Cindy Engel

Why does anyone bother writing about a subject they don't feel passionately about? Or why was the passion edited out of the writing? Perhaps in this case it was to forestall a would-be-herbalist from using, say, deadly nightshade because Engel says some animals have used it.
I really expected more about lessons from animals that we can use. This is not, however, a mass market book but a compendium of research on ways wild animals stay healthy. A good reminder that animals are not "naturally" resistant to all kinds of infections, but are actively choosing foods and behaviors which keep them fit. "Fit" is used advisedly, as Engel reiterates the evolutionists definition as relating to produciing offspring and, thus, passing on one's genes.
It is a fascinating subject, if you can tolerate the scholarly style, with chapters focusing on different aspects of health: nutrition, wounds, parasites, infections, reproductive control, stress, "getting high", and death. She also describes what happens when animals don't have free access to their accustomed plants. The relevance to humans is usually summarized as "this is an interesting avenue for further research" but sometimes as "local natives use this plant for such-and-such".
Her sources are all noted in a final reference section. I'm the kind of sceptical reader who likes to see scientific support for claims, and Engel more than satisfies this. Some of her statements are hearsay or folklore, but she does acknowledge this in her text as well as providing the reference.
Engel's bio states she has a PhD in biology. A search shows she studied at East Anglia University with an article published in 1988 in Animal Behaviour, and a presentation at a 2002 UK Organic Research Conference, and a chapter introduction in a text on Alternative Health Practices for Livestock.… (mere)

From Publishers Weekly
A timely treatise for a health-obsessed culture, this book takes the idea of "natural remedies" quite literally. Engel, a lecturer in environmental sciences at the U.K. Open University, has compiled a wealth of fascinating laboratory studies and field observations on how animals treat and prevent diseases. Eschewing pseudomystical assertions about the innate wisdom of beasts, the author bases her assertions on scientific premises. For millennia, humans have observed animals in the wild eating plants and minerals and applying naturally occurring topical antitoxins from the same sources to combat infectious wounds, parasites and internal disorders. Herds of elephants risk injury and death in a perilous journey to hidden salt caves where they supplement their sodium deficient diets. Monkeys rub poisonous millipedes on their fur to repel biting, disease-carrying insects. Birds line their nests with parasite-resistant herbs. Engel details a world where nature is the pharmacy and every animal is its own practitioner. The reader also learns about the inbred weaknesses unintentionally visited upon domesticated animals through centuries of faulty genetic tampering by humans. Engel notes that the implications of all this for human health are sadly familiar: our biggest killers today (cancer, heart disease) result from unhealthy eating. Animals in the wild stay remarkably fit because they stick to a diet for which they were adapted, while human beings are ill-equipped to handle our current predilection for dairy, grains and processed foods. Occasionally, Engel lapses into apocalyptic rhetoric about the ravages of technology, which gets in the way of her otherwise clear-sighted and crisp narrative. Nevertheless, this is an engaging book that will enlighten those interested in health, biology, environment and animal behavior. Photos.

Sisällyksestä:
I. Living wild
Health in the wild; Nature’s pharmacy; Food, medicine, and self-medication; Information for survival
II. Health hazards
Poisons; Microscopic foes; Gaping wounds and broken bones; Mites, bites, and itches; Reluctant hosts, unwelcome guests; Getting high; Psychological ills; Family planning; Facing the inevitable; What we know so far
III. Lessons we might learn
Animals in our care; Healthy intentions… (mere)