Much like the naturopathy school founded by one of the authors, this book LOOKS slick, professional and science based. But, a closer look reveals a lack of any real substance. Far too much emphasis is put on questionable diagnoses.Though the treament sections looks to be well referenced, many of the studies cited don't support the author's assertions and others are outright irrelevant! Many of the disease monographs recommend a shoppingbag full of supplements--Polypharmacy at its worst.

Also it should be kept in mind that the second author is a rep for a nutritional supplement company, a potential conflict of interest not noted in the text.

Poor works such as this one only serve to damage the reputation of natural/integrative medicine.


Choose David Rakel's "Integrative Medicine" for more reliable information at a fraction of the price.

I have read the critical reviews of this textbook and I disagree with them. As a naturopathic physician and educator, I have found this textbook to be an indispensible learning tool for anyone serious about understanding natural medicine. A work of this magnitude is bound to have imprefections. The Textbook of Natural Medicine is an incredibly ambitious work. More importantly, it is a groundbreaking work. Many others have come later to improve upon what Drs. Murray and Pizzorno have created here, but this book is the grand-daddy of all of them. Murray and Pizzorno have done more to advance awareness of naturopathic medicine in the world than anyone. This textbook is only one part of their legacy. Moreover, it is not the work of just two people, but a collaborative effort that includes many contributors. This book was written by practitioners with tremendous intelligence and experience, who were practicing complementary and alternative medicine decades before most people even knew what it was. This evolving work that deserves the highest regard, even with its flaws. There are critical aspects of natural medicine that exist nowhere in print except in this textbook. Any healthcare practitioner who has not studied it cannot claim to be an expert in natural medicine.

A book of words and dubious references by "experts". I cannot find any important educational references in this book. As an expert in the field of Natural Medicine this is one book I would NEVER use.

When I am sick, I don't want to wade through this book at all......there are many mistakes. I had the shock of my life recently.....I had a mild cold and took the standard remedies given by my herbal "doctor". I didn't get better and got very sick almost to the point of being in the hospital. Luckily, my family medical doctor treated me and also prescribed a potent Rx. Within 24 hours I felt much better! None of the alternate treatments and herbal medicines worked at all! The bill from the herbal "doctor" and all the medicines and treatments he gave me was MORE than the visit to my Family medical doctor and his treatments !!!!! Thanks Doc!

The textbook of natural medicine is an eclectic collection of all the medical lore the "Mainstream AMA worshippers" have rejected. This is extremely useful since a lot of that stuff works! Unfortunately, the editors did NOT do their job of ensuring quality, uniformity and relevance. They were however quite complete.

The book cautions readers to prescribe therapeutically useful dosages and then in many cases suggests inadequate doses or too infrequent admnistration.

Irrelevant discussions, e.g. of how witches being burned at the stake during the inquisition relates to the role of women in modern medicine fill up a small but noticeable portion of the book.

Some of the material, such as that on heavy metal detoxification, is flat out wrong - and dangerously so. The editors did not ensure that contributors who proclaimed themselves experts in a field actually WERE experts.

With that all said, many effective therapies are suggested, much correct information is included, and most of the content is relevant. However it is up to the reader to go find OTHER sources and to collect the experiences of patients to sort out what it is in this book that works, and what does not. I'd say it is 70 or 80% accurate - a good place to start but certainly not the sole foundation for a medical practice that is going to make very many people well.

Health care professionals who read this book as a supplement to more traditional (and editorially mature) works will find much invaluable information that is not available elsewhere. Any type of physician would be well advised to read this book if they want to find new ways to help their patients solve problems that aren't amenable to the standard approaches.

The extensive referencing is useful and interesting even if it was included primarily to ape the "AMA worshippers" game of pretending that what doctors do is scientific. Naturopathy is at least as scientific as allopathy, which isn't saying all that much. Unfortunately, the poorly written sections also do not refer to appropriate literature where accurate information can be found so the extensive referencing really doesn't ameliorate the book's problems.

The book is also not as technical as the editor's sales material (above) states - it is accessible to people with a reasonable amount of technical knowledge regardless of whether they have studied biology or medicine. This book is a good place for patients to look who have problems where their MD knows how to keep them from dying, but not how to make them better.

I'd give this book a cautious "buy" reccomendation. It is good enough to be useful and there really isn't anything else comparable. But I do hope the editors will have a much improved third edition out soon.