Re: Looking for a good introductory book to herbal medicine..

I am very interested in learning more about herbs. My knowledge of herbs is none, but I have been using some of the recommended adaptogenic formulations in this forum and will start soon a 1 year protocol for lyme disease for which I feel I need to lear more. There are my books out there and before I invest in one or several, i'd like hear your suggestions.

I have my primary recommendations on this link:

http://www.mountainmistbotanicals.com/

Especially The Little Herb Encyclopedia since you are a beginner.

Also look up the American Botanical Council and look in to getting back issues of Herbal Gram.

What I am looking for is a book where I can learn about the uses of plants but also about their chemistry. I wan to be able to safely used various combinations of plants, learn if they have tannings, or are high in estrogen, or if they have any chemical compounds I should be aware of, or for how long they should be used. I want to be able to have a reliable reference on hand, instead of having to go to a bunch of online sources every time I am creating my own capsules.

Always check multiple sources when learning about new herbs.  One source may tell you a danger, interaction or limitation and another will not.  So you should always reference multiple sources.

For example, a lot of sources don't discuss the dangers of herbs such as goldenseal, barberry, Oregon graperoot, senna, cascara sagrada, rhubarb root, Cape aloe, lobelia, horsetail grass (shavegrass), wormwood, etc.  These are just a few of the herbs I recommend staying away from, especially if you are new to herbs.

Examples of interactions include high tannin herbs (uva ursi, oak bark, raspberry leaf, etc.), which lock up nutrients and other valuable compounds in plants reducing or blocking their effectiveness.

Echinacea is an example of limited use.  It is also contradicted in cases of autoimmunity.  Personally I never work with echinacea at all.  The herb is too unstable in a dry form and tincturing it wrong can also render it useless.  Besides there are so many more effective herbs that are a fraction of the cost.  Echinacea is really one of those over hyped herbs.

I am glad to hear though that you are looking in to the chemistry of the herbs.  This is extremely important if you want safety and effectiveness.

There are so many what I call "text book herbalists".  They simply read a book or take a class and they think they are experts on herbs.  You can really see it in their formulations.  For example, I have seen so many formulas, especially for diabetes where they mixed uva ursi or green tea in to the formula.  These are high tannin sources and bind many of the active ingredients in the formula reducing the overall effectiveness.

Or they rely heavily on teas or tinctures not realizing how these affect the chemistry.  For example, the heat of teas can destroy a lot of nutrients and breaks down many active herbal compounds.  The presence of water in tinctures also promotes oxidative destruction of many herbal compounds.  A common myth is that tinctures have an indefinite shelf life.  Actually studies on various herbs showed their average active lifespan was only about 3 months, much shorter than most cut or powdered herbs.

Understanding some basic chemistry and the chemistry of the herbs will take you so much further than simply reading that so and so herb does this so you throw it in.

Just throwing herbs together is also a dangerous practice.   Herbs can interact not only for a cancelling effect, but also for enhancement.  And since some herbs are weaker and some are toxic this can be either a good thing or a bad thing.

And again, the potential adverse effects have to be taken in to consideration.  This includes what may be safe for one person may not be safe for someone else with a different condition.  The berberine herbs will kill the flora, and can damage the intestinal lining and raise blood pressure after a few weeks of use.  The berberine herbs can also lower blood sugar making them an additional issue for hypoglycemics.  Horsetail grass (shavegrass) constricts the blood vessels making is a really bad choice for diabetics and others with circulation disorders.   Herbs high in anthraquinone stimulant laxatives such as senna, cascara sagrada, rhubarb root and some aloes can cause a laxative dependence after  a few weeks use and can also lead to electrolyte imbalances.  Herbs such as cayenne, ginger, meadowsweet, woodruff and wintergreen are contradicted with blood thinners and aneurysms.

I am putting together some more articles on herbs and herbal safety I will post links to as I go.  Here is a temporary link to some of my articles:

http://www.mountainmistbotanicals.com/info/index.html

As an example, I have been using echinacea for the past 2 month and today I found out it should be used for limited periods of time and/or at the onset of a viral infection.

Not only for short periods of time but again it also should be avoided in cases of autoimmunity.  And again, there are many more effective herbs than echinacea that are also much more stable.

In general, I want to be more informed about what i am doing and that is why I am reaching out to the Cure Zone community.

Looking forward to your suggestions