SECOND EDITION


Your Map to the World
of Complementary & Alternative Therapies

 

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Reviews

FOX News.com

Reuters

Here's what people are saying about UnBreak Your Health!

"There is no question that the major BREAK in life is the current Medical System, which is at the very least the number 3 cause of death!  At least 85% of the time Complementary and Alternative approaches are far safer and more effective than drugs or surgery. UnBreak your Health provides a terrific source for those interested in real health!" 
    C. Norman Shealy, M.D., Ph.D.

    www.normshealy.com

 
5.0 out of 5 stars Impressively organized and presented
By  Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA)
As the babyboom generation ages (as well as generations X, Y & Z, for that matter), personal health and physical fitness have become more than just fashionable -- they are recognized as fundamental to being able to enjoy life, pursue goals, and live longer. The rise in the popularity of what is described as Alternative Medicine has also taken place because of the shortcomings of traditional medicine to insure continued good health and/or speedy recovery from illness or injury. In "Unbreak Your Health: The Complete Guide To Complementary & Alternative Therapies", Alan E. Smith has compiled more than 300 entries on more than 135 alternative health subjects, providing both students of alternative medicine and non-specialist general readers with an interest in alternatives to what traditional medicine has to offer them with respect to basic health concepts. Impressively organized and presented with an alphabetized roster of therapies for the body, a section devoted to therapies for the mind; and an entire chapter of therapies applicable to the human 'spirit' or 'energy', "Unbreak Your Health" is thoroughly 'reader friendly' and accessible. Of special note are the chapters on Insurance, Alan Smith's conclusions, his recommendations, the resources list, bibliography for further reading, and a comprehensive index. "Unbreak Your Health" is very strongly recommended and fundamentally useful reading for students of Alternative Medicine, and would prove a popular addition to community library Health & Medicine reference collections.
 

June 2010 for the second edition of UnBreak Your Health
by Vicki Landes

Today more than ever, we are bombarded with stories of horrible drug side effects and greedy medical insurance companies. While we pay out the nose for health insurance, we spend hours in a waiting room and only get to talk to a doctor for a few minutes before he or she slaps you with a prescription and sends you out the door. Modern medicine, in all of its advances and breakthroughs, serves to treat the symptoms more so than the actual cause. As the system gets worse, more and more people are turning to alternatives; "How to UnBreak Your Health: Your Map to the World of Complementary and Alternative Therapies" hopes to guide those lost in today's medical maze towards hope and recovery.

"How to UnBreak Your Health" is a comprehensive collection of the various complementary and alternative therapies available to the ailing. From well known practices such as massage, yoga, chiropractic, and acupuncture to lesser-known yet rather surprisingly effective techniques like Applied Kinesiology and Cold Laser Therapy. Author Alan E. Smith breaks down each and every method and gives just enough information to explain the concept without getting 'bogged down in the weeds.' The information he gives includes the background of each therapy, what they involve, who came up with the theory and technique, and what type of health issues they seem to work on best. Websites and other reference information are also presented for further research.

"How to UnBreak Your Health" is a fantastic resource for anyone looking to take more control of their health. Since Smith gives only a short synopsis of each method, he maintains a manageable-sized book for the non-professional while including over 330 different complementary and alternative therapies in 150 categories. Further, he doesn't dissuade his readers from utilizing traditional medical avenues; instead he encourages using both traditional and alternative practices in tandem as to complement each other. In concluding his work, Smith gives some advice on questions to ask an insurance company regarding coverage of complementary and alternative therapies.

As a self-labeled 'doubter,' I began reading "How to UnBreak Your Health" with plenty of skepticism. While I found just a few of the mind and spirit/energy therapies to be a bit "hokey", the majority of the methods presented made complete sense. Alan E. Smith speaks with intelligence while imparting enough enthusiasm on his readers to get them energized without going overboard. "How to UnBreak Your Health" has changed my opinion of complementary and alternative therapies!


