Transcript Document

Herbalism
A tradition of Healing
Linda Diane Feldt
Holistic health Practitioner
Outline of this presentation
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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
Major Categories of Alternative
Healing
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Integrated healing systems
Hands on techniques
Biological substances
Energy based healing
Mind/body spirit awareness
Adapted from NIH categories
My Practice
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Student of the healing arts since 1973
Full time private practice since 1981 (10-20 per
week)
Primarily use Herbs, Cranialsacral therapy, Polarity
therapy, and massage.
Sliding scale
Diverse population
Pain, injury, lifestyle, prevention, with or without
conventional medicine
Age range prenatal to 104
Also teach, write, volunteer
What makes a professional
practice
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Standards for practice
Scope of practice
Continuing education
Code of ethics
Association membership
Able to refer, available for referrals
My training
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Example of difficulty in determining qualified
practitioners
Apprenticeship model
Is self study also legitimate?
Inherited knowledge
Formal recognition
Herbalism
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Traditional Healers
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Native American, Ayurvedic, Tibb, Unani,
Tibetan, etc
Traditional Chinese
Western Folkloric
Western Scientific
Earth-centered
Ethno-botanical
example categories from the American Herbalist Guild
Herbalism Training and
Education
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College and University courses
Electives within schools that teach wellness,
holistic health, bodywork or somatic practices
Apprenticeship programs both formal and
informal
Correspondence courses
Herbalism Training and
Education (cont.)
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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
Western Folkloric Tradition
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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 plants
by growing and wildcrafting
Western Folkloric Tradition (cont.)
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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
Concerns and Challenges
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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 to
determine ways of working together.
Herbalists must proactively respond to unprecedented
consumer interest.
Concerns and Challenges
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Protecting consumers, supporting scientific research,
and preserving herbal traditions are intriguing
challenges for this profession.
Consumers and health care providers may have
difficulty 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.
Nourishing herbs
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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
Nourishing Herbs con’t.
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Internal use
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Infusions
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Whole plant
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Water based
Vinegar based
Cooked
Raw (salad)
External use
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Compress
Poultice
Salve
Medicinal Herbs
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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 safely
and effectively
Issues around herbal
preparations
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Common Preparations
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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
The following slides describe general
tendencies. There will always be exceptions. It
is a good model to begin with, and then each
herb must be evaluated individually. The
knowledge 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.
Parts of the plant and their
different qualities
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Roots - storage, alkaloid rich, often toxic, often
medicinal
Leaves - nutrient rich
Flowers - some nutrients, energetically
powerful
Seeds - nutrient dense, often toxic, toxins often
medicinal
Type of plant and impact on
herbal use
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Annuals
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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
Type of plant and impact on
herbal use
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Biennials
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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
Type of plant and impact on
herbal use
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Perennials
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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
The importance of the season
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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
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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
Accessing what the plant has to
offer
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What is within and outside of the plant cell
Breaking the cell wall
Preserving unstable nutrients
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affects of light, air, time, processing damage
Ingestion and topical application
Absorption
Elimination
Examples
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Calendula - flowers
Burdock - root or leaves
Echinacea - root
Garlic - root
St. John’s Wort - flowering tops
Poke - root or leaves
Milk Thistle - seeds
Preparations to look for
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Capsules containing herb extracts
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Labels provide lot number, experation dates
Herbal extracts
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Ground herbs often less effective
Tinctures in alcohol
Glycerine esp. from alcohol based extracts
Bulk herbs of good color, dated
Don’t overlook harvesting by the consumer
Reputable companies
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Harvest ethically
Employ herbalists and support professional
associations
Access to information on
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where plants are harvested - avoid non US unless using
TCM
company philosophy - focus on herbs or marketing?
control of product - don’t just repackage or rebottle from
suppliers
Multi-level marketing deserves special scrutiny
Examples of companies
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HerbPharm
Frontier
Pacific Botanicals
Trout Lake Botanicals
Scientific Botanicals
Phytopharmica
Naturopathic Formulary
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Thorne Research
Eclectic Institute
MediHerb
Bezweken
Women's Transition
Wise Women Herbals
And ??
Herbal certification
The bad
 Prone to consumer
confusion
 Does not ensure potency
 Does not address processing
or preparation
 Does not address safety of
the herb
 Expense may prohibit good
companies from using
certification
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
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 with
materials new to you as well as familiar. It may recall
the early practice of pharmacy, and we’ll have fun in
the process.
The results will include products you can take home and
use.
Dogs harvesting herbs
Contact Information
Linda Diane Feldt
P.O. Box 3218
Ann Arbor MI 48106-3218
734-662-4902
[email protected]
www.holisticwisdom.org/hwpages/pharm.html
Free Herb Class usually 4th Thursday of each month,
sponsored by the People’s Food Co-op,
at Crazy Wisdom Bookstore, Ann Arbor