Many people believe that in order for medicine to be effective, it must include expensive procedures and complicated technological equipment operated by highly trained specialists who perform in extravagant, templelike hospitals. In many instances, doctors using highly technical conventional modalities can accomplish miracles: the specialties of plastic or facial maxillary surgery, for example. Modern doctors, however, are often helpless in their efforts to treat complicated cancers or other life-threatening conditions. Frequently, no amount of chemotherapy, surgery, or radiation will increase a patient's chances of long-term survival if the disease is widespread throughout the patient's body. I often wonder why many patients opt for expensive, painful treatments even though their doctors tell them that there is no hope for recovery, and especially when more effective therapies might be found in the realm of natural products.

Twenty-three years ago, when I was a medical resident at a large university-affiliated hospital, Dr. Fred Bartter of the National Institutes of Health introduced me to a natural and highly effective therapy for serious liver disease. At the time, four patients had been assigned to me with "irreparable" liver damage and I was told by my instructors that there was no hope for their recovery. I called Dr. Bartter for his advice. He informed me that Czechoslovakian doctors had been successfully using a natural product called alpha-lipoic acid (thioctic acid) to regenerate livers. I quickly arranged to have the lipoic acid shipped to me by air. After I administered it to my patients, I was astounded by their rapid and complete recovery from their "terminal" disease. Dr. Bartter and I published our findings on 79 people with almost complete liver destruction; 75 of them recovered quickly. These extraordinary results were almost completely ignored by the American medical community. When I shared my experience with my colleagues and patients, I was repeatedly asked, "How could a simple, inexpensive, and natural substance be more effective than an expensive and extensively researched drug?"

Although many continue to ask the same question today, knowledgeable academics, clinical medical doctors, and patients alike now understand the role of natural products in treating illness. They take natural medicine seriously, and most realize its potential for treating severe disease.

In this volume, Frank Murray, a pioneer in his field and a highly experienced health and nutrition writer, does a superb job of explaining how and why natural treatments work by furnishing the reader with comprehensive amounts of information on natural supplements for preventing and treating disease conditions. This book also contains abundant and easy-to-use references to scientific studies that support the text. It provides both layperson and professional practically all they need to know about using simple and inexpensive natural substances for preventing serious illness and promoting good health.

Burt Berkson, M.D., Ph.D.
President, Integrative Medical Center of New Mexico
Las Cruces, New Mexico