The 5 Minute Herb and Dietary Supplement Consult or Ultra High Dilution

The 5-Minute Herb and Dietary Supplement Consult

Author: Adriane Fugh Berman

This unique book gives health care professionals a quick reference to herbs, minerals, vitamins, amino acids, probiotics, enzymes, over-the-counter hormones and other dietary supplements commonly used by consumers. The text covers claims, indications, scientific evidence, possible benefits, adverse effects, contraindications, and drug interactions.

Doody Review Services

Reviewer: Robert E Burke, MSN, MPS, BSN (Pace University)
Description: This book provides healthcare professionals with easy access to a wealth of information on a wide range of commonly used herbs, minerals, vitamins, amino acids, probiotics, enzymes, over-the-counter hormones, and other dietary supplements.
Purpose: The author states that "this is a personal book" and it is intended to be both entertaining and educational. It is intended as a quick reference and covers claims, indications, scientific evidence, possible benefits, adverse effects, contraindications and drug interactions for each herb and supplement. The author's objectives are realistic and greatly needed. To date, there are very few books that integrate information about herbs and dietary supplements in the same book.
Audience: This book is a member of the 5-Minute Consult Series and is intended for clinicians in internal medicine and family practice. In my professional opinion, this is a valuable reference/guide for students and practitioners in any of the allied health professions with an interest in herbs and dietary supplements. The author is a well-known authority on herbs and dietary supplements in the United States. She consults on this subject for the Federal Trade Commission, the NIH, and other federal and state agencies, is author of Alternative Medicine: What Works (Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, 1997) and serves on the editorial boards of Focus on Alternative and Complementary Therapies, and HerbalGram.
Features: The book reviews 175 commonly used herbs and dietary supplements. Each section provides basic information, including a description of the herb and/or supplement, the parts used, known/active constituents, food sources, main functions and pharmacokinetics. Evidence incorporates selected clinical trials, animal and in-vitro studies, and other claimed benefits and actions. Potential and known risks are described and include adverse reactions and drug interactions. Information on dosage is provided, as well as a very interesting and entertaining section on common questions and answers relating to each herb and/or supplement. There is an extensive reference section at the back of the book. Reference tables are provided, and include a wonderful herb chart that provides the English, Latin, Pharmacopoeial, Spanish, French, and German names for each herb. This is extremely useful for finding the English equivalent for herbs that clients from different cultures use. There is also an excellent dietary intake reference for vitamins and elements that includes functions, dose/age, selected food sources, adverse effects of excessive consumption, and special considerations. As the reference guide that it is meant to be, there are very few shortcomings. Each herb and/or supplement is given two pages for the summary of all of the information described above. The book provides relevant information and offers easy access to a basic understanding of the herb and/or supplement.
Assessment: This book is an excellent guide to a majority of the commonly used herbs and dietary supplements. The information is efficiently organized, concise, and, in many instances, entertaining. The information in this book is consistent with that in Blumenthal et al.'s The Complete German Commission E Monographs (American Botanical Council, 1998), Brinker's Herb Contraindications and Drug Interactions, 2nd edition (Eclectic Medical Publications, 1998), Duke et al.'s Handbook of Medicinal Herbs, 2nd edition (CRC, 2002), Jellin et al.'s Natural Medicines Comprehensive Database, 4th edition (Therapeutic Research Faculty, 2002), and Mills and Bone's Principles and Practice of Phytotherapy (Churchill Livingstone, 2000). However, the only one that is comparable to it in terms of overall content (e.g., integration of herbs and dietary supplements in the same book) is the Natural Medicines Comprehensive Database.

