Melanie St. Ours - The Simple Guide to Natural Health: From Apple Cider Vinegar Tonics to Coconut Oil Body Balm, 150+ Home Remedies for Health and Healing

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For Lelia and Dolores

All of the knowledge in this volume has made its way to me through long lineages of tradition spanning at least three continents. To the countless generations of healers and teachers who developed and carried this knowledge for centuries: I remember you with deep gratitude. To Michael and Lesley Tierra, Susan Kramer, Heidi Lindemann and Michael Perry, Christine Lynn, Andrea J. Lee, and all of the teachers and writers whove lit the way for me: thank you. To my clients, students, and community: thank you for being my best teachers of all. Thanks to Julia Jacques, Katie Corcoran Lytle, and the team at Adams Media for making all of this possible. To Ali, Adam, Whitney, and Sara: your help on the manuscript alone would be enough reason to thank you, but you know my love and gratitude dont stop there. Thank you for everything. Special thanks to everyone on the recipe-testing team: Kyoko Bristow, Lisa Mitchell, Carrie James, Kayla Mollet, Anna Keefe, Helen Kinsel, Claire Murphy, Morgan Hodge, Kim Pence, Barbara Elder, Christine Hendrix, Michelle Bobrow, Jessica Grossman, Shannon Mulligan, and Kaitlin Brown. I couldnt have done this without you. Thank you, always, to my family and my ancestors. May my efforts prove worthy of the love youve given and the sacrifices youve made on my behalf.

After six years of clinical practice and many more years of study, my trust in the power of herbal medicine is unshakeable. Herbs arent miracle cures, but they do happen to be perfectly suited to complement some of the weaknesses of the conventional medical system. Week after week, my clients bring me all manner of physical and emotional woes that conventional medicine has been unwilling or unable to resolve. And month after month, I watch almost all of my clients get better. This high success rate isnt the result of some special talent of mine; its made possible by the sophisticated understanding of health and disease that constitutes Traditional Chinese Medicine and guides my practice. Its normal for our bodies to heal when theyre freed from underlying imbalances and supported with a healthy lifestyle. While it takes many years of study to know how (and when not ) to use herbs to intervene in complex health challenges, the everyday practices that can sustain your health are accessible. This book is all you need to get started.

My sincere wish for you, dear reader, is already within your grasp. I want you to experience the relief, pleasure, and support that herbal medicine has to offer. Thats why Ive set up this book so that youll use it, not just read it. Your own direct experience will be your best teacher. Try the remedies. Notice the scents, the subtle shifts in sensation, the way each one makes you feel as you taste it. Trust yourself. If you do, it wont be long before you come to rely on Natures healing gifts. And once that happens, dont be surprised if in addition to renewed vitality, you find yourself filled with a new sense of gratitude for this beautiful Earth we call home.

Natural medicine works. Our thrifty, creative, no-nonsense ancestors relied on herbal remedies that offer just as many benefits today as ever. The Simple Guide to Natural Health teaches a modern version of these time-tested healing traditions and makes it easy to start using medicinal plants, healing foods, and everyday ingredients to help yourself and your loved ones thrive.

The pages of this book contain step-by-step instructions for more than 150 homemade remedies designed to be effective, economical, and easy to prepare. Each chapter focuses on one of your bodys major systems and features two kinds of recipes: remedies that relieve common complaints so you can bounce back after an illness, injury, or imbalance; and tonics (including health-supporting foods) you can enjoy regularly to nourish, strengthen, and revitalize your body.

If youve been using natural remedies for years, this book will inspire you with novel ways to use familiar ingredients. The recipes can even serve as templates you can customize to develop personalized formulas for yourself and your loved ones. Or, if youre just getting started, you can rely on this definitive guide to take the guesswork out of the learning process. With this book in hand, you have all the information you need to confidently choose, purchase, and store health-promoting ingredients; understand their benefits; use them safely; and turn them into teas, tinctures, balms, and salves. Before long, youll be enjoying creations that will transform your home into a sweet-smelling sanctuary; pamper every inch of your skin; sneak powerful antioxidants into your meals; and relieve all kinds of everyday issues, from insomnia to menstrual cramps. Lets get started!

You belong to Nature. Even amidst the noise and scramble of your busiest days, you are always being held and sustained by the Earthjust like every other creature on this planet. No matter what you eat, how you beautify your skin and hair, or what medicines you reach for when youre suffering, you remain a child of Nature endowed with the right to receive her healing gifts. This book will show you how good it feels to know that you can lean on herbal preparations, healing foods, and natural remedies whenever you need support.

Theres a profound feeling of gratitude that comes from realizing just how abundant Natures gifts really are, yet the day-to-day experience of making and using remedies is entirely practical. Theres a reason for each ingredient and a rationale behind every step. Once you understand a few basic principles of herbalism, youll be ready to shop for ingredients, try your hand at the recipes, and experience the power of natural medicine firsthand. This chapter will give you insight into some of the special properties of herbs, the guiding principles behind natural healing techniques, and how to use natural remedies safely (and when not to use them at all).

Traditional Chinese Medicine teaches that one way to understand the nature of illness is to picture it as a tree with many branches and a deep root system. The branches represent the various symptoms that cause a sick person to suffer while the root system is the underlying pattern of imbalance that feeds those branches to keep them alive. Cutting off a branch is analogous to treating a symptom; it might bring temporary relief, but it doesnt cure the problem. As long as the root system remains intact, the illness will find new ways to express itself. Unless you uproot the underlying imbalance, it will be only a matter of time before symptoms return.