Naturopathic Medicine Guides
Healthy Healing: A Guide to Self-Healing for Everyone, by Linda Rector-Page, N.D., Ph.D. This book is, in my opinion, the best naturopathic (or nutrient-based healing) medical book available. This is the latest 11th edition, published in March 2000. Click here to see the book's table of contents. (See also Cooking for Healthy Healing and How To Be Your Own Herbal Pharmacist.) Reviewed by Amazon.com.
Prescription for Nutritional Healing: A Practical A-Z Reference to Drug-Free Remedies Using Vitamins, Minerals, Herbs, and Food Supplements, Third Edition, by James F. Balch, M.D. and Phyllis A. Balch, C.N.C. Third edition, published in Oct. 2000. Reviewed by Amazon.com.
Encyclopedia of Natural Medicine, by Michael T. Murray, N.D. and Joseph E. Pizzorno, N.D. Revised 2nd edition, published in 1998. 946 pages. This book provides a more detailed overview of over 70 medical problems and their treatment by naturopathic medicine than the first 2 overall guides, which cover more conditions is less depth. Reviewed by Amazon.com.
Get Healthy Now! With Gary Null: A Complete Guide to Prevention, Treatment and Healthy Living!, by Gary Null, and edited by Amy McDonald. 1,088 pages. Published in 1999. Gary Null's accumulated knowledge about healing using nutritional supplements and naturopathic medicine. Reviewed by Amazon.com. Gary Null has his own website, GaryNull.com.
I would personally purchase at least one of the first 3 books to start my naturopathic medicine or nutritional healing library before purchasing any of the following books.
Specific Naturopathic Medical Info
Natural Energy Boosters, by Carlson Wade. Provides plenty of information on how you can increase your energy level. Reviewed by Amazon.com.
The Supplement Shopper: Alternative Medicine Guide to Supplements, by Gregory Pouls, D.C., and Maile Pouls, Ph.D., with Burton Goldberg. Published in 1999. A 507-page guide to the nutritional supplements you can use to treat over 50 different health conditions using naturopathic medicine. Reviewed by Amazon.com.
A Holistic Protocol for the Immune System: HIV/ARC/AIDS: Candidiasis, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, Herpes, and Other Opportunistic Infections, by Scott J. Gregory, O.M.D. This book lists and describes many natural medicines you can use to boost your immune system to overcome illness.
Books by Licensed Doctors
While authors don't need to be licensed doctors to write good-quality books on naturopathic medicine, here are some good-quality books on naturopathic medicine that are written by licensed physicians.
Encyclopedia of Natural Medicine, by Michael T. Murray, N.D. and Joseph E. Pizzorno, N.D. Revised 2nd edition, published in 1998. 946 pages. This book provides a more detailed overview of over 70 medical problems and their treatment by naturopathic medicine. Reviewed by Amazon.com.
Textbook of Natural Medicine (2 volume set), by Michael T. Murray, N.D. and Joseph E. Pizzorno, N.D. 200 chapters, 1766 pages. Revised 2nd edition, published in 1999. Very expensive, very thorough. Reviewed by Amazon.com.
Publisher out of stock in Nov. 2000.
Stress, Anxiety, and Insomnia: How You Can Benefit from Diet, Vitamins, Minerals, Herbs, Exercise, and Other Natural Methods (Getting Well Naturally), by Michael T. Murray, N.D. Reviewed by Amazon.com.
5-HTP: The Natural Way to Overcome Depression, Obesity, and Insomnia, by Michael T. Murray, N.D. This book explains in detail how 5-HTP can increase your serotonin levels and your overall mental well-being. You can purchase 5-HTP online. According to Dr. Murray, "The level of serotonin present in your brain can have a tremendous impact on how you think, feel, and behave. Having an adequate supply produces what is sometimes called the "serotonin effect" -- a feeling of calmness, mild euphoria, and relaxation. Having too little serotonin can lead to the opposite direction -- feelings of depression, anxiety, and other problems associated with serotonin deficiency syndrome...". He further states that "Because low serotonin can result from the stress and strain of our modern way of living, and because its symptoms severely reduce the joy of life to such a tremendous degree for so many people, I consider serotonin deficiency syndrome to be one of the most widespread and debilitating medical problems of our time." Reviewed by Amazon.com.
