Working With A Clinical Herbalist
Working with a Clinical Herbalist
In the olden days when doctors weren't readily available to all, there were community herbalists. In fact, even the earliest doctors were herbalists, as many of the earliest medicines were in fact, herbal based.
Today, herbalism is coming back to the forefront. People are beginning to seek out ways to help themselves and their families without becoming so heavily dependent on pharmaceuticals, which many times comes with a long list of potentially serious side-effects. Additionally, the known historical and ancient use of herbs, the more easily understood and familiar ingredients, and the less detrimental side effects ( if any at all ) from herbal products makes plant medicine very appealing to those ready and willing to take a closer look at the items they put on and inside of their precious bodies.
Herbal based treatments don't fix, cure, or treat diseases. But people are starting to understand that only the body can truly do that job. Herbs simply aid the body temporarily while also helping to shift it back in the direction towards remembering how to use its own potential again. Working directly with an herbalist can help you choose the right herbs for you, in the right amounts for you, and compound plant-based remedies specifically for your own individual needs. Herbalists are trained helpers known to understand that no two bodies, or even lifestyles, are exactly alike, and therefore no two remedies should be either.
Herbalists and Herbal Remedies According to the FDA:
Herbal remedies, and specifically, individualized herbal mixes, are, at their core, meant to be personalized, and not made to be standardized. Because of this there is no way easy way for them to be studied by standardized methods set by the FDA. Similarly, herbalists and herbal manufacturers generally do not test their products in a lab, and they are not required to do so (some larger herbal manufacturers may choose to do this on their own, however, based on their own personal best practices). Because of this, the FDA does not classify herbal therapies as medicine. Instead, they are classified as 'food' (if sold for internal purposes) or 'plant supplements'. If the herbal product is for topical use only it is classified as a cosmetic product.
According to the FDA, medicine is the only substance that can cure or treat a disease or specified illness, according to their own data. Pharmaceutical drugs presented to patients by medically trained doctors are said to be tested according to the FDA's own agreed upon standards prior to being used by the public. Similarly, these diseases and illness can, according to the FDA, only be diagnosed by medically and pharmaceutically trained professionals so that ideally, both the FDA (as an entity) and medical personal with this authority have the same understanding and training in these medicines and their lab tested uses and results. Additionally, the FDA has determined that herbalists can only educate individuals to the best of their own personal knowledge without making any specific claims about their products, or by claiming to diagnose, treat, or cure individuals of their health issues, whether or not they were diagnosed with a. specific illness by a trained MD. The FDA, as an entity, believes this is the best way to protect the consumer, or the public, from using a substance that has not been tested according to their set standards.
The consumer must therefore decide for themselves, based on this information, which products they should or should not use, as all products, pharmaceutical or herbal based, require the education and personal consent of the individual.
What are the Main Differences Between Pharmaceuticals and 'Herbal Supplements'?
Pharmaceuticals are typically petroleum or lab-created chemical based, whereas 'herbal supplements' are plant based. Some pharmaceuticals can contain plant ingredients, but these are processed in a lab, tested, and separated from the whole plant as purified plant products. Pharmaceutical products can also imitate herbs synthetically without using actual plant materials. Herbal products on the other hand always contain plant parts, or even the whole plant, and come in many forms including powders, pills, tinctures (liquid extracts), teas, or may be added to oils to become ointments for topical purposes. Most final herbal products will have only plant-based ingredients with very little processing and much of its active ingredients will naturally act as preservatives. Pharmaceuticals on the other hand will have other added ingredients to preserve, activate, or stimulate the purified plant or chemical particles within the product.
Pharmaceuticals have testing requirements to be performed according to the FDA before coming to market. Herbal products do not.
What is a Clinical Herbalist?
A clinical herbalist is an individual who has formally studied herbalism with an emphasis on learning how to work in conjunction with medical practitioners in or outside of professional facilities to compliment the complete practice of client health. Their study will have included topics of anatomy, physiology, herbal therapeutics, medicinal history, herbal wisdom traditions, botany, phytochemistry, general wellness, imbalance, herbal therapeutics for body systems, nature of healing, assessment, ongoing herbalist best practices including lifelong research and study, maintaining a private clinical practice, and making and branding herbal products. They are also available to work directly with doctors of clients' choosing.
What Can a Clinical Herbalist Do?
An clinical herbalist can simply be there to guide and educate you on the capabilities of your own body, to help you learn how to better understand the cues of your own body, and to make suggestions of herbal therapies and other natural modalities towards health that work with your body (not for your body) so that your body can more easily do the work it was meant to do. An herbalist can also make an individualized herbal product and write a more comprehensive plan with protocols specifically designed for you, and even research your specific ailment on your behalf to share with you along with the way. The suggestions and the practices you choose to implement, however, will always be by your own consent.
What can a clinical herbalist not do?
An herbalist cannot be your doctor, and therefore cannot treat, diagnose, or claim to cure you of your ailments. Herbalists cannot run a practice based on pharmaceutical medicine or write prescriptions for such products.
Please email Dani-Chiltern@dcfarmandapothecary.com to book a consultation.
References:
Herbal Medicine: According to Johns Hopkins Medicine
Herbal Medicine Facts According to the American Herbalists Guild