A great book that taught me a lot. I highly recommend if you are interested in herbology. Well written and easy to follow.

An Herbalist's Guide to Formulary: The Art & Science of Creating Effective Herbal Remedies
by Holly Bellebuono from Llewellyn Worldwide, Ltd. Is a good guide to medicinal herbs. Discussing the human body and and herbals and their interactions with the body.
As the title suggests this book for beginners but the serious beginner would want a copy of this guide. Holly Bellebuono herbal formulary and pharmacology so she is providing serious information for the serious Herbalist. The author is an advocate of integrative medicine and obviously knows her craft. This book would have been greatly appreciated by my daughter when she was a nathropathic med student. From my amature herbalist point of veiw this is a well done, informative book for the serious herbalist.
Thank you Holly Bellebuono, Llewellyn Worldwide, Ltd and NetGalley for and ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I am no expert when it comes to Herbalism. I need all the help i can get when it comes to the subject. This book is definitely for a more intermediate practitioner though i think a beginner would benefit from reading it if they have an interest. I found it to be a rather solid read with lots that kept my interest peaked.

I was excited to read The Herbalist's Guide to Formulary by Holly Bellebuono. I am a big fan of using herbal remedies. This book is based on using a 4 Tier system for making remedies. While the book provides good information, it is not for a beginner. Very little information is given regarding preparation and dosing. I found the descriptions of how the body works a bit unnecessary. As good as the information is, the book left me wanting more.

This is a different approach to writing an herbal and it comes off well.

The book organizes herbs by bodily system which makes it much easier to find an herb for a particular ailment. Some other herbals have a system reference in the back. That approach works but I find this approach easier to use.

I only have two complaints regarding this book. First, all of the herb's properties are not listed in any one place. So if licorice is in 3 different sections it will be relisted with different information in each. This makes it harder to know the reasons why one might not want to take it. For example, if there was information about licorice being stimulating in the mind section, it might not show up in another section I am reading and I might assume licorice was good for me when it's not (at least most of the time it's not).

Secondly, the herbal description's format left something to be desired. I like a constituents section and an actions (e.g. carminative) section that make it quick/easy to determine what the herb is about.

I was not the biggest fan of this book, it is definitely one that is only really suitable for people that have a pretty solid knowledge of herbal medicine and not for a beginner. Granted there is nothing wrong with having advanced texts, but I feel a text being created for the general public should at least devote a chapter to the basics. Like how to make a tonic, or even more basic notes of why an herb works the way it does. And you do get some of that in the glossary, but it really should be at the front of the book and more in depth.

I personally have mixed feelings when it comes to herbal medicine, I was raised on it and have continued my studies on it into my 30s, and some of it does work. Drink honeysuckle for a sore throat, ginger for indigestion, licorice for gastritis. I feel that it works a lot better than OTC medication for basic things, but I do not think that a tea drank is going to do anything for Giardia save hydrate. Especially when the book makes no mention of dosage.

I think books like this do more harm than good, imagine being somewhat new to herbal medicine, most likely because conventional western medicine has failed to fix a health problem (because unless you are raised in a culture where herbal medicine is just a thing, I bet you that why you are getting into it) and you see these formulas that will treat a wide variety of problems. Say you want to treat a skin fungal infection so you see the tea recipe where it gives the ratios, 2 parts echinacea 1 part sage...and so forth...but does not give weight to water ratio. How many grams of total material should you be steeping and for how long? Also no mention anywhere that the reason you might have a skin fungal infection is due to an immune system problem and if that problem happens to be an overactive immune system, echinacea can make the problem worse.

There are a lot of decent formulas in this book, but no substance or instruction, something that is very dangerous when dealing with self medicating.

For years, I have been interested in healing health problems using herbal supplements, so this book caught my attention. It is a comprehensive, somewhat scientific, guide for using herbs. Although the book thoroughly covers the beneficial herbs for all of the body systems, it's not a guide that I find useful as a novice. "Formulas" are provided for medical conditions, but I would need more specific details (or recipes) before I would feel comfortable trying them. I still highly recommend the book to those interested in using herbs for treating health problems. Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC copy of this ebook.

