition include:
Discussions of newer supplements, including SAMe, MSM, pregnenolone, red yeast rice, inositol hexaphosphate (IP6), colostrum, and emu oil.
Latest research on lesser-known herbal remedies such as cat's claw, saw palmetto, black cohosh, hyssop, boneset, eyebright, squawvine, and Chinese and Ayurvedic herbs.
New information and theories on cancer, chronic fatigue syndrome, fibromyalgia, endometriosis, Alzheimer's disease, osteoporosis, irritable bowel syndrome, and a host of other chronic diseases currently receiving increased attention from doctors and researchers.

Whether readers are looking for relief from a particular ailment or simply wish to maintain optimum health, this book quickly and easily provides an abundance of information to design a complete nutritional program. The one book that instantly creates a complete health section, Prescription for Nutritional Healing is the standard to which all other books in the category are held.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #129979 in Books
• Brand: BKO
• Published on: 2000-10-23
• Released on: 2000-10-19
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Dimensions: .60 pounds
• Binding: Paperback
• 784 pages

From Library Journal
Written by a medical doctor and a certified nutritional consultant, this comprehensive guide to nutritional, herbal, and complementary therapies discusses natural healing programs for some 300 health conditions. Arranged in alphabetical order, it's a useful ready-reference tool, although it could have benefited from a good bibliography.
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review
This second edition has been expanded to reflect the latest research on drug-free remedies in the field of nutrition: as such it provides an excellent assessment and review of herbal tinctures and diets. From high blood pressure remedies to handling infections, this is packed with practical advice. -- Midwest Book Review

About the Author
Phyllis A. Balch, C.N.C., has been a leading nutritional consultant for more than twenty years. She continues to study nutrition-based therapies, procedures, and treatments in the United States and abroad.
James F. Balch, M.D., is a member of the American Medical Association and a fellow of the American College of Surgeons. He is the author of numerous books, including Ten Natural Remedies That Can Save Your Life.

Customer Reviews

Comprehensive
With over five million copies sold, this book is one of the most read texts on nutritional health. I say "text" because it measures in at a good inch and three-quarters thick. Written by a certified nutritionist and a bona-fide MD, it is neatly divided up into three parts.

Part I, a quarter-inch thick discusses the basic principles of health and nutrition. This section lists and explains the various kinds of nutrients and food supplements.

Part II, by far the biggest section of the book measuring in at an inch and a quarter, provides the reader with an A-Z listing of many common disorders (such as backache or diabetes) and what you can do about them from a nutritional point of view.

The book ends with Part III, the last quarter-inch of the book, which is devoted to traditional therapies and conventional treatments that can be used along with a nutritional support. Here you'll find info on treatments such as chiropractic, massage therapy, color therapy, and so on.

I have to say, I was pretty impressed with the amount of info contained in this book and I can definitely recommend it to anyone who is looking for a good nutritional reference book to put on their shelf when questions arise. Additionally, is also might give readers ideas of other types of therapies they could try for various medical problems. Other health titles I can recommend also include The 5-Minute Plantar Fasciitis Solution for people who have trouble with chronic plantar fasciitis.

Be careful, and do your own research before following some of these prescriptions
This is an excellent book in that it contains, in one place, an enormous amount of information about supplements and their use in treating various medical conditions. It also goes through all of the vitamins and minerals, amino acids, digestive enzymes, herbs, etc., explaining their function.

But do your own homework after consulting this book. Under AIDS, St. John's Wort is noted as containing "two substances, hypericin and pseudohypericin, that inhibit retroviral infections and could be useful in the treatment of AIDS." This is bad advice, because one of the most widely known herbal/drug interactions--and widely known since about 1997--is that St. John's Wort and protease inhibitors don't mix. This might actually be THE most widely known and infamous interaction. If you're a person living with HIV/AIDS, and you're taking a protease inhibitor, you should not take St. John's Wort UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES. It is proven fact that St. John's Wort decreases the levels of the PIs in your blood, making them less effective. Meaning that if you have AIDS, are taking a protease inhibitor and St. John's Wort, you could very well be shortening your life expectancy. This is serious stuff, and not to be taken lightly.

Glutathione is also mentioned throughout this book. When introduced, the book does say that "the effectiveness of oral formulas [of glutathione] is questionable. To raise glutathione levels, it is better to supply the body with the raw materials it uses to make this compound: cysteine, glutamic acid...glycine...and N-acetylcysteine". But when this is recommended for use in "The Disorders" section of the book, little mention is made of the ineffectiveness of oral glutathione, and indeed recommends specific amounts of glutathione one should take.

Let me be clearer than this book has been: oral glutathione is worthless. If you're using it, you're not getting any benefit, and the companies that sell oral glutathione know this well. It's frustrating to see reputable companies produce a product just to make money when they know *for a fact* that it has zero benefit. If they really wanted to make money, they should instead put sugar pills in the glutathione bottles. That would be cost-effective! Interestingly enough, my partner is in pharmacy school and they just had a lecture on glutathione yesterday. I won't try to translate the medical techy stuff, but the gist of it is this: it won't be absorbed by the cells.

So why does this book recommend glutathione (by itself, with no disclaimer) throughout? That's a good question, and I'd love to know the answer.

Still, the book has its uses. As I noted, nowhere else will you find such a wealth of information in one place, and so easily accessible and understood. Just be prepared to do your homework.

Prescription for Nutritional Healing
I am amazed at the information available in this book. I have given copies to anyone interested in learning how to improve their overall health and well-being. This is my "Go to" book. I highly recommend this book to anyone truely interested in making positive changes in their life.