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Herbalism

A tradition of HealingLinda Diane Feldt

Holistic health Practitioner

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Outline of this presentation

Overview of CAM and alternative healing

What is herbalism?

Training and certification

My practice and training Herbal preparations

Parts of plants used

Timing of harvest Potency/effectiveness

Nourishing/medicinal

What consumers get

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Major Categories of Alternative

Healing

Integrated healing systems

Hands on techniques

Biological substances Energy based healing

Mind/body spirit awareness

Adapted from NIH categories

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My Practice

Student of the healing arts since 1973

Full time private practice since 1981 (10-20 perweek)

Primarily use Herbs, Cranialsacral therapy, Polaritytherapy, and massage.

Sliding scale

Diverse population

Pain, injury, lifestyle, prevention, with or withoutconventional medicine

Age range prenatal to 104

Also teach, write, volunteer

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What makes a professional

practice

Standards for practice

Scope of practice

Continuing education

Code of ethics Association membership

Able to refer, available for referrals

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My training

Example of difficulty in determining qualified

practitioners

Apprenticeship model

Is self study also legitimate?

Inherited knowledge

Formal recognition

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Herbalism

Traditional Healers

Native American, Ayurvedic, Tibb, Unani,Tibetan, etc

Traditional Chinese

Western Folkloric

Western Scientific

Earth-centered

Ethno-botanical

example categories from the American Herbalist Guild

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Herbalism Training and

Education College and University courses

Electives within schools that teach wellness,holistic health, bodywork or somatic practices

Apprenticeship programs both formal andinformal

Correspondence courses

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Herbalism Training and

Education (cont.)

Traditional initiation and training often

combined with religious/spiritual practices

Self taught

Promotional material and workshops provided

by manufacturers

Multi level marketing materials Certification provided by herb manufacturers

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Western Folkloric Tradition

promotes ethical harvesting of plants

uses the whole parts of the plant, in season

encourages consumer involvement emphasis is on nutritive aspects of herbs

primarily uses plants that grow locally, and

encourages direct involvement with the plantsby growing and wildcrafting

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Western Folkloric Tradition (cont.)

uses a holistic approach to support body

systems & the individual

encourages sharing of information, stories and

experience with others

can work in a supportive role with

conventional Western Medicine

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Concerns and Challenges

Herbalism is a very broad term that describes a

profession many thousands of years old.

Herbalists and the scientific community have only

recently begun to forge mutual respect, goals, and todetermine ways of working together.

Herbalists must proactively respond to unprecedented

consumer interest.

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Concerns and Challenges

Protecting consumers, supporting scientific research,

and preserving herbal traditions are intriguing

challenges for this profession.

Consumers and health care providers may havedifficulty determining who is qualified as an

herbalist.

Herbal use is now being driven primarily by

advertising and manufacturers, not by health care

providers and traditional sources of information.

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Nourishing herbs

Nutrient rich

Bio-available

Generally considered safe, side effects uncommon

Dosage and strength less important Tend to be local, whole, and common

Large amounts used, in contrast to medicinal plants

Includes tonics

Supportive to body systems

Long term use is usually beneficial

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Nourishing Herbs cont.

Internal use

Infusions

Water based

Vinegar based

Whole plant Cooked

Raw (salad)

External use

Compress

Poultice Salve

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Medicinal Herbs

Dosage and strength important or critical

Tend to utilize more toxic parts of plant

Stimulate or sedate

More likely to have side effects Are often plants that are less common, or rare

Long term use is generally discouraged

More extensive knowledge is needed to use safelyand effectively

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Issues around herbal

preparations Common Preparations

Capsules and pills

Tinctures and extracts

Infusions (AKA teas)

Poultices and compresses Salves

other

Effectiveness

Herbs in combination and formulas

Locally grown and wild crafted

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The following slides describe generaltendencies. There will always be exceptions. It

is a good model to begin with, and then each

herb must be evaluated individually. Theknowledge of plant part, type of plant, and

season is fundamental to the herbalist. It is also

a basic understanding of plants that is rare, and

becoming more so as plants are picked,

powdered, processed and packaged for us.

