The Little Book of Self-Health: Natural Healing for the Uninsured (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9780615635828)

Toni Fain holds a Doctor of Natural Medicine from Arkansas College of Natural Health (formerly Southern College of Naturopathy). Her 40+ years of study and practice include two years' study of Native Ameri-can medicine in Flagstaff, Arizona, and two years studying with a Chinese apothecary (pharmacist) in Oakland, California. Fain's first encounters with natural healing came during her early years at her grandparent's home, where she gathered garden herbs and vegetables for the "anti-gas" tea offered after large holiday meals. There were plenty of fresh vegetable soups, and healing teas whenever the children fell ill. Grandmother made what she called gravy, made from a blend of veggies thinned with either some pan juice or tomato juice. Fain's brothers suffered from severe allergies and ear problems, and her father suffered with indigestion. The three were milk drinkers while symptom-free family members were not. One early childhood memory is of her grand-mother's cure for a cold: fresh garlic, sliced onions, sage leaves, and rosemary, all wrapped in a dishtowel laid across the afflicted chest, topped with a heating pad. Fain's massage practice got an early start when as a child she walked on her father's back (as a firefighter he carried people from burning buildings). She later graduated to using elbows, fists, and thumbs to loosen cranky muscles and in her teens practiced massage within her mother's hair salon (a person could do that back then). She employed natural healing techniques with her own children and has not consulted a medical doctor since her youngest child's birth in 1981. Now in her late 50s, Fain takes no prescription or OTC drugs. Though she indulges occasionally in fast food (no cheese!) and rich desserts (even for breakfast), she is also known to carry small packs of sea salt, fresh rosemary, thyme, cinnamon, and/or B-grade maple syrup when eating out. About nutrition she is quick to explain, "It's not about perfection, it's about finding a balance" through countering negative health habits with positive choices. Her personal goal - REgeneration instead of DE-generation. Her mantra is: It's your body. If you don't take care of it, no one else will. Your brain wants information and your body wants good nutrition. The Little Book of Self-Health provides the perfect resource for getting started.