Teaches the structure and function of plants and surveys the entire plant kingdom.

    With the latest findings about the mental and physical benefits of exercise, personal stories from scientists and laypeople alike, as well as researched-based prescriptions for readers, Gretchen Reynolds shows what kind of exercise—and how much—is necessary to stay healthy, get fit, and attain a smaller jeans size. Inspired by Reynolds's wildly popular “Phys Ed” column for The New York Times, this book explains how exercise affects the body in distinct ways and provides the tools readers need to achieve their fitness goals, whether that's a faster 5K or staying trim.

    Their energy is zapped. They have trouble falling asleep, and then have to drag themselves out of bed in the morning. They have cravings at all hours of the day and night. They might find their keys in the freezer and their glasses on the spice rack--and they often feel like they're just going crazy.These women aren't crazy--they're likely experiencing hormonal imbalance, and Dr. Mariza Snyder's The Essential Oils Hormone Solution is here to help. These amazing, life-affirming essential oils allow women to balance their hormones; fix cravings; get deep, restful sleep; improve moods and irritability; banish the worst symptoms of PMS; empower themselves with daily rituals; increase their energy and vitality; improve focus and concentration; boost libido, and more.

    It examines 100 of the most widely used, most easily available, most familiar, and most fascinating medicinal plants, tracing their history, folklore, and healing properties, and summarizing the latest scientific research on their many benefits. The Healing Herbs also explains where to find the herbs, how to take them, store and prepare them, even how to grow them.The Healing Herbs also includes an easy-to-use A-to-Z herb encyclopedia, plus a section titled Prevention and Treatment: A Fast-action Guide to Using the Healing Herbs, including: Conditions--from ear infection to stress, A-to-Z conditions and the herbs you can use to treat and prevent specific symptoms and diseases; Healing Actions--from antibiotic to sedative, an A-to-Z list of medicinal uses with herbs as a natural alternative to certain medicines; Other Uses--some unusual uses for the healing herbs, for example as insect repellent or memory improvement. Both Conditions and Healing Actions include special precautions about certain herbs, whether in preparation, long-term use, or short-term effects.

    For millions of people, bread, pasta, and many other foods are bad for their health. Thousands of people have already come to their own realization that they are healthier without wheat in their diet, but it can be difficult to figure out when most doctors aren’t knowledgeable on the topic. This book provides validation for what these people have discovered, and explains how you too can determine whether or not wheat and gluten are making you sick. In Healthier Without Wheat you learn the difference between celiac disease, non-celiac gluten intolerance, and wheat allergies. You will discover how hundreds of health problems are connected to wheat and gluten reactions and why sorting this out on your own can be more difficult than you might think. You will also discover how you can be gluten intolerant even if you don’t have celiac disease, and why non-celiac gluten intolerance can be just as severe as or more severe than celiac disease. You will also learn how to determine if your infant or child reacts to wheat or gluten. Healthier Without Wheat also covers nutritional deficiencies commonly seen in gluten intolerance, and equally important, what to do if you are avoiding gluten but not getting better. You should read this book if you or someone you know suffers from any of the following: abdominal pain, chronic anemia (iron deficiency), arthritis, autoimmune diseases, constipation, depression, diarrhea, eczema, fatigue, fibromyalgia, frequent illness, headaches, heartburn, hypoglycemia, irritable bowel syndrome, irritability, migraines, or osteoporosis.

    There’s nothing more local than an egg freshly laid right in your own yard. But what should you expect when you’re adopting a couple of day-old chicks? In Chick Days, Jenna Woginrich, award-winning author of Made from Scratch, the homesteading memoir for the twenty-something generation, offers a highly entertaining and informative photographic guide for today’s fledgling chick parent. Fun for the complete newbie and for families with young children, Chick Days chronicles the journey of three chickens from newly hatched fluffy butterballs to grown hens laying eggs. Day by day and week by week, readers watch the three starring chickens grow and change, learning about chicken behavior, feeding requirements, housing, hygiene, and health-care essentials, and fun facts on all things poultry. As Jenna herself says, “Chickens are more than 12-piece buckets, country diner kitsch, and egg whites. They’re your backyard ambassadors to healthier eating and basic husbandry. Keeping chickens is a crash course in local eating. When you start collecting eggs you’ll be eating so local you’ll know the amount of cracked corn in the feeder at ground zero of your breakfast . . . ” Jenna’s witty commentary is accompanied by the photography of Mars Vilaubi, who raised the three chickens himself, along with his wife and son. Their accompanying “chick diary” notes particular things this family learned and did along the way to make chicken raising fun. Presenting just the essential information in a highly visual and inviting format, Chick Days makes every stage of chicken life fun, entertaining, and, most of all, doable. It’s sure to give any chicken lover or wannabe owner the confidence and enthusiasm to join the flock!

    This new revised edition updates the information and adds several new sections on how to: preserve with less sugar and salt, make better-than-store-bought foods at home, freeze for the microwave, preserve and can for the small family, can and freeze convenience foods, choose the right equipment, and make Christmas presents.

    A place where we can be in harmony with the natural world and nurture our bodies, minds, and souls. And this sanctuary doesn’t have to be a far-away destination—it can be in your own backyard. In Creating Sanctuary, natural living expert Jessi Bloom taps into multiple sources of traditional plant wisdom to help you find a deeper connection to the outdoor space you already have—no matter the size. You will learn how to design a healing space, how to harness the power of 50 sacred plants, and how to create recipes and rituals that soothe and calm. Hands-on, inspiring, and packed with gorgeous photography, Creating Sanctuary will help you find new ways to revitalize your life.