About.com PATIENT EMPOWERMENT
5.0 out of 5 stars
This book provides a comprehensive path toward identifying the options available for health and wellness promotion, for mending broken perceptions and body parts, for uniting our spirit and energy with our minds and bodies. Alan provides a sensible approach to the personalized pathway to hope, healing, and wellness in non-technical language, empowering the reader of information and options about which he may not have been aware... (he) takes us on a personal expedition, providing a “map to better health” for which each of us may find an individualized path according to our specific inner GPS... Smith provides a roster of therapies and wide-ranging resource list from which we can begin our own course of healing and health betterment.
            Reviewed 3/6/11 on About.com's PATIENT EMPOWERMENT

"UnBreak Your Health is the most comprehensive and reader-friendly guide for alternative health solutions that I have ever read.  The author, Alan E. Smith, through personal experience presents a compelling argument for the power of our bodies to heal themselves if we would give them the opportunity.  However, Smith is not an opponent of conventional medicine, and states that this book is meant to give hope and options to complement healing therapies.

The reader-friendly format of the book provides an introduction to alternative therapies, the best way to use this book and chapters on overall health concepts and working with the body, mind and spirit.  Topics include acupuncture and traditional Chinese medicine, Ayurvedic medicine, homeopathy, osteopathy and environmental medicine.  Other therapies covered are mind-body therapies, manual healing therapies and herbal remedies.  The methods listed in this book include therapies that have been around for thousands of years to life-changing new devices. 

I was amazed at the number of alternative therapies that are available to a person.  Our technology-based culture can learn so much from the cultures of ancient lineage around the world following time-honored systems.  The Western approach often fails to treat the whole patient - mind, body, emotions and spirit, and treats the symptoms instead of finding the root of the problem.  Additionally the author has included user comments throughout the book that are testimonials of healing from people who have given up on conventional medicine.  I recognized several of the therapies and was pleasantly surprised to see the Network Spinal Analysis included, a chiropractic technique that uses specific touches to heal.  I was introduced to this technique several years ago and was able to avoid surgery by using it.  I was also really glad to see the Radical Forgiveness Technology listed, an amazing technology that I started using several months ago.

UnBreak Your Health would complement any home-based or business library.  I applaud the author for creating such a comprehensive guide."
    Reviewed by Cherie Fisher for Reader Views 2007

 

There have been a number of changes and updates in this second edition of UnBreak Your Health ... Another welcome change is more background information about the general philosophy of complementary and alternative therapies ... With the added commentary and analogies, this new edition will now be equally useful to those with little or no background in alternative therapies, those tentatively sticking a toe in the waters so to speak.
    Reviewed by Tami Brady for TCM Reviews  July 2010


"...I enjoyed reading this book and can now say I am enlightened and empowered and able to improve my health. This is a must have book for anyone wanting to improve their health and ways to go about it."  I rate this book
Reviewed by Wilma for Booksville Literary Reviews

 

 

 

 

 

5.0 out of 5 stars An Unparalleled Reference Volume!, November 29, 2007
By  Peter McCarthy "Naturopathic Doctor" (Helotes, TX, USA)
Alan Smith has created THE definitive guide to complementary and alternative health care (CAM) with this invaluable book. As chair of the Texas Health Freedom Coalition, the nation's numerically largest state level grass roots alternative health advocacy organization, I am recommending all our members not only purchase a copy for themselves, but also send one to their state senator and representative to allow our lawmakers to better acquaint themselves with CAM, now the fastest growing segment of our health care system. Kudos to Alan for a great job!

