Natural Medicine Instructions for Patients

This is the third book based on the Textbook of Natural Medicine. This time the original authors have recruited a medical writer to present their information in a manner that is understandable to lay people. The idea is that clinicians buy this book and copy relevant pages for their patients. Let us therefore assess what recommendations would be given to patients in this way. Here are a few examples: the patient with angina pectoris is advised to use diet, a range of non-herbal supplements as well as Crataegus and khella. The patient with diabetes mellitus would use diet, chromium, vitamin C, niacin, biotin, vitamins B₆, B₁₂ and E, magnesium, manganese, zinc, essential fatty acids, carnitine, gymnema, bilberry and ginkgo. The patient with hypoglycaemia (but not necessarily diabetes) would follow a similar regimen supplemented with physical exercise. The patient with bacterial pneumonia would use diet, a host of nutritional supplements, (including thymus extract) and vitamins as well as lobelia, echinacea and golden seal. When I was reading this, I began wondering how many of these patients might survive – say no more.