The ABCs of Hormones is a welcome addition to the Keats's family of Good Health Guides. Author Jack Challem, who has written extensively in the health field, says that "hormones are unquestionably among medicine's most powerful, more remarkable drugs."

The body produces at least 200 different hormones. Challem chose the ten most common to describe in detail: melatonin, DHEA, pregnenolone, estrogen, testosterone, insulin, thyroid, adrenocortical, and human growth hormones. Challem gives a brief explanation of how each hormone works, and the symptoms of hormonal imbalance. He then discusses natural alternatives for each.

This receives our highest recommendation. Suzanne combines her celebrity status with a powerful message.

A meticulous and lucid writer and editor. Highly recommended read.

As the editor-in-chief of Prevention Magazine Health Books, Bill Gottlieb created the 10-million copy self-care bestseller, The Doctors Book of Home Remedies, and was the author of the 1.5 million copy alternative health bestseller, New Choices in Natural Healing. Now, Bill has once again created a groundbreaking booka book that can help anyone safely, successfully and naturally self-treat 160 everyday and serious health conditions: Alternative Cures.

To write this unique book, Bill interviewed over 300 of America's top natural cliniciansdoctors, herbalists, nutritionists and more. You'll discover over 1000 of their most effective, practical and safest natural remedies for an A-to-Z of health problems, from arthritis, back pain and high cholesterol, to repetitive strain injury, weight gain and yeast infections. Plus, every chapter of Alternative Cures has a guide to the best alternative and conventional professional care for the condition it covers.

And, you'll find essential safety information for every remedy featured in the book. Once you look at it, we think you'll agree: There's never been a more useful, reader-friendly, get-better book about alternative health and healing than Alternative Cures.

In 'A Paradigm Shift from "Cure"', Friedan believes the assumption of age being likened to sickness or debility keeps the medical community and even the elderly themselves from dealing with the symptoms of legitimate illnesses. The role of functional assessment is important in treating the elderly, saying, "A new version of the old-fashioned family doctor, trained to treat the whole person, is what is needed." She goes on to say "Doctors and nurses must go beyond medicine's two traditional goals: " to cure disease and to prevent disease." Their goal now has to be to preserve and improve the quality of life for the older person." For Friedan, the paradigm shift is one from the passive medical model of care of the elderly to actually controlling their own age.

Friedan undertakes issues that haven't truly been addressed before, so as a gerontologist this book is important to me. She opens our eyes to the social implications the decline model holds for our elderly, and the paradigm shift that needs to take place if we are going to look at the abilities and qualities that may develop or emerge in men and women in later life, and contemplate new possibilities for their use.

Going beyond, or the transcendence of age is how Friedan concludes her journey. Given the new possibilities old age holds, she believes the elderly

Intrigue at the "Palace": back-stabbing, deceit, shunning, love affairs. This is not the plot to I, Claudius but the account Pert gives of her time working at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), a.k.a. the Palace. Yet her time at NIH is not the central point here. Nor are the molecules of the title, although they do get due coverage.

Pert offers mainly an account of her journey from a conventional scientist to one who also embraces complementary and alternative medicine. The journey is long and not without price. She was passed over for the Lasker and Nobel prizes for her work on opiate receptors while colleagues were recognized; she believes that her development of a potential AIDS drug was thwarted owing to scientific dirty pool as well as her being a woman in a man's world. Along the way, she took control of her career, her life, and her personal mission. This is an eye-opening book for anyone who thinks that people with medical degrees act more civil or are more altruistic than the rest of us, though Pert also shows that some do rise above the fray. Recommended for academic and special libraries.?Lee Arnold, Historical Soc. Of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia.

Dr. Reiss and talented cowriter Martin Zucker explain why, how, and when to use natural hormones. This is not a snappy, one-size-fits-all program--rather, you, with the involvement of your physician, learn how to analyze your needs and individualize your treatment for your own optimal hormonal balance. Reiss describes the benefits and uses of natural estrogen and progesterone, then discusses other natural hormones that might be helpful: testosterone, human growth hormone, DHEA, melatonin, and pregnenolone. This is a provocative book that's worth sharing with your doctor. --Joan Price

Discussing the problem of declining sexual desire among menopausal women, this study proposes the use of testosterone to help restore a woman's energy, libido, and sense of well-being.

While we do not agree with her ultimate recommendation of the use of methyl-testosterone, the basic principles of testosterone replacement in women remains sound and compelling. We do agree with the other three forms of more natural testosterone the author suggests.

The Miracle of Natural Hormones, by David Brownstein, M.D., shows how the use of natural hormones and other natural treatments can treat or even reverse many chronic conditions such as heart disease, PMS, menopause, chronic fatigue syndrome, fibromyalgia, migraine headaches, hypothyroidism and many more conditions.

Dr. Brownstein uses actual case studies taken from his own medical practice to describe his unique holistic treatments which include the use of the following hormones: natural thyroid, DHEA, natural progesterone, natural estrogens, natural testosterone, human growth hormone, melatonin, pregnenolone and natural hydrocortisone.

