Foreword to the Book

By Xu Guo-Jun, Ph.D., Wang Zhen-Tao, Ph.D., and Zhou Zhen-He, Ph.D.

Health is everything. Health is all. Health is the most precious treasure anyone can possess. Without health, our life would be dull – no happiness, no success, a great loss. “Health and longevity?” is the most sincere and pleasing greeting presented by Chinese people. This book, The Ancient Wisdom of the Chinese Tonic Herbs, written by Ron Teeguarden, will help you to discover a marvellous world of herbs.

The classical Chinese philosophies and theories on nature and the human body may be the biggest obstacle for the Westerners to learning and practicing a program for radiant health. With his profound knowledge about Chinese civilization, the author of this book has successfully kicked the big stone away and can therefore lead the readers smoothly into the great palace of Chinese radiant health. Readers will find Chapters 1 through 3 of this book that the principles of the Chinese art of radiant health have become simple and understandable due to the author’s clear and accurate interpretations and descriptions. We really appreciate it very much.

The author’s brief introduction to Chinese herbalism and tonic herbs is also just to the point. Through it, readers can easily learn and grasp how Chinese tonic herbs are classified, selected, and used. All the tonics and herbal formulations listed and introduced in this book are the classical ones or their derivatives. These herbs have been proven to be safe and efficacious by long histories of practice, as well as by laboratory research done in China, Japan, Korea, and elsewhere. Now herbal tonics and preparations have been commonly accepted and widely used almost everywhere in the world. It is not difficult to find monographs describing Chinese herbal medicines in book stores, but in our opinion, this book may be the best one. Reading this book, you may become interested in the art of radiant health and begin to consume some Chinese tonic herbs or herbal preparations, if you select and use the herbs properly, as described in this book.

Reviews:

“User friendly, informative, and timely…Kudos to Ron Teeguarden, who has produced an indispensable resource that is vital and beneficial.” - Cranford L. Scott, M.D., FACP, Diplomate, American Board of Internal Medicine, and clinical professor of medicine University of Southern California School of Medicine

“Simple, easy-to-understand language…a practical guide to enlivening our inner healer.” - David Simon, M.D., medical director, the Chopra Center for Well Being, and author of The Wisdom of Healing

“Expands our health options…makes foreign ideas easy to grasp and fun to learn. Read it, taste the wonder of Chinese tonic herbs and radiant health" - Harriet Beinfield, Lic.Ac., coauthor of Between Heaven and Earth: A Guide to Chinese Medicine

“Recommended reading…important…simply and elegantly sheds new light on age-old Chinese herbal wisdom….Colearly showing it will guid our path to the future.” - Margo Jordan Parker, OMD, Lic.Ac., Dipl.Ac. (NCCA)