Radiant Health: The Ancient Wisdom of the Chinese Tonic Herbs - Hardcover

Teeguarden, Ron

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0446518980 ISBN 13: 9780446518987

Publisher: Grand Central Publishing, 1998

Synopsis

Physical health, this book explains, is irrelevant if it is accompanied by unhappiness and failure. Herbal expert Ron Teeguarden explains how to apply natural Chinese herbal medicine in order to lead a full and energetic life.

About this title

Reviews

This entry in the burgeoning field of self-help books on Chinese medicine is essentially a guide for the relatively healthy reader to Chinese tonic herbs. More specifically, these are herbal formulas that improve overall health and resistance, increase energy, and promote longevity rather than treat specific disease. Teeguarden, an herbalist and manufacturer of Chinese remedies, begins with a 55-page, clearly written though necessarily incomplete and Westernized introduction to Chinese medicine. He outlines the properties of 22 "supertonic" herbs and approximately 50 secondary herbs, then discusses two dozen traditional formulations and 34 of his own products. Though this chapter comes close to being a catalog for the author's herb company, the information is well founded and can be applied to competing formulas. The author gives herbal programs for different needs and life stages, along with principles of formulation and synergism, quality guidelines, and delivery systems. End matter includes a comprehensive chart of 77 single herbs and their actions, a short list of product sources, and an index. For large natural-health collections. Penny Spokes

Teeguarden is a master herbalist and researcher of Chinese tonic herbs?"tonic" meaning herbs prescribed to promote "radiant" health as opposed to attacking disease. His publisher's legal department hedges its bets by stating in the review galley that "absolutely no medicinal claims are being made or implied in this book." Nevertheless, Teeguarden's text is replete with claims concerning sexual potency, the immune system, and anti-aging treatments, among others, that are entirely undocumented except by statements such as "Many studies now indicate...." To his credit (or the legal department's), Teeguarden provides information about contraindications and toxicity. Unfortunately, these caveats are equally undocumented. Radiant Health might be useful on a staff-only reference shelf, but only as a glossary to herbal terms. Not recommended.?Catherine Arnott Smith, Predoctoral Research Fellow, Ctr. for Biomedical Informatics, Univ. of Pittsburgh
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Edition details

• Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
• Publication date: 1998
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0446518980
• ISBN 13: 9780446518987
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 416