Library Journal

While there are many excellent print and electronic sources on herbs and dietary substances (e.g., Natural Medicines Comprehensive Database; The Review of Natural Products Online), the busy clinician still needs an easy-to-use compendium that provides the essentials. This book, written by one of the first physicians to address alternative medicine (Alternative Medicine: What Works), serves that purpose. Arranged alphabetically by botanical or dietary supplement, the two-page entries include Latin and biological names, descriptions, pharmacokinetics, evidence, risks, drug interactions, and dosages. The most helpful sections are the "10 second take," which sums up the most important information in one sentence, and "common questions and answers." If readers want more in-depth information, they can consult the numerous reliable, up-to-date references given with each entry. As the author explains in her introduction, she did not include studies from alternative medical journals or Chinese medical literature, "as their quality is not yet up to Western methodological studies." Because of the increased interest in herbs, this volume is highly recommended as a ready-reference source for both academic medical and public library consumer health collections.-Natalie Kupferberg, Biological Sciences/Pharmacy Lib., Ohio State Univ., Columbus Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.

Rating

5 Stars! from Doody

Table of Contents:

	About the Editor	ii
	Acknowledgments	vii
	Contents	ix
	Introduction	xiii
	Abbreviations	xiv
Section I	Herbs and Nutritional Supplements A to Z	1
	Aconite	2
	Alanine	4
	Alfalfa	6
	Aloe	8
	Angelica	10
	Anise, Aniseed	12
	Arginine	14
	Arnica	16
	Ashwagandha	18
	Aspartate/Aspartic Acid	20
	Astragalus	22
	Bearberry	24
	Betaine	26
	Betel	28
	Bilberry	30
	Biotin	32
	Black cohosh	34
	Black haw and Cramp bark	36
	Bloodroot	38
	Blue cohosh	40
	Blue-green algae	42
	Boldo	44
	Borage	46
	Boron	48
	Burdock	50
	Calcium	52
	Calendula	54
	Capsicum, Chili pepper, or Cayenne	56
	Caraway	58
	Carnitine	60
	Carotenoids	62
	Cartilage (shark and bovine)	64
	Cascara	66
	Cat's claw	68
	Catnip	70
	Chamomile	72
	Chamomile, Roman	74
	Chaparral	76
	Charcoal, Activated	78
	Chocolate/Cocoa/Cacao	80
	Chondroitin	82
	Chromium	84
	Cinnamon	86
	Coenzyme Q[subscript 10]	88
	Coltsfoot	90
	Comfrey	92
	Copper	94
	Cranberry	96
	Creatine	98
	Cysteine/Cystine	100
	Dandelion	102
	Danshen	104
	Devil's claw	106
	DHEA	108
	Echinacea	110
	Elderberry, Elder flower	112
	Eleuthero	114
	Ephedra	116
	Essiac	118
	Eucalyptus	120
	Evening primrose, Evening Primrose Oil (EPO)	122
	Eyebright	124
	Fennel	126
	Fenugreek	128
	Feverfew	130
	Fish oil	132
	Flaxseed	134
	Folic acid (Folate)	136
	Foxglove	138
	Garlic	140
	Germander	142
	Germanium (Ge)	144
	Ginger	146
	Ginkgo	148
	Ginseng	150
	Glucosamine	152
	Glutamine (Gln, Q)	154
	Glycine (Gly, G)	156
	Goldenseal	158
	Gotu kola	160
	Hawthorn	162
	Histidine (His, H)	164
	Hops	166
	Horse chestnut	168
	Hydrazine sulfate, Hydrazine sulphate	170
	Hypericum or St. John's Wort	172
	Inositol	174
	Iodine (I[subscript 2])	176
	Ipriflavone	178
	Iron (Fe)	180
	Isoleucine (Ile, I)	182
	Karela or Bitter melon	184
	Kava	186
	Kelp	188
	Khat	190
	Kombucha	192
	Lactobacilli	194
	Lecithin/Phosphatidylcholine	196
	Lemon balm	198
	Leucine (Leu, L)	200
	Licorice	202
	Linden	204
	Lobelia	206
	Lysine (Lys, K)	208
	Magnesium	210
	Manganese	212