Dr. Michael T. Murray's getting well naturally series includes books on:
Arthritis
Chronic Candidiasis
Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
Diabetes and Hypoglycemia
Menopause
Premenstrual Syndrome
Stress, Anxiety, and Insomnia Publisher out of stock in Nov. 2000.
Heart Disease and High Blood Pressure
Male Sexual Vitality Publisher out of stock in Nov. 2000.
Dr. Michael T. Murray's getting well naturally series includes books on Arthritis, Chronic Candidiasis, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, Diabetes and Hypoglycemia, Menopause, Premenstrual Syndrome, Stress, Anxiety, and Insomnia, Heart Disease and High Blood Pressure, and Male Sexual Vitality. While I have not had a chance to review each book, I was very impressed by the books in his series that I have read.
Dr. Whitaker's Guide to Natural Healing: America's Leading "Wellness Doctor" Shares His Secrets for Lifelong Health!, by Julian Whitaker, M.D. According to Dr. Whitaker, "Conventional physicians tend to overlook nutritional and natural remedies to health problems. Why? The simple answer is that there is little money to be made in the use of natural remedies, regardless of how beneficial they may be to patients.
Modern medicine is able to generate over a trillion dollars a year by prescribing patented drugs and costly, often dangerous, invasive diagnostic and surgical techniques. Because our current healthcare system focuses on treating disease rather than promoting wellness, many safer, more effective, and far less expensive natural therapies are often ignored."
His book is reviewed by Amazon.com. He has written a number of other books as well.
Optimal Wellness, by Ralph Golan, M.D. An informative book for anyone coping with chronic illness or poor health. Dr. Golan identifies and devotes a chapter to each of what he sees as the "10 common denominators of illness":
1. Nutritional deficiencies
2. Poor digestion and assimilation
3. The toxic bowel
4. The sluggish liver
5. Hypoglycemia
6. Adrenal exhaustion
7. Yeast overgrowth
8. Food allergies
9. Chemical hypersensitivity and environmental illness
10. Psychoneuroimmunology: The body-mind connection.
Reviewed by Amazon.com.
8 Weeks to Optimum Health, by Dr. Weil. You can also buy an abridged cassette tape edition [5% discount]. Reviewed by Amazon.com. Dr. Weil has his own website at drweil.com.
Vitamins and Minerals
Caution: While vitamins, minerals, and other nutritional supplements taken in an intelligent, informed manner can definitely improve your health, taking vitamins or nutritional supplements in an unintelligent or uninformed manner could possibly harm your health. If you are taking vitamins, please educate yourself. You can get a quick description of each vitamin and mineral in The Real Vitamin and Mineral Book: Using Supplements for Optimal Health [5% discount] and you can get a detailed description of each nutrient in Staying Healthy With Nutrition: The Complete Guide to Diet and Nutritional Medicine [5% discount]. Please be careful using herbs and herbal remedies, too. If you want to try using herbs, I recommend that you buy a books on herbs such as The Complete Illustrated Holistic Herbal: A Safe and Practical Guide to Making and Using Herbal Remedies so that you know what you're doing.
I would recommend starting out with a good multivitamin, but please shop carefully: different people have different nutritional needs and there are a wide variety of multivitamin formulas for sale. For example, some vitamins offer megadoses of the water-soluble B-vitamins, and some don't. Some offer relatively few nutrients while others offer a wide variety. I personally take Vitaline's Maximum Green Label Formula, which is hypoallergenic and contains no iron and no copper, but you may well choose a different brand. If you're trying to increase your zinc level, please be aware that copper counteracts this process. Also, women usually need iron supplements and men usually don't.
Please be aware that the optimal dose of vitamins, minerals, and herbs, etc. is different for each person, depending upon whether you're male or female, your age, your mineral and nutrient levels, your stress level, how healthy you are, any medical conditions you might have, and whether or not you are using nutritional supplements to help heal a particular medical condition or enhance a particular ability.