    Author John Seymour, the father of the back-to-basics movement, shares his singular vision to transform lives and create communities. More relevant than ever in our hi-tech world, The Self Sufficient Life and How to Live It is the ultimate practical guide for realists and dreamers alike.

    Even if you've never sowed a seed norpulled a weed, Gardening Basics For Dummies containseverything you need to know about flowers, beds, borders, trees, shrubs, and lawns to create your own private paradise. Thisfriendly and informative guide also covers all of the tools andadditives available to make gardening easier. You'lldiscover:Clear definitions and descriptions of the different types ofplantsTips on choosing the type of garden you wantHow to create a garden planEasy-to-follow instructions for soil preparationAdvice on planting, growing and caring for annuals andperennialsStep-by-step plans for organic and edible gardensPlans for butterfly and children's gardensPacked with helpful tips on controlling pests safely, managingweeds, and correcting common gardening problems, Gardening forDummies turns your brown thumb green in a hurry.

    From starting seeds to preserving produce, Hart’s advice ensures that you won’t waste time and money while growing your own vegetables, flowers, houseplants, or landscape foliage. Perfect for thrifty gardeners of all levels, The Dirt-Cheap Green Thumb covers everything you want to grow, indoors and out.

    And because you’re already more attuned to your physical and emotional needs, and more inclined to commit to a healthier lifestyle, you're poised to live brilliantly for the thirty-plus years after menopause. All you need now is the program outlined in Younger Next Year for Women—which, for starters, will help you avoid literally 70 percent of the decay and eliminate 50 percent of the injuries and illnesses associated with getting older. How? Drawn from disciplines as varied as evolutionary biology, cell physiology, experimental psychology and anthropology, the science behind Younger Next Year is clear. Our bodies are programmed to do one of two things: either grow or decay. Sitting in front of a screen all day tells the body to decay. Taking a walk or doing yoga tells the body to grow. Loneliness and stress trigger decay; love and laughter trigger growth. Just as clear as the science is the goal: Become the active gatekeeper of your own body and gain the power to control those signals of growth and decay. Seven simple rules show the way, from #1 Exercise six days a week for the rest of your life, to #6 Care, to #7 Connect and commit. They’re called Harry’s Rules, named for the doctor and coauthor—Henry S. Lodge, M.D.—who formulated them, and who explains the precise science behind each one. But since it’s one thing to know something’s good for you and quite another to put it into practice, Dr. Lodge, the scientist, is joined by Chris Crowley—coauthor, exhorter and living example—whose brusque charm and infectious enthusiasm will actually have you living by the rules. So, congratulations. You’re now about to get younger.

    In The Power of Balance, Dr Rangan Chatterjee presents an easily accessible plan for taking control of your health and your life.Everyday health revolves around Dr Chatterjee's four pillars: relaxation, food, sleep and movement. By making small, achievable changes in each of these key areas you can create and maintain good health - and avoid illness.It's not about excelling at any one pillar - what matters is the balance across all the things you do, including:· an electronic 'sabbath' once a week· aiming for 12 hours every day without food· exposure to sunlight first thing each morningBased on cutting edge research and his own experiences as a doctor, this book contains fascinating case studies from real patients. Practical and potentially life-changing, The Power of Balance is an inspiring and easy-to-follow guide to better health and happiness.

    So how could two-thirds of us fail to measure up when it comes to eating right and exercising? HBO and the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences have joined together to bring you the nation’s foremost experts and definitive research on weight and weight loss. The Weight of the Nation explains how we got to this unhealthy place and how we can get to a healthy weight by overcoming the forces that drive us to eat too much and move too little.Three years in the making, The Weight of the Nation answers crucial questions like:--Is there such a thing as the right diet?--Am I doomed to yo-yo for the rest of my life?--How does stress affect my weight?--Is my slow metabolism making me fat?--How does carrying too much weight affect my health?--Why do I eat junk food even though I know it’s unhealthy?--Is exercise enough to help most people maintain an ideal weight?--How can I keep weight off forever?Based on the rich research behind HBO’s documentary series, The Weight of the Nation is the only book that tells it like it is: losing weight is hard, keeping it off is even harder, and there’s no quick fix. Weight loss takes a lot of work and a lifetime commitment, but thousands have done it and this book will show you how.

    Jenni Blackmore presents a highly entertaining, personal account of how permaculture can be practiced in adverse conditions, allowing anyone to learn to live more sustainably in a less-than-perfect world. With a rallying cry of "If we can do it, you can too," she distills the wisdom of twenty years of trial and error into a valuable teaching tool.The perfect antidote to dense, high-level technical manuals, Permaculture for the Rest of Us presents the fundamental principles of this sometimes confusing concept in a humorous, reader-friendly way. Each chapter focuses on a specific method or technique, interspersing straightforward explanations with the author's own experiences. Learn how to successfully retrofit even the smallest homestead using skills such as:No-till vs. till gardening, composting, and soil-building Natural pest control and integrating small livestock Basic greenhouse construction Harvesting, preservation, and moreIdeal for urban dreamers, suburbanites and country-dwellers alike, this inspirational and instructional "encouragement manual" is packed with vibrant photographs documenting the author's journey from adversity to abundance.Jenni Blackmore is a farmer, artist, writer and certified Permaculture Design Consultant who built her house on a rocky, windswept island off the coast of Nova Scotia almost twenty-five years ago and has been stumbling along the road to self-sufficient living ever since. A successful micro-farmer, she produces most of her family's meat, eggs, fruit, and vegetables, in spite of often-challenging conditions.