Dr. Brownstein states that the use of natural hormones are much more effective than synthetic hormones. In addition to describing the benefits of natural hormones, this book also contains chapters on importance of drinking an adequate amount of water and eating a proper diet in order to insure a healthy hormonal system.

Finally, this book gives specific recommendations on the use of vitamins and minerals to support the body's immune system.

There is always hope and here is the reason why.

Diagnosed with premature menopause at age 38, Petras has written the book that she wished had been available to her at that traumatic time. Well researched, engrossing, and easy to understand, this book will be invaluable to the millions of women in their twenties and thirties who share Petras's experience, answering the questions women ask when faced with the physical and emotional consequences of early menopause and the reality that their ability to reproduce might be over.

In addition to a thorough discussion of the pathophysiology and emotional aspects of premature menopause, this book includes chapters on hormone replacement and other pharmacologic therapies, diet (including vitamins and natural supplements), and exercise, as well as choosing the right doctor. Personal accounts from women dealing with premature menopause coupled with Petras's references to her own experiences should help empower women.

Appended to the text is information about support groups and web sites.

Must read! A highly informative text by a good writer and well known celebrity. Finally, a balanced book about the use and benefits of NHRT and bio-identical hormones -- even in the face of breast cancer. A brave soul. Those of us in the Anti-Aging community could scarcely have writen a better text. I highly applaud her efforts to get out the word -- there are positive benefits. Be wary of all the negative hype and misinterpretations of recent data.

Menopause doesn't have to be a dreaded curse of aging during which we can look forward only to hot flashes and whacked-out hormonal mood swings. According to Christiane Northrup, M.D. (Women's Bodies, Women's Wisdom), menopause often marks the beginning of a woman's most sexually passionate, creatively inspired, and professionally productive phase of life.

While this may sound like wishful thinking, Northrup backs up her good news with solid medical expertise. As an obstetrician and gynecologist, Northrup has specialized in using a mind-body approach to women's health for decades, which means she doesn't just write about hormones, but also examines how a woman's lifestyle, emotions, and beliefs are affected by menopause. With the right diet, attitude, and perhaps some supplements along the way, women can actually look forward to a resurgence of energy and a revolutionary opportunity for personal growth--one that rivals the hormonally driven period of adolescence in its scope and urgency, she claims. And yes, at just under 500 pages, The Wisdom of Menopause does explain how to have a positive and healthy menopause in concise detail. Northrup has indeed "written the book" on menopause.

At last a straight forward and well researched alternate veiw about breast cancer, its causes and its treatment.

Dr. Lee and all have gone to great lengths to present meaningful and in depth perspectives on the issues that most matter in trying to understand how we can respond to breast cancer. They don't shy away from the difficult questions of how money and politics have shaped what we have been led to believe about how our own bodies function and the impact of various hormones on us.

All we have to do is look in the news these days to see the mis-information that we have been fed elsewhere on HRT, cancer and such. Nor do they back away from distortions that have been feed to us about supposed sucesses on the war on cancer.

Finally we have in one place a book that can point us in the direction of real hope and possible long term solutions, both individually and collectively.

I have been working with women and men with breast cancer for many years. At last I have a source of information that I can point people to that we can trust. Read this book. Then re-read it. It is a goldmine and a must if you or anyone you know has breast cancer or even concerns about it.

While we do not fully agree with all that Dr. Lee has said, he remains a pioneer and a valuable contributor to the notion that progesterone is so important to balancing excess estrogen. He, more than anyone, advanced the notion that progesterone is more than simply a hormone that causes monthly cycling. Men, also have progesterone levels for similar hormonal balance.

Hormones are not gender specific. It is the balance, and levels that vary from male to female.

This book offers the exciting facts about natural progesterone-and how it can deliver what HRT and estrogen only promise. Premenopausal symptoms, endometriosis, weight gain, low sex drive, fibrocystic breasts, heart disease, and osteoporosis-most women will experience these or other hormone-related problems.

While we do not fully agree with all that Dr. Lee has said, he remains a pioneer and a valuable contributor to the notion that progesterone is so important to balancing excess estrogen. He, more than anyone, has advanced the notion that progesterone is more than simply a hormone that causes monthly cycling. Men, also have progesterone levels for the same hormonal balance.

Hormones are not gender specific. It is the balance, and levels that vary from male to female.

Even if you're a decade or more away from menopause, your hormones may already be out of balance, usually caused by an excess of estrogen and a deficiency of progesterone, say the authors of What Your Doctor May Not Tell You About Premenopause.

John Lee, M.D., is a well-known advocate of the benefits of natural progesterone and the author of What Your Doctor May Not Tell You About Menopause. Jesse Hanley, M.D., adds sensitivity to the emotional and spiritual aspects of premenopause.

The authors recommend natural progesterone cream to balance your hormones, eliminate premenopausal symptoms, and make you feel better. They also discuss the dangers of xenohormones--substances not found in nature that have hormonal effects--frequently found in pesticides, solvents, plastics, and hormone-treated