The Intimate Herbal: A Beginner's Guide to Herbal Medicine for Sexual Health, Pleasure, and Hormonal Balance

by Marie White

All-natural reproductive wellness remedies for the modern herbalist: an inclusive guide to making herbal infusions, tinctures, oils, and powders to enhance pleasure and sexual health.

In an empowering, accessible, and inclusive guide, herbalist Marie White shows readers of all genders how to enhance sexual and reproductive health through plant medicine. A must-have for those looking to revitalize intimacy with the special touch of medicinal herbs--and a few selected seaweed and fungi--The Intimate Herbal includes tried-and-tested protocols rooted in an intersectional, non-binary approach to holistic health, herbal healing, and supporting the body through physical stress.

Readers will learn how to address and treat specific conditions; what not to try at home; and all about:
  • The foundations of intimate herbalism: The history of herbalism for sexual and reproductive health--and why it works.
  • Becoming an intimate herbalist: An introduction to terminology, types of extracts and remedies, solvents and ratios, and the art of extraction and delivery.
  • Building an intimate herbal pharmacy: All about intimate herbs and full-spectrum aphrodisiacs--and how to make infusions, decoctions, syrups, powders, herbal baths, oils, salves, and extracts.
  • Intimate health conditions and herbal protocols: Herbal remedies for breast health, contraception, endometriosis, erectile dysfunction, fertility, hormonal imbalances, libido, lubrication, menopause, menstrual cycles, PCOS, ovarian cysts, prostate health, urinary health, and the vaginal microbiome.


With tips on ethical plant-medicine sourcing and a focus on buying herbs that are organic, fair-trade, and local, White brings a sustainable, community-oriented lens to modern herbalism. She shows readers how, why, and when to use herbal medicine to address sexual and reproductive concerns, taking a holistic approach that honors the interconnected nature of our bodies, prioritizes preventive medicine, and promotes a healthy, open relationship to sex and sexual wellness.
 
Appropriate for beginners, DIY natural-medicine makers, and at-home herbalists, this book is also written for clinical herbalists, naturopaths, community health advocates, and complementary and alternative medicine practitioners.

• ISBN10: 1623176638
• ISBN13: 9781623176631
• Publish Date: 14 June 2022
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: North Atlantic Books,U.S.
• Format: Paperback (US Trade)
• Pages: 256
• Language: English
• URL: https://penguinrandomhouse.com/books/isbn/9781623176631

Reviews

[annieb123]

Originally posted on my blog: Nonstop Reader.

The Intimate Herbal is a well written, layman accessible herbal aimed at improving reproductive health, fertility, and related health subjects, written and curated by Marie White. Due out 14th June 2022 from nonprofit North Atlantic Books, it's 256 pages and will be available in paperback and ebook formats.

This is a well written and accessible guide (with recipes and tutorials) for herb use and herbal medicine. The author writes with competence and experience on choosing, processing, and using herbs and the active ingredients they contain. She has included a very useful chapter overview/introduction to the content which allows readers a short quick-start guide to finding content easily and quickly.The volume is extensively annotated and the chapter notes are well written and correct.

The chapters are arranged thematically: a comprehensive introduction is followed by a primer and overview over terminology, basic concepts and discussions on physical sexual health and bodywork. The following chapters cover specific subjects: sexual & reproductive health, intimate health conditions, a comprehensive herbal/materia medica, and finally the recipes.

The tutorials and recipes include tools and ingredients in a bullet style list. Measurements are in American/imperial units only, followed by step by step instructions. The recipes and herbal information included here isn't aimed at culture of individual plants, but more applicable to bought and prepared items. The materia medica does contain both botanical (Latin) name as well as some common names for the selected plants.

The book contains no illustrations. The author has included a resource and links lists, bibliography, chapter notes, and an index.

Four stars. This would be a superlative choice for public library acquisition, community garden/allotment member libraries, doulas, midwives, holistic health professionals, and the home herbalist gardener's library.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.