If you're using nutrients to help heal a particular medical condition, I suggest that you consult different sources for advice, weigh the advice, try the nutrients and/or herbs you've decided on, notice the results, and be open to modifying your treatment program.
Here are some good books you can use to educate yourself more on this health-enhancing topic:
Staying Healthy With Nutrition: The Complete Guide to Diet and Nutritional Medicine, by Elson M. Haas, M.D. 1,140 pages. This is the best book that I'm aware of on this topic.
Full-size
edition.
Pocketbook edition.The Real Vitamin and Mineral Book: Using Supplements for Optimal Health, by Shari Lieberman and Nancy Bruning. Also available in a less expensive pocketbook edition. This book offers an "Optimal Daily Allowance" (ODA) for the major vitamins and minerals, which is usually higher than the minimum "Recommended Daily Allowance" (RDA) provided by the government. It also describes each vitamin and mineral and includes scientific reference abstracts for each vitamin and mineral. Second edition, published in March 1997 and March 1998.
Earl Mindell's Vitamin Bible, by Earl Mindell. Reviewed by Amazon.com.
The Doctors' Vitamin and Mineral Encyclopedia, by Sheldon Saul Hendler, M.D., Ph.D. Reviewed by Amazon.com.
Amino Acids
The Healing Nutrients Within: Facts, Findings and New Research on Amino Acids, by Eric R. Braverman, M.D., and Carl C. Pfeiffer, M.D., Ph.D. Second edition, published in 1997. Amino acids, the natural building blocks of protein, can have drug-like effects when taken in capsule form. For example, some doctors have recommended using the amino acid GABA as a substitute for valium. This book is the most scientific and scholarly analysis of amino acids from a potential consumer's viewpoint that I'm aware of.
Enzymes
Enzymes and Enzyme Therapy: How to Jump Start Your Way to Lifelong Good Health, by Anthony J. Cichoke. Second edition. Published in April 2000.
The Complete Book of Enzyme Therapy, by Anthony J. Cichoke. Published in 1999. Reviewed by Amazon.com.
The Enzyme Cure: How Plant Enzymes Can Help You Relieve 36 Health Problems, by Lita Lee, Ph.D., Lisa Turner, and Burton Goldberg. Published in 1998. Dr. Lita Lee uses Thera-zyme enzyme formulas to heal people. This book explains her enzyme treatment strategies for 36 health conditions.
Note: live foods and juicing are good natural sources of enzymes.
Herbs
The Complete Illustrated Holistic Herbal: A Safe and Practical Guide to Making and Using Herbal Remedies, by David Hoffmann. This is the best affordable book that I'm aware of on herbal medicine. Reviewed by Amazon.com.
How To Be Your Own Herbal Pharmacist, by Linda Rector-Page, N.D., Ph.D. Click here to see the book's table of contents. If you like Linda Rector Page's other books, Healthy Healing or Cooking for Healthy Healing, you may want to use her book on herbal healing as well. Reviewed by Amazon.com.
Smart Drugs
Brain Boosters: Food and Drugs That Make You Smarter, by Beverly Potter and Sebastian Orfali. Reviewed by Amazon.com.
Smart Drugs and Nutrients: How to Improve Your Memory and Increase Your Intelligence Using the Latest Discoveries in Neuroscience, by Ward Dean, M.D. and John Morgenthaler.
Smart Drugs II: The Next Generation: New Drugs and Nutrients to Improve Your Memory and Increase Your Intelligence, by Ward Dean, M.D., John Morgenthaler, and Steven Wm. Fowkes. Reviewed by Amazon.com.
Mind Food and Smart Pills: A Sourcebook for the Vitamins, Herbs, and Drugs That Can Increase Intelligence, Improve Memory, and Prevent Brain Aging, by Ross Pelton, R.Ph., Ph.D. and Taffy Clarke Pelton. Reviewed by Amazon.com.
- See also alternative medicine. -