Let thy food be thy medicine : plants and modern medicine /

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Bibliographic Details
Author / Creator:Hefferon, Kathleen L.
Imprint:New York : Oxford University Press, 2012.
Description:1 online resource (194 pages) : illustrations, maps
Language:English
Subject:
Format: E-Resource Book
URL for this record:http://pi.lib.uchicago.edu/1001/cat/bib/11303693
Hidden Bibliographic Details
ISBN:9780199873982
0199873984
9780199873975
0199873976
Notes:Includes bibliographical references and index.
English.
Print version record.
Summary:Hefferon addresses the myths and popular beliefs surrounding the application of plants in human health, revealing both their truths and inaccuracies, and provides an overview of the technologies scientists are using to further their research. Are herbal medicines effective? Are organic foods really better for you? Will the cure to cancer eventually come from a newly discovered plant which dwells in the Amazon basin? Will medicines ever become affordable and available to the neediest? How will we produce enough food to keep up with an ever-increasing world population? Written with these issues in mind, Let Thy Food Be Thy Medicine is a response to the current flood of conflicting information regarding the use ofplants for both consumption and medicinal purposes. Kathleen Hefferon addresses the myths and popular beliefs surrounding the application of plants in human health, revealing both their truths and inaccuracies, and provides an overview of the technologies scientists are using to further their research. The book covers herbal medicines, functional and biofortified foods, plants and antibiotics, edible vaccines, and organic versus genetically modified foods, discussing each from a scientific standpoint. It these topics together for the first time, providing a much-needed overview of plants as medicine. Intended for scientists and professionals in related disciplines as well as the interested reader educated in the sciences, this book will confront claims made in the media with science andscientific analysis, providing readers with enough background to allow them to make their own judgments.
Other form:Print version: Hefferon, Kathleen L. Let thy food be thy medicine 9780199873975