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Parts of the plant and their

different qualities

Roots - storage, alkaloid rich, often toxic, often

medicinal

Leaves - nutrient rich

Flowers - some nutrients, energetically

powerful

Seeds - nutrient dense, often toxic, toxins oftenmedicinal

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Type of plant and impact on

herbal use Annuals

Root less likely to be used

Leaves and flowers more valued

Seeds are abundant, less likely to be toxic Harvested typically just before flowering, or just

after

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Type of plant and impact on

herbal use Biennials

Roots often of value, rarely toxic

Root used only in fall of first year, spring of

second year Flowers appear second year, often used

Seeds appear second year, likely of value

End of second year only the seeds are left

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Type of plant and impact on

herbal use

Perennials

Roots used after a couple of years

Seeds often of value

Roots more likely to be toxic or contain helpful

alkaloids

Not as much emphasis on leaves

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The importance of the season

Energy moves through the plant with the season

The root stores important constituents

The herbalist determines the part of the plant desired,

and harvests at the peak time Flowers and seeds are obvious (harvest when present)

Leaves before the plant makes flowers and seeds

Roots in spring and fall when plant is storing constituents

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Accessing what the plant has to

offer What is within and outside of the plant cell

Breaking the cell wall

Preserving unstable nutrients

affects of light, air, time, processing damage Ingestion and topical application

Absorption

Elimination

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Examples

Calendula - flowers

Burdock - root or leaves

Echinacea - root Garlic - root

St. Johns Wort - flowering tops

Poke - root or leaves Milk Thistle - seeds

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Preparations to look for

Capsules containing herb extracts

Ground herbs often less effective

Labels provide lot number, experation dates

Herbal extracts

Tinctures in alcohol

Glycerine esp. from alcohol based extracts

Bulk herbs of good color, dated

Dont overlook harvesting by the consumer

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Reputable companies

Harvest ethically

Employ herbalists and support professional

associations

Access to information on where plants are harvested - avoid non US unless using

TCM

company philosophy - focus on herbs or marketing?

control of product - dont just repackage or rebottle from

suppliers

Multi-level marketing deserves special scrutiny

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Examples of companies

HerbPharm

Frontier

Pacific Botanicals

Trout Lake Botanicals

Scientific Botanicals

Phytopharmica

Naturopathic Formulary

Thorne Research

Eclectic Institute

MediHerb

Bezweken

Women's Transition

Wise Women Herbals

And ??

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Herbal certification

The bad

Prone to consumerconfusion

Does not ensure potency

Does not address processingor preparation

Does not address safety ofthe herb

Expense may prohibit goodcompanies from usingcertification

The good

Helpful to ensure

WYSIWYG

Raising awareness of

importance of herbal quality

Important to ensure Good

Manufacturing Practices

(GMP)are used

Can address the real

problem of contaminate

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Next week

A four hour lab devoted to the hands-on experience of

making herbal preparations including tinctures,

salves, poultices, infusions, and more.

Come prepared to be a bit messy and work withmaterials new to you as well as familiar. It may recall

the early practice of pharmacy, and well have fun in

the process.

The results will include products you can take home and

use.

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Dogs harvesting herbs

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Contact Information

Linda Diane FeldtP.O. Box 3218

Ann Arbor MI 48106-3218

734-662-4902

lfeldt@umich.edu

www.holisticwisdom.org/hwpages/pharm.html

Free Herb Class usually 4th Thursday of each month,sponsored by the Peoples Food Co-op,

at Crazy Wisdom Bookstore, Ann Arbor

mailto:lfeldt@umich.eduhttp://www.holisticwisdom.org/http://www.holisticwisdom.org/mailto:lfeldt@umich.edu