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ISBN: Print 978-1-64739-903-0 | eBook 978-1-64739-904-7
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I dedicate this book to my loving family, who have always supported me, and continue to support me in all of my endeavors.
Contents
My love for botanical medicine started when I was in medical school and has only grown from there. The more I have used herbs, the more awed I have been by their range of usefulness and the beauty of their healing abilities.
As a naturopathic doctor, I frequently hear unfortunate stories from patients who havent been supported by conventional medicine. These stories break my heart. Whether its being told that there are no treatment options, that a lifetime of pharmaceuticals is the only answer, or that herbs and supplements dont work (by medical doctors who havent been trained in or looked deeply at plant-based medicine), patients are left feeling discouraged, defeated, powerless, and without options. I hope this book can help change that paradigm of medical thinking and serve as a testament that there are many safe and effective natural treatment options for various conditions.
Vis medicatrix naturae means the healing power of nature and is a foundational concept within naturopathic medicine. Naturopathic doctors believe our bodies have incredible healing abilities, and that plant-based medicine works powerfully with the body to promote that healing. My biggest goals with this book are to increase awareness of natural treatment options and help educate and empower readers to be their own health-care advocates.
Unlike conventional medications, medicinal plants and fungi perform multiple therapeutic actions on the body. Most botanical medicines are much safer than pharmaceuticals, featuring far fewer side effects, and can also be specially formulated to each individual. There are many different classifications of botanicals based upon their actions. Among all of them, I believe the adaptogens are the most important.
Adaptogens can be thought of as herbal armor because of their ability to protect our bodies from various modern stressors, including emotional stress, environmental toxins, and infectious diseases. Supporting the detoxification pathways, immune system, hormone system, nervous system, and more, adaptogens help the body manage and recover from a range of challenges.
In my clinical practice, I have used adaptogenic herbs more than any other type of herb because of their wide range of physiological effects on the body and their ability to modulate the stress response. Excessive stress is a common obstacle to cure in my patients. Removing those stressors and modulating that stress response has been essential to their healing.
Adaptogenic herbs, when used correctly alongside a healthy diet and lifestyle, can support your vitality, resilience, and innate healing mechanisms.
This book is your ultimate resource on how to use adaptogens to heal, invigorate, and stress-proof your mind and body.
*Note: This book offers guidelines to the consumer on how to effectively use adaptogens to support their health. The information in this book is not intended to replace medical care from a physician.
It is recommended to read this book in its entirety from beginning to end. As tempting as it is to just dive in and start using these miraculous herbs, to get the most value out of their use, it is important to first gain a fundamental understanding of what adaptogens are and how they work in the body. This book will give you foundational knowledge about adaptogens and their history and then guide you to use them yourself to restore balance and resilience to your body.
We will discuss each adaptogen in detail, as each one has unique healing properties and many work most effectively when consumed with other remedies. Understanding these differences will help you determine which adaptogens may be of most benefit to you personally and how to effectively use them to achieve and maintain your own health goals.
Before we profile each adaptogen, we will lay the groundwork of what an adaptogen is by discussing in great detail what qualities make a plant an adaptogen and how this definition originally came about. We will explore some of the first spiritual, mythical, and medicinal uses of these plants and fungi, as well as how they are used today.
