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I need herbal healing book recommendations

 
pollinator
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I'm not sure if this is the right place to ask, but I am looking for book recommendations on natural and herbal healing. There seem to be so many out there, it's overwhelming, and I am not sure which are good.
Thank you!
 
master steward
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Prescription for Herbal Healing: An Easy-to-Use A-Z Reference to Hundreds by Phillis A Balch.

 
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My most used and favorite is:
Herbal Medicine: 190 herbs to know and use.
Dr. Sharol Tilgner
https://youarethehealer.org/
she has other books equally good...this one has been handiest on my tablet and refered to often.  She participates here at permies occasionally.

I love Michael Moore's web site ....lots of free good info there.
https://www.swsbm.com/HOMEPAGE/HomePage.html

and we have two of Stephen Harrod Buhner's books, just in case:
Herbal Antibiotics: Natural Alternatives for Drug-Resistant Bacteria. Storey Publishing. 1999. ISBN 978-1-58017-148-9.
Herbal Antivirals: Natural Remedies for Emerging & Resistant Viral Infections. Storey Publishing. 2013. ISBN 978-1-61212-160-4.
He uses much of Michael Moores information, dosages and methods of preparation.
https://www.stephenharrodbuhner.com/

 
Anne Miller
master steward
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I was going to also recommend Stephen Herrod Buhner, just could not remember his last name even though it is in my signature.  
 
Rusticator
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Pretty much anything by Rosemary Gladstar, Rosalee de LaForet, Sharon Tilgner, or 7Song. All have stellar books on both general herbalism, and specific herbs/ conditions. You can also check out Learningherbs.com. Judson Carrol also has some good books out, that teach how to integrate medicinal herbs into your daily cooking, to truly let your food be your medicine - an approach I'm personally quite fond of.
 
master pollinator
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All the books by Sharol Tilgnor.

Here is a cooking book by Judson, there are links to several of his herb books in the first post. Judson is a frequent poster here. He has shared lots and lots of excerpts from his books mostly in this forum.. Here is his YouTube lesson on mimosa.
 
Annie Collins
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Thank you very much to all who posted their recommendations! Time to go search out the books...  I want to make a small library of them to always have on hand. Thanks again!
 
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Check out David Winston in NJ as well, Herbalist and Alchemist, https://herbalist-alchemist.com/  
He is one of the few herbalists whose preparations are made in a highly controlled and pharmaceutical
grade facility.  He knows his stuff and is a no BS teacher.  
 
gardener
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I second Michael Moore (gone too soon) and Rosemary Gladstar.

The others strongly recommended I will take a look at.

I think Richo Cech is reliable and good.  His nursery is:
https://strictlymedicinalseeds.com/

They still have a small free nonglossy printed catalog.

He sells seeds, roots, plants, as well as seed screens, tincture presses, etc. and has lots of hard to find herbal plants.  Includes how to grow and use them.

His book “Making Plant Medicine” is thorough, including when to harvest and how to prepare the herbs for longer term use, because everything isn’t always fresh everywhere.

He includes stories about his travels learning ethnobotany.

 
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I love this book. I like that you can search by ailment, or by herb. It also explains how to harvest, dry, prepare herbs. The uses and benefits of each herb are explained separately. Glad I bought it.

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Posts: 26
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As someone who's starting to look into herbal medicine myself, The Encyclopedia of Herbal Medicine by Andrew Chevallier, The Modern Herbal Dispensatory by Thomas Easly, Medical Herbalism: The Science and Principals of Herbal Medicine by David Hoffman, and anything by Rosemary Gladstar are all highly recommended by the herbalists I know.

M.J. Wayne wrote:I love this book. I like that you can search by ailment, or by herb. It also explains how to harvest, dry, prepare herbs. The uses and benefits of each herb are explained separately. Glad I bought it.



The author Nicole Apelian has been accused of heavy AI use in several of her books by many herbalists, I'd recommend doing your due diligence and double checking any recipes or claims you see in that book. Better safe than sorry!
 
M.J. Wayne
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Allen Ayers wrote:As someone who's starting to look into herbal medicine myself, The Encyclopedia of Herbal Medicine by Andrew Chevallier, The Modern Herbal Dispensatory by Thomas Easly, Medical Herbalism: The Science and Principals of Herbal Medicine by David Hoffman, and anything by Rosemary Gladstar are all highly recommended by the herbalists I know.

M.J. Wayne wrote:I love this book. I like that you can search by ailment, or by herb. It also explains how to harvest, dry, prepare herbs. The uses and benefits of each herb are explained separately. Glad I bought it.



The author Nicole Apelian has been accused of heavy AI use in several of her books by many herbalists, I'd recommend doing your due diligence and double checking any recipes or claims you see in that book. Better safe than sorry!



Thanks for that info. This book was published in 2019. That's not very old, but neither is AI. Was AI in use even back then? (asking because i know little about it)
 
Thekla McDaniels
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Allen Ayers wrote:

The author Nicole Apelian has been accused of heavy AI use in several of her books by many herbalists, I'd recommend doing your due diligence and double checking any recipes or claims you see in that book. Better safe than sorry!



Thank you for mentioning this.  I was given a copy of it, and haven’t looked deeply into it, probably because I have already collected so many books.  I think I will look closely at it during the winter to come.
 
Allen Ayers
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M.J. Wayne wrote:
Thanks for that info. This book was published in 2019. That's not very old, but neither is AI. Was AI in use even back then? (asking because i know little about it)



It was used in 2019 but it was much more limited, that book was probably published before the author got into it so in theory it should be more reliable than her more recent works.
 
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Consider homeopathy in addition to herbalism -
It's effective, side-effect-less, and readily available without preparation.
Plus, no prescription needed.  Just 230 years of clinical experience and protocols for most every condition known to humans.
This website is a great place to start: www.joettecalabrese.com
 
rocket scientist
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Many good names have been suggested already, but I'll add Matthew Wood. Out of my somewhat extensive library of herbal medicine books, his Earthwise Herbal trilogy has become my favourite, and go-to books; The Earthwise Herbal Repertory, The Earthwise Herbal Volume I (Old World Medicinal Plants) and Volume II (New World Medicinal Plants). Warmly recommended!
 
pollinator
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The first one recommended to me was "herbs the magic healers" - over 100 years old

You can view it through webarchive's virtual library: https://archive.org/details/herbsmagichealer00twit
 
author & pollinator
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How about Herbal Medicine for Homesteaders, Preppers and Permaculture People by Judson Carroll?
 
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I've read dozens of herbal books; my favorite is Maria Noel Groves' Body Into Balance. It's excellent, goes by system (digestive, circulatory, thyroid) after a few chapters on foundations of health with herbs and diet. Very accessible.

As others have said, Rosemary Gladstar is a good one to start with. And Sharol Tilgner's Herbal Medicine from the Heart of the Earth is great with formulas. I also adore Kat Maier's Energetic Herbalism. It's phenomenal.
 
Annie Collins
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S Windlass wrote:Consider homeopathy in addition to herbalism -
It's effective, side-effect-less, and readily available without preparation.
Plus, no prescription needed.  Just 230 years of clinical experience and protocols for most every condition known to humans.
This website is a great place to start: www.joettecalabrese.com


Yes, homeopathy can be amazing! I have only used it in a couple of instances, but both times we had great results!
 
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