So, is it more than a herbalist book?
I have another book by her called Bring Your Own Bandages so I know the author is both practical and creative when it come to doing with what you have.
Well, I'd say it's significantly different than most herbalist books. Like most herbal references,
Armageddon Pharmacy includes the standard disclaimers--see your doctor first, this is just for informational purposes, etc.
Unlike the others, this is written with the belief that in the coming days, there will be no commercial pharmaceuticals available. We will have what we can grow or forage. So
Armageddon Pharmacy includes information on:
- the medicinal uses of garden flowers, vegetables, fruits, weeds, shrubs, trees, and other plants, as well as kitchen staples like honey, sugar, and gelatin.
- these are plants that grow in the US and in your own yard, not something from Europe or Asia
- which plants were used to treat diseases like scarlet fever, diphtheria, smallpox, anthrax, measles, etc.
- which parts of the plants were used and how specifically they are prepared to treat various diseases (when that information is available. Sometimes we only know that a certain plant was used, and not exactly how it was used.)
- the what I call "healing virtues" of love, kindness, generosity, hope, etc., that have proven medicinal benefit. No one else covers those.
Sources! I don't think anyone should take my word for anything. People need to know what the source is for the information and be able to judge that source for themselves. Some people don't trust China, some don't trust folk tradition, some want to see that folk tradition has been clinically researched, some want to see a lot of references for a particular usage. Some will need to conduct more in-depth research for conditions of particular concern to them.
I really liked Amazon's "Look Inside" feature that they have unfortunately discontinued as far as I can tell. When I bought herbal books in the past, I wanted to know beforehand whether the book covered herbs of interest to me. So I pasted in the table of contents for your information. The order changed a bit in the two months from this draft to the final publication, so please forgive that. 700 pages. The first 100 are more general information. The rest of the book covers specific herbs and other healing substances.
ETA: Most of this information is available free on my blog. In the two years that I spent just compiling the book, I'd find more research conducted on the specific herbs, and so I updated the manuscript, but not the blog, as doing so just got to be too much of a mess.
INTRODUCTION................................................................................... 1
HOW TO USE THIS BOOK................................................................. 7
HERBS IN HISTORY............................................................................. 9
CIVIL WAR ANTIBIOTICS................................................................. 9
AN EXTREMELY BRIEF RECAP OF DISEASE THROUGH HISTORY 13
MEDICINE IN A SOCIALIST PARADISE........................................... 15
ROCKEFELLER’S WAR ON NATURAL MEDICINE........................... 17
CAN’T WE ALL JUST GET ALONG?.................................................. 19
REDUCING INDUSTRIAL ANTIBIOTIC USE...................................... 22
DEALING WITH ANTIBIOTIC RESISTANCE................................... 25
HOW HERBAL ANTIBIOTICS WORK, AND WHY YOU SHOULD CARE 27
HERB-ANTIBIOTIC SYNERGISMS................................................... 33
HERB-DRUG INTERACTIONS......................................................... 36
MEDICINE SURROUNDS US........................................................... 39
THE MOST POTENT ANTIMICROBIAL HERBS.................................. 49
TOP TEN HERBS FOR GRAM-POSITIVE BACTERIA........................ 49
TOP TEN HERBS FOR GRAM-NEGATIVE BACTERIA...................... 54
TOP TEN HERBS FOR VIRUSES...................................................... 59
APPLYING HERBAL KNOWLEDGE TO MICROBIAL ILLNESSES..... 63
MAKING MEDICINE........................................................................... 67
DECIDING WHICH HERBS TO USE................................................ 68
FORMULATIONS: DIY COMBO MEDICATIONS............................. 70
THE PREPARATIONS....................................................................... 71
ESSENTIAL OILS: ARE THEY SAFE TO INGEST?............................ 75
LINIMENTS..................................................................................... 79
OIL INFUSIONS.............................................................................. 80
PLASTERS........................................................................................ 81
POULTICES..................................................................................... 82
POWDERS....................................................................................... 82
SALVES............................................................................................ 83
TINCTURES..................................................................................... 85
MATERIA MEDICA.............................................................................. 91
ARNICA............................................................................................ 93
ARROWLEAF BALSAMROOT........................................................... 99
ARROWROOT................................................................................ 104
BASIL............................................................................................. 108
BEARBERRY................................................................................... 114
BEE BALM....................................................................................... 119
BLACK PEPPER............................................................................... 125
BLACKBERRY................................................................................. 130
CABBAGE........................................................................................ 137
CALENDULA................................................................................... 141
CATNIP.......................................................................................... 146
CATTAIL......................................................................................... 151
CAYENNE....................................................................................... 157
CHOKECHERRY............................................................................. 163
CHRYSANTHEMUM....................................................................... 167
CINQUEFOIL.................................................................................. 171
COMFREY....................................................................................... 174
CORN SILK..................................................................................... 180
CURRANTS AND GOOSEBERRIES................................................. 183
DANDELION.................................................................................. 186
DIANTHUS..................................................................................... 193
DILL WEED.................................................................................... 196
ECHINACEA................................................................................... 199
EGGPLANT.................................................................................... 209
ELDER............................................................................................ 213
FORSYTHIA................................................................................... 220
GARLIC.......................................................................................... 225
GERMAN CHAMOMILE................................................................. 232
GINGER......................................................................................... 240
