The Healing Power of Rainforest Herbs A Guide to Understanding and Using Herbal Medicinals Leslie Taylor, ND

ISBN: 0-7570-0144-0 Length: 528 Pages Size: 7.5 X 9-inch 2-color Throughout Format: Quality Paperback Category: Health / Herbs Price: $23.95 Availability: In Print   Contents Reviews

Rainforests contain an amazing abundance of plant life--just two and a half acres of the Amazon rainforest are believed to house approximately 900 tons of botanicals. What's most exciting is that scientists and researchers have only just begun to uncover the medicinal qualities of these plants--treasures of nature that offer new approaches to health and healing. The Healing Power of Rainforest Herbs is a valuable guide to these herbs and their uses.

Detailing more than fifty rainforest botanicals, The Healing Power of Rainforest Herbs is the result of years of extensive research by naturopath Leslie Taylor. In it, she explains the medicinal properties of each herb and the natural chemicals involved, as well as preparation instructions. The author has also included the history of the herbs' use by indigenous peoples, and their current usage by natural health practitioners throughout the world. Helpful tables provide a quick guide for choosing the most useful botanicals for specific ailments. Illustrations of plants and recipes for herbal remedies complete the wealth of information found in this resource.

The Healing Power of Rainforest Herbs is a unique book that offers a blend of ancient and modern knowledge in an accessible reference guide. It incorporates the healing practices of shamans with scientific research for anyone seeking to discover the medicinal secrets of the rainforest.

Leslie Taylor, ND. Alternative and herbal medicinal therapies enabled Leslie Taylor to survive a rare form of leukemia. A practicing herbalist and naturopath, Dr. Taylor has been researching, studying, and documenting herbal medicine for almost twenty years. She is the founder of The Raintree Group, a company dedicated to making rainforest botanicals available while preserving the rainforests from destruction. Dr. Taylor lectures and teaches classes worldwide in naturopathic medicine, herbal medicine, ethnobotany, and environmental and sustainability issues.

Contents

Introduction

How to Use This Book

1. Rainforest Destruction and Survival

Part One Rainforest Herbal Primer
2. Differences and Similarities of Drugs and Medicinal Plants
3. Methods of Preparing Herbal Remedies
4. Rainforest Remedies and Recipes

Part Two Quick Guides to Medicinal Plants of the Amazon
5. Properties and Actions of Rainforest Plants
6. Herbal Treatment of Specific Diseases and Disorders
7. Plant Data Summary

Part Three Medicinal Plants of the Amazon
(alphabetical listing)

Conclusion

Rainforest Resources

References for Part Three

Index

Reviews

Taylor, a cancer survivor, certified natureopath, creator of the online Tropical Plant database, and founder of the Raintree Group (which makes sustainably harvested rainforest products), has written a topnotch resource on herbal medicines. After introducing readers to rainforest environments, methods of plant preparation, and herbal recipes for common ailments, she devotes the bulk of the text to detailing approximately 75 plants, describing scientific and common names, dosage and preparation methods, traditional and current usage, chemical composition, clinical research, and contraindication/interactions.
Particularly interesting are the tables of "Worldwide Ethnomedical Uses" for each herb, comparing usage in various regions of the world. Research citations, product/organization resources, and an index support the text. Taylor does represent an organization selling rainforest products, but she in no way promotes this fact (other than listing it in the "Resources" section). In fact, the Raintree web site notes its philosophy of placing plant information in the public domain before pharmaceutical industry patents override indigenous interests.
Highly recommended for public libraries, some academic settings, and consumer health collections.

--Andy Wickens, King Cty. Lib. Syst., WA

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