Review of Asian Health Secrets: The Complete Guide to Asian Herbal Medicine (Paperback)

Asian Health Secrets by Letha Hadady, D.Ac., was recommended to me by an elder "kung fu brother" when I attended a very traditional kung fu school in Chinatown, NY.I knew very little of Asian medicinal theory so, I started with a fairly clean slate and couldn't have asked for a better foundation for learning about this rich tradition.The fact that His Holiness the Dalai Lama wrote the foreword speaks volumes in and of itself.

The book is written in a conversational manner that serves to gently ease the reader into learning about the Asian health perspective.Hadady, an absolute expert in this field, is also a talented teacher - she effectively conveys the complexities of Asian herbal medicine so that anyone who would read this book would "get it".She describes what an Asian herb is and how everything we consume, in addition to elements in our environment, act upon our energy, or chi (which she clearly explains as well).She addresses foods, herbs, and teas and explains in the text and in easy to read tables their energy and effect on the person and mind.

She explains Asian elements and humors and how they are expressed through our physical and mental health.There is also a fantastic cleansing program that is flexible in the amount of time and degree of dedication you wish to do it with.The program uses foods that are easily obtainable and suggestions for herbal products that are easy to get at a Chinese herb shop or through one of the suppliers listed in the back of the book (if you don't have the fortune of a local Chinatown).She also refers to remedies that are available at most health food stores.

She devotes a chapter to reading the tongue (an Asian method of diagnosis which I have personally found is uncanny in its accuracy).There are also chapters about weight loss, arthritis, headaches and toothaches, circulation, allergies, colds & flu, beauty, women's health (including PMS, menstruation, birth, menopause), energy, insomnia, sexuality, ginseng, depression and mental clarity among others.

Throughout the book, there are questionnaires so that you can find out what state your energy is in as it relates to the topic you're reading about.While the questionnaires are optional, they bring it all together because you can see how the material applies to you personally.You also begin to see how it applies to others - it's eye opening, really.

I have studied/read this book twice and refer to it all the time.I've also gone through all the questionnaires and am not too bad at figuring out which part of me is suffering and treating myself, whether through meals or herbs (including western herbs such as basil or Chinese herbal remedies).You'll understand why it's more than just traditional to eat things like salad in the summer and pumpkin pie with cloves and nutmeg in the fall.

I highly recommend this book because it's helped my family and me so much.They say that Asian doctors are held in high esteem not in the number of patients they treat but because their patients are healthy.Right on.I also recommend Letha Hadady's film, Asian Health Secrets (ISBN: 1-58350-240-8) where she goes to Chinatown, NY and visits vegetable vendors, restaurants and herb shops.She shows the viewer Chinese patent remedies and explains what they do which is a lovely compliment to this book.You can also tell from her beauty and radiant healthy presence that what she's doing works.

Product Description
Drawing on her own experience as well as dozens of case histories and the results of questionnaires, the author outlines safe, herbal remedies for problems ranging from colds, headaches, and insomnia to sexual dysfunction. Original. 25,000 first printing."



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