GOLDENROD................................................................................ 248
GUMWEED.................................................................................... 253
HAWTHORN.................................................................................. 259
ISATIS........................................................................................... 263
JAPANESE BARBERRY................................................................... 273
JAPANESE HONEYSUCKLE........................................................... 281
JIMSONWEED............................................................................... 293
JUNIPER........................................................................................ 300
LAMB’S QUARTER......................................................................... 312
LAVENDER..................................................................................... 316
LEMON BALM................................................................................ 325
LICORICE....................................................................................... 333
LOMATIUM.................................................................................... 341
MALLOW....................................................................................... 348
MILK THISTLE.............................................................................. 354
MORMON TEA............................................................................... 358
MULLEIN....................................................................................... 361
NASTURTIUM............................................................................... 369
OAK................................................................................................ 373
OATS.............................................................................................. 378
ONION........................................................................................... 380
OREGANO...................................................................................... 385
PARSLEY........................................................................................ 389
PASSIONFLOWER......................................................................... 394
PEACH........................................................................................... 398
PEONY........................................................................................... 405
PEPPERMINT................................................................................ 409
PINE............................................................................................... 417
PLANTAIN..................................................................................... 422
POMEGRANATE............................................................................. 435
PUMPKIN AND OTHER SQUASH.................................................. 440
PURSLANE.................................................................................... 448
QUAKING ASPEN........................................................................... 454
RED CLOVER................................................................................. 459
RED RASPBERRY........................................................................... 463
ROSEMARY................................................................................... 468
RUSSIAN OLIVE............................................................................ 476
RUSSIAN SAGE.............................................................................. 482
RUSSIAN THISTLE........................................................................ 484
SAGEBRUSH.................................................................................. 487
SNAPDRAGON............................................................................... 496
SNOWBALL BUSH......................................................................... 499
SPEARMINT................................................................................... 503
SPOTTED KNAPWEED.................................................................. 506
SUNFLOWER................................................................................. 509
THYME........................................................................................... 513
USNEA............................................................................................ 519
VALERIAN..................................................................................... 526
WHEATGRASS................................................................................ 531
WILLOW........................................................................................ 533
YARROW........................................................................................ 539
NON-PLANT HEALING SUBSTANCES............................................... 548
ACTIVATED CHARCOAL................................................................ 549
APPLE CIDER VINEGAR................................................................. 557
BAKING SODA............................................................................... 559
BENTONITE CLAY......................................................................... 563
CHOCOLATE.................................................................................. 566
COCONUT OIL............................................................................... 570
COLLOIDAL SILVER...................................................................... 573
CORNSTARCH............................................................................... 576
DIAMOND V-XPC YEAST............................................................... 578
DMSO............................................................................................ 583
EPSOM SALTS................................................................................ 587
GELATIN........................................................................................ 590
HONEY.......................................................................................... 594
MAGGOT THERAPY....................................................................... 600
MAGNESIUM OIL.......................................................................... 603
MOLASSES.................................................................................... 606
MOLDY BREAD.............................................................................. 607
PECTIN.......................................................................................... 609
SPIDER WEBS................................................................................ 612
SUGAR............................................................................................ 615
THE BEST MEDICINE....................................................................... 618
PLACEBOS..................................................................................... 620
THE HEALING VIRTUES............................................................... 626
HOPE............................................................................................. 637
APPENDIX......................................................................................... 653
SUBSTANCES THAT PREVENT RADIATION UPTAKE AND REMOVE IT FROM THE BODY............................................................................................. 654
MASTER HERBAL MEDICINE SHOPPING LIST............................ 657
CALCULATING PEDIATRIC HERBAL DOSING.............................. 659
CANDY FLAVORINGS TO ADD TO THE MEDICINE CHEST........... 661
METRIC-STANDARD-DROPS CONVERSIONS FOR HERBALS...... 663
WHEN TO HARVEST HERBS......................................................... 664
INDEX............................................................................................... 671