I have always been fascinated by the idea of creating medicine from nature, the old practice some called hedge witchery. Bellebuono takes a practical and yes, scientific, look at the ways nature might be able to help heal or optimize the human body. She explains the history of using plants to heal, in both traditional western medicine and in more holistic practices. I found this guide to be very useful (the menopause section in particular), and was impressed that the author did not offer her recipes as the only answer, or the right answer for everyone. I recommend this book for anyone with a curious mind and an interest in learning alternative ways to care for themselves and their loved ones

A simple and elegant approach to herbal medicine:
The beauty I find in Holly Bellebuono's book is her 4-tier formula approach which makes the use of medicinal herbs simple and economical. The combination of herbs in this system elegantly addresses acute medical issues as well as long term wellness goals at the same time. I have already bookmarked a throat formula, a formula to support healthy lungs, a formula for chronic stress, and two formulas for the skin. For each formula Holly states the ratio between the herbs that are used and in which form they are best administered (tea, tincture, salve, syrup, etc.). She does not quantify how much of a remedy should be used at one time or how often it should be taken during a day. A beginner needs to find out from other sources how tinctures, salves, syrups, etc. are made, because their fabrication is not described in this book. This does not deter me because I already have other books and I really like Holly's formulations. Overall I agree with Holly's holistic approach to herbal medicine. In the beginning of the book, Holly for example makes clear that herbal medicine does not represent a magic bullet, but rather supports the healing process. I appreciate that she reminds the reader not only to rely on herbs but also to make healthy lifestyle changes and find a personal support system. I agree with her that herbal medicine has its limitations and that we have to consult with medical professionals, if necessary. She is also concerned about the environmental impact of herbal medicine and asks the reader to purchase organically grown herbs for her formulas and to avoid endangered herbs that are harvested in the wild. The only thing in this book I would criticize is that Holly recommends using arnica in homeopathic form because I do not believe in homeopathy.

This is not a book for a novice. This is geared to those with a working knowledge of herbs that are looking for a more natural approach to resolving some types of medical issues.

A very informative guide on how plants interact with our body systems to alleviate health issues or injuries. The book is broken out into sections by major body system (circulatory, pulmonary, brain/nervous system, immune system, hormones/endocrine system) which makes it easy to find the formulas that may aid whatever malady you're experiencing.

I do wish the book had more information on how to prepare the formulas - for example, how do you make a "tonic"? Some information on the best places to find the various plants would be helpful as well - which ones can you grow at home, which ones can you buy, which ones are rare or best foraged?

Like many people, I became interested in herbal remedies after getting into herb gardening and realising I had more herbs than I could cook with. A Herbalist's Guide to Formulary is an easy to understand yet detailed look at formulating 4 tier herbal remedies for all the body's systems. It covers a great deal of ailments and includes a large variety of herbs. A lovely herbal remedy reference.

This is not a book for beginners. You really have to have a knowledge of herbs before you can use this book. Not what I thought when I requested it

Wonderful photos and great recipes for healing with herbs!

"An Herbalist's Guide to Formulary" is not a book you can use by itself unless you have an extensive knowledge of herbs. The author provided only very brief information about the herbs, focusing mainly on how the human body works (digestive, cardiovascular, brain & nervous, immune, hormones, etc.) and her formulas. By which I mean, use 2 parts tonic (supportive, long-term usage herb) to 1 part tier 2 herb to 1 part tier 3 herb to 1 part tier 4 herb.

So she'd talk about the respiratory system, for instance, and then list some herbs (tier 1, tier 2, etc.) that would be helpful for various problems with the respiratory system. She'd even suggest specific formulas (2 parts yarrow, 1 part sage, 1 part....taken as tincture). However, she didn't suggest how much of the herb to use (or even say how much was safe). The closest she got to giving amounts was "a small amount." As in, use kelp only in "small amounts due to high sodium content." (And she didn't mention the high iodine content here, which is a greater concern.) She didn't suggest how often or long one might take the formula. She didn't explain how to mix the herbs or make pills, tinctures, etc. She assumed you already know all this abut herbs.

Also, I found enough basic errors that I stopped trusting her information. While she generally had good information, she'd say things like constipation is caused by too much fiber (but the opposite is true). She suggested eating yogurt when you have an ulcer, but the current medical advice is to avoid all dairy when you have an ulcer. In one spot, she said to avoid dairy for that condition, then a few sentences later she suggested eating yogurt. She also said some things that were confusing due to not fully explaining what she meant. So she said several times that you shouldn't take garlic long-term, only much later explaining that she was referring to raw garlic. I believe I was reading an advanced reader copy, so maybe the errors will be fixed in the final copy.

This was a great book, definitely a must have for anyone seriously interested in herbal medicine but not for the novice.  The historical and modern information and examples given will give you a great starting point for how and what you can use in creating customized herbal formulas.

This was basic enough that a beginner could follow, but advanced enough to be interesting and helpful to someone who has been doing herbs for a while. I would actually recommend it to a more advanced herbalist. There are descriptions of the herbs and their uses and the formularies for combining them to bring out the energy in each other effectively.