Michael Hallowell - Herbal Healing: A Practical Introduction to Medicinal Herbs

This book made available by the Internet Archive.

DEDICATED

To my wife Jackie and to my three sons Martyn-Daniel Simon-Peter and Aaron-James

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Without the help of the following individuals and organizations, this work could never have been completed. There are others whom 1 cannot mention, simply because to do so would require a separate volume in itself. To those mentioned here - and all those who are not - my deepest thanks.

The Science Department of the United States Embassy in London, for information regarding health organizations in the United States of America.

The staff of the Public Information Department of the Chinese Embassy in London, for their valuable advice concerning plant medicine research in the Peoples Republic of China, and also for taking the time to furnish me with names and addresses of various Chinese medical academies.

The staff at the Public Information Department of the Russian Embassy in London for information regarding Soviet research into alternative medical therapies.

Ian Hopkins, amateur, historian, for information concerning folk-medicine and scientific interest in herbal medicines in Eastern Europe.

Jack Ho Ph.D, DH, D.Hom., for writing the foreword to this book and reading through the final manuscript.

Graham Fleming and Catherine Wood for preparing the illustrations that accompany the text.

I am also deeply indebted to the following individuals and organizations who kindly supplied me with information regarding their aims and activities.

David Cummings, Secretary of The British Institute of Health

The Faculty of Herbal Medicine

The International College of Natural Health and Sciences

The Health Practitioners Association

T he Dominion Herbal College in Canada.

Occasionally, getting information about a particular herb or herbal product proved difficult. The following companies and institutions went to considerable trouble - and at their own expense-to provide me with material that would fill the gaps.

Brewhursts Health Food Supplies of Rochdale, and Arun Products Ltd., of Bognor Regis for information regarding Slippery Elm ( Ulmusjulva).

The Institute For Plant Medicines Research.

The Cumbrian Farmers Association for collating botanical and statistical information regarding the different varieties of Onion (Allium cepa)

I am also deeply mdepted to the following people who, although not directly involved with the writing of this book, were nevertheless a tremendous source of encouragement.

The staff of the Herbal Quarterly magazine, New Fane, Vermont, U.S.A., for taking seriously my thoughts on Borago officinalis. Richard Capstick, Editor of Tynesider and Wearsider magazines, for helping me keep my sense of balance during my heady days as a young medical columnist.

And last, but most certainly not least, all my family.

FOREWORD

The subject of herbal or botanic medicine has been debated continually over the millenia, and will, I am sure, continue to be debated as long as the plant life of our globe subsists. One thing is certain; we wouldnt be here to debate anything without it!

For many centuries now, herbal medicines have provided the firm ground of efficiency on which physicians have treated all the ailments that affect the human body. Now, herbal medicine is one of the most effective branches of the alternative medical profession, and it has established itself as a firm competitor against orthodoxy. This is not to say that there should be a bitter rivalry between the orthodox and unorthodox professions; would that they should associate in harmony for the promotion of holistic medicine as a united body!

As a keen herbalist myself, and a devoted student of other alternative therapies, I feel that there is a real need for a basic introduction to the subject. Fortunately, Michael Hallowell had -without my realization written just such an introductory guide.

If there is one pervading strength to this work, it must surely be the purely logical manner in which it has been compiled. In it, the author elucidates the effects of herbal medicines and why they occur. Then he moves on to show us how those very herbs can be collected, stored and eventually turned into remedies for everyday use. Furthermore, there are sections covering methods of application and dosage, etc., in which every statement is fully explained, and every

idea or concept sufficiently covered.

The unique presentation of the material and its fresh format make this book truly different. It will, I am sure, prove to be a pleasurable and instructive introduction to the many people who are just beginning to discover the healing power ot plants.