A Physician Explains Ellen White's Counsel on Drugs, Herbs, and Natural Remedies

Would Ellen White Disapprove of Antibiotics?

At a time when patients who submitted to the tender mercies of nineteenth-century physicians were bled poisoned dehydrated and blistered Ellen G. White declared drugs to be poisonous and discouraged their use. What drugs did she have in mind? Mervyn Hardinge discusses the principal drugs in contemporary use and ransacks the entire history of medicine to place her counsel in its historical context.

Allowing White to define her own terms the author concludes that her definition of 'drugs differed somewhat from the modern one. She clearly opposed the medical system of her day while allowing for the occasional use of drugs for a specific recognized sickness.

Of particular interest is the list of passages that mention specific remedies used by Ellen White some from previously unreleased sources. The author also discusses sound principles for using herbal remedies the placebo effect and includes an extensive glossary of terms and botanic medicines.

Ellen G. White was a pioneer in her emphasis on lifestyle change. This book enables us to better understand her counsel on drugs in the context of the medical practice or malpractice of her day.

Contents

1. Medical Education in Ellen White's Day
2. The Practice of Medicine in Ellen White's Day
3. The Drugs That Physicians Dispensed in Ellen White's Day
4. Drugs Defined
5. Drugs Denounced by Reformers
6. Ellen White an Instrument of Reform
7. Natural Remedies
8. Herbal Remedies
9. Simple Remedies
10. Remedies Used by Ellen White
11. The Eighth Remedy
12. The Mighty Placebo
13. Should Drugs Ever Be Used?
14. Somber Reflections

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