 "Unbreak Your Health is an incredible resource and we should all really have this book on our shelves.  I think it's a wonderful, wonderful book."
--Juanita Watson, host of InsideScoopLive.com

“UnBreak Your Health: The Complete Guide to Complementary & Alternative Therapies” by Alan E. Smith presents a comprehensive guide useful for when you want to explore other options beyond traditional medicine. If you are considering complementary or alternative therapies you are not alone! ... After most descriptions is a favorite part of mine called “user comments” which aids in understanding how effective these therapies are. These are comments from actual users of these particular methods... I recommend this thorough guide to complementary and alternative therapies to anyone who is frustrated with conventional medicine’s approach to his health issues or to anyone who just wants to educate himself as to what is out there in terms of non-traditional care."
--
Reviewed by Kam Aures for RebeccasReads (1/08)

"I was amazed at the number of alternative therapies; some I'd never heard of. It really is a complete guide"
--Nancy Barlett, RI in Reflexology Across America winter edition 2008

"(This) is a good overview of a number of different types of holistic mind/body/spirit healing practices."   
    Eric Robins, M.D., co-author of Your Hands Can Heal You.

"I love that it is written in lay language---it is an every person’s guide!  So many books comparing complementary medicine techniques and medical or health modalities are not; the reader must usually wade through technical terms and small print as if reading a legal contract.  Needless to say, many of those truly desiring help are discouraged and explore no more.  Alan Smith’s book is a welcome and needed addition for those who truly desire access to health and wellness information in  easily digestible language and backed up by diverse experiences."
     Imara, MBA,MHpn,URM

"There are many ways to heal and many ways to grow. This book offers an amazing and impressive collection of valuable information to people looking to complement or supplement the conventional methods of treatment."
     Karen Carnabucci, LCSW, TEP 
     CompanionsInHealing.com

"Unbreak Your Health has a great concept going for it. Alternative health techniques have flooded the market in recent years, and their sheer variety overwhelms most people. It's a laudable goal of Smith's to explain these many practices, which he does clearly and concisely. Smith also covers an amazing number of therapies in a mere 212 pages. An extensive appendix of Web sites provides further avenues for research."
     Reviewed by Elizabeth A. Allen for CLARION

 

By Trisha Torrey, September 18, 2008

"The Bottom Line

If you are looking for a list of alternative and complementary therapies, along with descriptions of each, you'll find an extensive list in this book. There are very old therapies, some developed thousands of years ago, like acupuncture. They are intermingled with some of the newest therapies such as the Raindrop Technique, first cited in 2003. Each is listed with a web reference so you can get more information."

 


December 9, 2008

" Knowledge is power. And this book is a way to provide you with a one stop source for discovering complementary and alternative therapies...Do you feel like your health is broken, and you haven’t been able to find help from your regular medical professional? Now may be the time to consider alternative therapies...Health is very individual which is why searching for alternatives may be your only course for taking control of your health."

 

(Yes, I've been remiss about posting reviews for a long time.  I promise to do better!)


October 12, 2009

"This book is probably the most useful reference I have seen in this large field of study. It's exhaustively researched, and contains information that ranges from A to Z on the spectrum of alternative medicine.  It's written in an easy to understand style, and is set up in a very useful format. I especially appreciated the various comments garnered from people who have actually used these treatments, and their opinions and results. In addition to being a great overall reference, it's a great manual for people just beginning to look into these therapies. ... I think this book has a place on the reference shelves of anyone interested in better understanding this field, and would be invaluable to any beginner in starting their study of the field.  In fact, I think this book can easily replace 5 or 6 other books on my shelves, a testimony to it's comprehensive coverage of alternative and complimentary therapies. ...Additionally, there are available podcasts and interviews with leaders and researchers in this growing field of medicine."
by LAURI CRUMLEY COATES

 


February 27, 2010

As a practitioner of TCM, I thought I heard of them all---boy, was I wrong.  I was delighted to see how many modalities I was not familiar with. He breaks the book into health concepts, working with the body, the mind, and spirit with a thorough overview of each along with "user comments." These comments are very useful. ...I enjoyed it and will use it as a referral source for my patients.  Well done.

by Kathleen Albertson


UnBreak Your Health (second edition) opens your eyes to the possibility of better health, and may even help you discover a therapy that is just right for you and will heal you.  There are other options to conventional medicine.  You want to know what they are?  This is the perfect reference.  It's easy to read, well organized, and a smart addition to any home library.

    Reviewed on 2/4/2011 by ReviewTheBook.com member Laura Fabiani

 

 

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