Chinese Natural Cures: Traditional Methods for Remedies and Prevention

This book is extremely helpful in understanding Chinese Medicine. My acupuncturist recommended this to me and it really explains this different point of view for health care.

I use this book often. Of course, acupuncture and herbs are very important. However, trying to find and correct the underlying cause is what seperates a practioner from the "master". Since I am no master, I take all the help I can! I use this book to make diet recommendations/changes. The stories of the individual herbs are FANTASTIC! Instead of memorizing "pingying", its far easier remembering the stories! (like the chinese do!) I wish they had more stories of the individual herbs/foods, however its still a great book to use as a reference!

Other books have come out on the topic of Chinese cures - but this is the most comprehensive yet, created by world-famous practitioner Dr. Henry C. Lu who uses his expertise to explain both Chinese medicine and its underlying philosophy of health and illness. Treatments are organized by complaints and include easy reference for treatment and cure and advice on hundreds of foods and herbs as well. Literally hundreds of Chinese herbs and their uses receive clear, specific mention; right down to the formulas and potions which make them useful. Very highly recommended: a must for any serious herbal treatment collection. Diane C. Donovan, Editor California Bookwatch

As a student of TCM, I would argue that this book is in no way comprehensive, and shouldn't be looked at as a manual or a text book. Instead, we have an interesting read about some of the patterns, and the various dietary and herbal cures out there for them. I found the stories behind the herbs a real pleasure to read, and the food cures for disease patterns was fairly enlightening. That said, this book will be virtually useless to a non-practitioner, and it certainly won't be replacing my Bensky or my Wiseman texts any time soon. It is acu-candy, pure and simple.

This book is fairly thorough and comprehensive. It is very well-researched and definitely not a fluffy introductory "For Dummies" read. I especially enjoyed the folk tales about the major herbs. Out of all the books (that are written English) on Chinese herbal medicine out there in print, I would definitely recommend this one. The only flaw that I would like to point out that the index of this book is very poorly organized. Also, please note that this book is not in any way as comprehensive as the ancient Chinese medical text "Ben Cao Gang Mu".