Wild Health

Science & Math

Engel, Cindy

Biological Sciences

This is the first book on a fascinating new field in biology -- zoopharmacognosy, or animal self-medication -- and its lessons for humans. When Rachel Carson published SILENT SPRING, few people knew the meaning of the word "ecology." Even fewer people today probably know the meaning of "zoopharmacognosy." But that is about to change. In WILD HEALTH, Cindy Engel explores the extraordinary range of ways animals keep themselves healthy, carefully separating scientifically verifiable fact from folklore, hard data from daydreams. As with holistic medicine for humans, there turns out to be more fact in folklore than was previously thought. How do animals keep themselves healthy? They eat plants that have medicinal properties. They select the right foods for a nutritionally balanced diet, often doing a better job of it than humans do. Animals even seek out psychoactive substances -- they get drunk on fermented fruit, hallucinate on mushrooms, become euphoric with opium poppies. They also manipulate their own reproduction with plant chemistry, using some plants as aphrodisiacs and others to enhance fertility. WILD HEALTH includes scores of remarkable examples of the ways animals medicate themselves. - Desert tortoises will travel miles to mine and eat the calcium needed to keep their shells strong. - Monkeys, bears, coatis, and other animals rub citrus oils and pungent resins into their coats as insecticides and antiseptics against insect bites. - Chimpanzees swallow hairy leaves folded in a certain way to purge their digestive tracts of parasites. - Birds line their nests with plants that protect their chicks from blood-draining mites and lice. In other words, animals try to keep themselves healthy in many of the same ways humans do; in fact, much of early human medicine, including many practices being revived today as "alternative medicine," arose through observations of animals. And, as WILD HEALTH, animals still have a lot to teach us. We could use a little more wild health ourselves.

Wild Health: How Animals Keep Themselves Well and What We Can Learn From Them

Nature & Ecology

Houghton, mifflin, harcourt

As Dr. Engel emphasizes in this "enticing, well-referenced, [and] entertaining book" (Science), we can learn a lot about human health by studying animal behavior in the wild. Indeed, some of the natural, holistic, and alternative human medicine being practiced today arose through the observation of wild animals. In this groundbreaking work, Dr. Engel points out fascinating parallels between animal and human medicine. She offers intriguing examples of how animals prevent and cure sickness and poisonings, heal open wounds, balance their diets, and regulate fertility. For instance, *chimpanzees carefully eat bitter-tasting plant "medicines" that counter intestinal parasites *elephants roam miles to find the clay they ingest to counter dietary toxins *broken-legged chicks have been known to eat analgesic foods that alleviate pain. By observing wild health we may discover (or rediscover) ways to benefit our own health. As Craig Stotlz of the Washington Post noted, this "highly readable assessment . . . triggers more outside-the-double-helix thoughts about human health than anything I've read recently."

Wild Health: Lessons in Natural Wellness from the Animal Kingdom

Health, Fitness & Dieting

Alternative Medicine

Mariner Books

Focusing on composts, pests, weeds, and soil, this comprehensive guide to organic gardening explains how to get off the chemical treadmill, stay earth-friendly, and still enjoy an abundance of fragrant and beautiful plants. Complete with checklists and planners, it discusses everything from crop rotation to making your own "green manure," and from enhancing biodiversity to using botanical pesticides. Build the foundation for a healthy garden by identifying its soil type, and properly nurturing it. Find out which weeds are useful, and how to control unwanted varieties. Encourage "good predators," such as ladybirds and hoverflies, and plant to repel pests. With the most up-to-date ideas for time management, seasonal planting, and more, it's the best way to make the most of a garden...naturally.

The Gaia Book of Organic Gardening

Crafts, Hobbies & Home

Ryrie, Charlie

Gardening & Landscape Design

Gaia

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Books by Engel, Cindy