Eleanor Sommer
If you are serious about your health and interested in alternative methods, "Herbal Defense" should be an addition to your bookshelf. Don't be fooled by the title-this book does emphasize the use of herbs for health, but it contains a lot more information including one of the best explanations of the immune system I have encountered to date. While "Herbal Defense" is not encyclopedic in scope, many of the herbs mentioned are covered in detail which reflects the latest scientific research. You'll discover facts about herbs not often found in popular books.
The amount of practical information is impressive. Author Robyn Landis clears up myths surrounding herbs and explores how herbs are gentler and more user-friendly than many of today's synthesized pharmaceuticals. Landis informs us up front that she is not a health practitioner but an informed and empowered "ordinary" consumer who has studied and worked with herbs extensively. She draws from her personal experience in overcoming illness and from her studies with renowned herbalist and educator Karta Purkh Singh Khalsa.
Many books of this ilk present cursory listings of herbs, their basic properties, and most common uses. "Herbal Defense" is compact and dense but follows a mostly narrative form, listing herbs within chapters such as "Health-Building Herbs, Foods, and Nutrients," "Herbs for Depression, Addictions, Anxiety, and Insomnia," "Herbs for Skin" and "Herbs for Longevity." There are several chapters dealing with specific concerns including allergies, arthritis, heart disease, headaches and digestion.
Landis, with the support of her mentor Karta Purkh Singh Khalsa, has created an expansive whole health resource which provides enough information for anyone to start a regimen of health supported by nutrients and herbal remedies that are available on the shelves of health food stores, grocery stores and many allopathic pharmacies-or even in your own backyard.
