Introduction to Natural Healing for Women

Acknowledgments

Special thanks to Adriane Fugh-Berman, M.D., chairperson of the National Women's Health Network in Washington, D.C., former head of field investigations for the Office of Alternative Medicine at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland, and author of Alternative Medicine: What Works, for serving as medical adviser to the writers, researchers and editor who worked on this book.

We'd also like to thank the numerous other physicians and health care practitioners who shared their expertise with us.

INTRODUCTION

A Source You Can Trust

I served as editorial director of Prevention Book Club for eight years. In selecting health and fitness books offered to our readers, I reviewed many books on alternative healing. With each passing year, I noticed more and more books on aromatherapy, acupuncture, herbal medicine, reflexology, yoga, meditation, massage and dozens of other natural-healing techniques.

Most of our book-club customers are women. Books on alternative therapies sold pretty well, suggesting that women were eager to learn all that they could about these "new" treatments. We met face-to-face with some of our best readers--women just like you--to find out why they were turning to alternative medicine. What they told us was fascinating. Some women had suffered from problems like allergies, headaches or menstrual problems for years. They said they were discouraged by medications that either didn't work, put them to sleep or triggered other unwanted side effects. So they looked to natural methods to relieve their pain without disrupting their lives.

Still other women turned to natural healing as a way to prevent health problems from occurring in the first place, supporting their bodies' innate ability to stay strong and ward off disease.

Hundreds of alternative therapies are now in use. And more and more conventional doctors are embracing the use of alternative therapies. Yet many women rely on books as their primary source of information on what works. Physicians freely admit that there's only so much information that they can offer their patients in a routine office visit, so books can fill in the gap.

While many alternative therapies are safe and effective--and more are being studied all the time--some alternative practitioners and books suggest the use of herbs that are strong enough to do harm, without providing proper warnings for use by pregnant women or people with underlying health problems. And sometimes the directions for use aren't very clear. Since the therapies sound mysterious and unfamiliar, there's too often room for error.

Like other women, you're probably looking for a single book that takes the guesswork and risk out of alternative therapies, that focuses on what natural healing offers women. An easy-to-use reference book that women can trust.

To research and write this book, we attended conferences and workshops sponsored by medical schools that are now training physicians to use alternative medicine. We consulted the most respected experts in widely used therapies such as acupuncture, massage, yoga, meditation and reflexology, among others. We talked to women like you and your friends who have used alternative medicine successfully. And we consulted Adriane Fugh-Berman, M.D., former head of field investigations for the Office of Alternative Medicine at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland, to help us determine what therapies are safe and effective.

We also tried many of the therapies firsthand, to take the mystery out of alternative medicine and explain it in practical everyday ways.

Part 1 of this book explains why natural healing makes sense, especially for women. In part 2 of this book, you'll find an in-depth discussion of 30 individual therapies, from acupuncture to yoga. Here, in easy-to-understand terms, you'll find out how each therapy evolved and how and why it works. You'll find out what it feels like to go to an alternative practitioner for the first time. And you'll learn how to locate a qualified practitioner in your area.

Physicians who advocate natural healing say that the key is providing a variety of options so that people can select what works best for them as individuals. This book offers those options. In part 3, you'll discover how to use alternative remedies for dozens of health problems, from aches and pains and menstrual cramps to insomnia, anxiety to vaginal infections, and more.

We've paid special attention to finding out what alternative treatments work best for the health conditions unique to women--breast problems, menstrual discomforts, menopausal changes, pregnancy and urinary tract infections, among others. You'll also find natural treatments for conditions that affect more women than men--such as varicose veins, irritable bowel syndrome and chronic fatigue syndrome. Plus, you'll read about hopeful treatments for conditions that stymie medical doctors, like fibromyalgia (a painful condition that leaves your whole body sore and tired) and chronic pain, among others.

Throughout this book, you'll also read first-person stories from women who've healed themselves naturally: Yoga for digestive problems. Acupressure for migraine headaches. A vegetarian diet for the pain of rheumatoid arthritis. Evening primrose oil for tender breasts. And many more. In these highly personal, authentic accounts, the women that we interviewed tell how natural healing works.

This is the first book to offer the best in alternative medicine, geared specifically toward women. We hope that you enjoy reading--and using--this exciting new book.

Sharon Faelten

Managing Editor