Combining the most powerful natural substances. Dr. Duke has created a "cocktail" for heart disease that may well have the calcium channel-blocking punch of a leading pharmaceutical--and without the side effects. Do you legs ache after standing? Are you bothered by hemorrhoids? Do you think there's no help for varicose veins? Dr. Duke tells you about horse chestnut capsules--and the ancillary herb that may further enhance their performance. Alcohol, Hepatitis C, environmental toxins, and other serious attacks on your liver now have an astonishing first line of defense in milk thistle. Don't get rid of your dog, but do add saw palmetto, which helps avert prostate problems, may keep your hair from thinning, and boosts both sexes' libido. Dr. Duke compares it to the widely prescribed alternative--and you can judge which lands firmly in the plus column. “If it exists, count on Duke to dig it up.” — People Magazine “Perhaps the world's leading authority on medicinal plants.” — New Age Journal "If it exists, count on Duke to dig it up. In his years as a leading botanist for the U.S. government, he combed the Latin American jungles for little-known herbs and, back at the lab, charted the healing powers of thousands of plants. Now Duke's passion is helping herbal medicine--led by popular remedies such as St. John's wort and echinacea--spread like kudzu." --People magazine Dr. Duke's Essential Herbs 13 VITAL HERBS YOU NEED TO Disease-proof your body * Boost your energy * Lengthen your life At a time when good health is at the top of everyone's most-wanted list, the world of herbal cures and home remedies has exploded. But how can you tell what herbs are best for you? Whom can you trust? Now, one of the nation's foremost authorities on herbs and the author of the million-copy bestseller The Green Pharmacy opens his own herbal medicine chest to reveal 13 key herbs that keep you healthy and strong lifelong. In Dr. Duke's Essential Herbs , you'll learn the secrets behind his top 13 herbs and how to make them part of your regimen for healthy living. Dr. Duke shares his personal prescriptions for: Bilberry * Hawthorn * Celery seed * Horse chestnut * Echinacea * Kava kava * Evening primrose * Milk thistle * St. John's wort * Garlic * Saw palmetto * Ginkgo * Turmeric Often entertaining, occasionally provocative, and jam-packed with helpful facts backed by solid research, Dr. Duke's Essential Herbs is the right prescription for our times. Praise for Dr. James Duke: "He's a genius. He maintains the highest levels of scholarly research. And he's a hell of a nice guy."--Michael Balick, director, New York Botanical Gardens (in The New York Times ) "One of the world's greatest experts on herbs. The 'Duke of Herbs.'"-- Better Nutrition magazine "Perhaps the world's leading authority on medicinal plants."--New Age Journal chapter one Herbs for Good Health First the word, then the plant, lastly the knife. --Aesculapius of Thassaly, Greek god of healing, circa 1200 B.C . BY THE TIME THEY REACH THEIR SEVENTIES, most people take seven different synthetic medications every day. All last year, I took only seven. (They were all over-the-counter Aleve tablets for my arthritic knee.) I think I've chanced upon a better way to maintain health, a way that's much better than the prescription drug path. Chalk up much of my good fortune to good genes, good diet, good exercise, good stress management, and a measure of good luck. The rest of it, I'm firmly convinced, stems from ingesting herbs and herbal supplements. Will herbs and their phytomedicines improve your health and reverse illness? Should you bother to read this entire book to find out? Follow along with my "Five Ifs," and you'll know right away. If you can afford to go to your doctor and pay for all the medications he or she prescribes If you can communicate with your physician comfortably and have faith in him or her If your doctor correctly diagnoses your ailments If you have one and only one health problem If you know beyond a shadow of a doubt that you're not deficient in a vitamin, mineral, amino acid, essential fatty acid, or any other nutrient ... then put this book back on the shelf. You don't need it and couldn't appreciate the advice contained herein. Your doctor's man-made magic silver bullet may actually help you. It really may be one of the best possible medicines for you. Iffy Propositions Still with me? Thought so. I can be so seemingly brazen because few people can answer each of these five ifs positively. Let's fill in a little detail behind each of these conditions. Means. More than 10 percent of all Americans can't afford to go to a doctor or pay for a prescription. Across the world, 80 percent of all people lack such financial means. Some 43 million Americans, as of July 1999, have no health insurance. (For more information, see "Cheaper by the Duke's Dozen" on page 4.) Communication. The average HMO doctor spends about s