	Marshmallow	214
	Mate	216
	Melatonin	218
	Methionine (Met, M) and SAMe	220
	Milk thistle	222
	Molybdenum	224
	Motherwort	226
	Mullein	228
	Neem	230
	Nettle	232
	Niacin	234
	Noni	236
	Osha	238
	Pantothenic acid	240
	Passionflower	242
	Pau d'arco	244
	Pennyroyal	246
	Peppermint	248
	Phenylalanine (Phe, F)	250
	Phosphatidylserine	252
	Phosphorus (Phosphate)	254
	Pollen/Bee pollen	256
	Propolis	258
	Psyllium (Plantain)	260
	Pygeum	262
	Raspberry	264
	Red clover	266
	Riboflavin (Vitamin B[subscript 2])	268
	Rosemary	270
	Royal jelly	272
	Sage	274
	Sarsaparilla	276
	Sassafras	278
	Saw palmetto	280
	Selenium	282
	Senna	284
	Serine	286
	Silicon	288
	Silver (Ag), Colloidal Silver	290
	Skullcap	292
	Slippery elm	294
	Spirulina	296
	Stevia	298
	Taurine	300
	Tea tree	302
	Thiamin, Thiamine (Vitamin B[subscript 1])	304
	Threonine (Thr, T)	306
	Thyme	308
	Tryptophan (Trp, W) and 5-hydroxytryptophan (5-HTP)	310
	Turmeric	312
	Tyrosine (Tyr, Y)	314
	Valerian	316
	Valine (Val, V)	318
	Vanadium	320
	Vitamin A	322
	Vitamin B6 (Pyridoxine)	324
	Vitamin B12 (Cobalamin)	326
	Vitamin C (Ascorbic acid, Ascorbate)	328
	Vitamin D (Calciferol, Cholecalciferol)	330
	Vitamin E	332
	Vitamin K	334
	Vitex	336
	Willow	338
	Wormwood	340
	Wormwood, sweet or Qinghaosu	342
	Yam, wild	344
	Yarrow	346
	Yohimbe	348
	Zinc	350
Section II	References	353
Section III	Reference Tables
	Herb Chart	428
	Conversion Factors Between Traditional and SI Units	433
	Dietary Reference Intakes: Vitamins	434
	Dietary Reference Intakes: Elements	441
	Reference Nutrient Intakes for Vitamins, United Kingdom	450
	Average Values for Triglycerides, Fatty Acids (FA) (Including Omega-3 Fatty Acids), and Cholesterol of Marine Foods and Oils	451
	Caffeine Content of Selected Common Foods per Serving Portion	452
	Carnitine Content of Selected Foods	452
	Choline Content of Some Common Foods	453
	Oxalate Content by Food Group	454
	Foods to Use and Avoid	456
	Oxalate Content of Foods per 100 Grams ([similar]1/2 cup) and per Portion	457
	Index	463

Book review: Operations Analysis Using Excel or Pressing Problems in Law

Ultra High Dilution: Physiology and Physics

Author: P C Endler

This is the first multidisciplinary work to address in a serious and strictly scientific way the hows and whys underlying the actions of ultra high dilutions (UHD). The contributions, all of them written by leading scientists in the fields of physics, physiology and biophysics, present an overview of UHD research which, to some extent, has been stimulated by the recognition of the therapeutic efficacy of homoeopathy.
The book is divided into four parts. Part 1 presents relevant data from physiological laboratories, serving as an introduction to what follows. Part 2 evaluates and discusses the most promising physical theories. Part 3 deals with biophysical aspects and Part 4 appraises the medical and historical context. The book concludes with a discussion of future research prospects.
Current research activity, as the book convincingly emphasises, is generating genuinely new scientific concepts which are likely to have consequences far beyond biology and medicine. Ultra High Dilution is a fertile source of references and concepts and should command wide attention, and stimulate yet more interest.
For physicists, biologists, and medical scientists interested in the science of ultra high dilution and in its efficacy in homoeopathy.