The Natural Pharmacy Edited by Alan R. Gaby M.D.

Someone slap my hand for the confession I am about to make. I, Lacey Klemm reference librarian, am not aware of every reference book we have in the library. Ouch that hurt! But my goal this year is to get to know the reference collection better. I know the ones I use on a regular basis very well but like this book, The Natural Pharmacy, I didn't even know we had it. After taking a look through it I'm glad I know about it now. It's a very informative book.

Before you read futher here is an important disclaimer: It is important to realize that this book is provided for information or educational purposes only and should be used in consultation with a healthcare professional knowledgeable in natural medicine. Information is this book is not meant to replace any medical information supplied by a doctor or pharmacist (pg. xxii).

The Natural Pharmacy is a complete A-Z reference to natural treatments for common health conditions, vitamins, herbs, minerals, diet, and lifestyle. It features a very handy section called How to Use This Book. Just what I need to help me navigate. The book is broken into three sections, Health Concerns, Nutritional Supplements, and Herbs.

Health concerns has entries on athletic performance, diverticular disease, hay fever, hives, stress, and much more. Basically each entry has information about what it is, what the symptoms are, medical treatments, dietary changes that may be helpful, nutritional supplements that may be helpful, herbs that may be helpful, and holistic approaches that may be helpful.

In the nutritional supplements section you will find information about specific vitamins, minerals, amino acids, and other nutrients. Each nutrient entry includes information about where it is found, health concerns for which the nutrient might be supportive, suggested dosage ranges, and possible side effects or interactions.

The herb entries give you information on the botanical name, common name, parts used and where it is grown, historical or traditional use, active constituents, how much is usually taken, and if there are any side effects or interactions.

There is a contents section and an index section for easy look up.