Herbal Education

How tradition, popularity, and ethics interact with today’s market place

Linda Diane Feldt

RPP, NCTMB Holistic Health Practitioner and Herbalist

Herbalism

      Traditional Healers  Native American, Ayurvedic, Tibb, Unami, Tibetan, and others Traditional Chinese Medicine Western Folkloric Western Scientific Earth-centered Ethno-botanical

Example categories from The American Herbalist Guild

Levels of Training

   Simple adjunct to existing qualifications  Able to assess what the client is using   Can make simple suggestions for acute conditions No chronic or primary herbal care Herbal training using primarily nourishing herbs  Focus is on supporting systems of the body, prevention, and wellness Clinical level with diagnostic testing, prescribing, and treatment of disease  Herbal training accompanied by Medical License

Training and Education

 College and University courses taught by medical professionals  Electives within schools that teach alternative healthcare (especially massage and bodywork)  Apprenticeship programs both formal and informal  Correspondence courses

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Training and Education

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 Traditional training and initiation often combined with religious/spiritual practices  Self taught  Promotional material and workshops provided by manufacturers  Multi-level marketing promotional materials

Western Folkloric Tradition

 Promotes ethical harvesting of plants  Uses whole parts of plant, in season  Encourages consumer involvement

Western Folkloric Tradition

 Emphasis is on nutritive value of herbs  Priority given to local plants, and what is readily available  Uses a holistic approach to support the individual and systems of the body

Western Folkloric Tradition

  Encourages sharing of information, stories, experiences, and methods Can easily work in a supportive role with conventional Western Medicine

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 ways of working together.

Herbalists must respond to unprecedented consumer interest.

Most herbs are being chosen by consumers independent of professional advice of herbalists and medical professionals.

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Concerns and Challenges

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     Protecting consumers and supporting scientific research while preserving herbal traditions are intriguing challenges for the herbal profession Consumers and health care providers may have difficulty determining who is a qualified herbalist Herbal use is now primarily driven by advertising and marketing, with the goal being profit..

Because of the desire for profit, “secret formulas” and patented processes are beginning to dominate the market. The simplest and cheapest herbal remedies, such as dandelions from our yards, are being forgotten.

Conclusions

Without intervention and education, traditional herbalism will be taken over by mass marketing. Consumers will be sold over priced, over processed herbs, with those having the most dramatic effects being featured. Health promotion, nourishment and prevention of disease - the strengths of traditional herbalism - will be set aside.

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Conclusions

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Using plants for healing is much more than switching a plant capsule for a drug. The introduction or profit and marketing into herbalism is of greater danger than the herbs themselves. Choosing herbs because of popularity, dramatic effects, and with little or no guidance will become the largest source of problems and negative experiences.