A Doctor's Guide to Herbs and Supplements

By Timothy Gower and Robert DiPaola

A scientific yet accessible guide to herbs, vitamins and minerals, co-written by a physician whose herbal therapy study was published in The New England Journal of Medicine What was once considered alternative medicine has made its way into the mainstream; half of all Americans have tried some from of complementary medicine, and more than $15 billion is spent annually on natural remedies. It is no surprise, then, that there's a tremendous amount of misinformation on the subject, leaving consumers searching for a solid and reliable book. A Doctors Guide to Herbs and Supplements is that book, providing readers with the scientifically documented facts they need to make informed decisions about taking herbs and supplemnents. Based on up-to-date medical research, this comprehensive guide explains what these compounds are and demystifies how they do-or don't- work. At the heart of the book are A to Z entries for the 100 most commonly used medicinal herbs and nutritional supplements. Each entry details what the herb or supplement is, if and how it works, who shouldn't use it, and how it may interact with other medications. Focusing on consumer safety, Dr. DiPaola offers a checklist of questions anyone should ask before using a medicinal herb, including: *Am I currently taking a prescription medication?*Do I have any underlying medical conditions?*What does this label tell me? And what doesn't it say? An invaluable reference, A Doctors Guide to Herbs and Supplements is the ideal choice for the busy consumer looking for a concise, user-friendly book about the most commonly used natural remedies and revitalizers.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0805066659
• ISBN13: 9780805066654
• Release Date: September 2001
• Publisher: Owl Books (NY)
• Length: 243 Pages
• Weight: 0.70 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 6.2" x 9.2"

Customer Reviews

To Herb or Not To Herb.....That is the question.

I just bought this book (6/2004) and finished scanning it, as well as looking up some information for a patient of mine. Even though this book was published 4 years ago, it is still very up-to-date, with the exception of reference to HRT, which train of thought was dramatically changed after the WHI study results! This book is easy to read and has at-a-glance reference to help deal with those hard-to-answer herbal questions...

Evidenced Based Medicine

Dr. DiPaola points out two of the downfall of herbal or complimentary / alternative medicines (CAM's). (1) This book directly points out the fact that few quality studies have been performed to conclusively determine that such supplement are both safe and effective. Most studies probably do no more then create another question to be studied. (2) Indirectly, this book shouts the need to begin quality studies in this area...

Overview

As noted in the prior reviews, this bookhelps the consumer understand what a real solid scientificstudy consists of (in the introduction) and what solid scientific studies say about these products, as told froma physician who both cares for patients medically and performssolid research, published in the best journals. The only thing worse then selling, or even prescribing, an herbal product without a scientific study to back...

Finally, a scientific look at alternative medicine

When it comes to herbs and supplements, there is so much hype out there--I never know what to believe. But this book looks at herbs and supplements from the medical standpoint, telling whether scientific evidence backs up the hype. It's great to find a comprehensive, well-written, easy-to-consult book to help me decide which products to use and which I shouldn't bother with, either because they're useless or dangerous. A must...