Loading
Herbal Country Doctor
Herbalism.
The word means different things to different people. To the herbal practitioner, it is a way of life, a means to promote good health, a conduit to nature that is as ancient as mankind. To the Eclectic physicians of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, herbalism was part of their craft; they believed in using any substance or modality that was of benefit to their patients. To the typical, mainstream American physician of the 21st century, “herbalism” evokes images of charlatanism, of quackery, of noncompliant patients who’d rather take herbs than FDA-sanctified medications.
In truth, herbalism can be all of these things...and more. There is little doubt that the inappropriate use of herbs can be at the very best ineffective and at the very worst deadly. And it goes without saying that misrepresentation of herbal properties – usually by those with commercial interests – is one of the main reasons people use botanical preparations incorrectly. On the other hand, responsible, practicing herbalists are in touch with a vast cache of information that has, alas, been lost to the rest of us. What used to be common knowledge – the ability to procure a familiar plant from one’s environs and use it to address some day-to-day health concern – is now consigned to the misty realm of “folklore.”
For me, a board-certified Family Physician and emergency room doctor, herbalism initially represented one more discipline that I had to understand – at least superficially – to protect my patients from interactions between the supplements they ingested and the pharmaceuticals that I prescribed. This was no small task; what was at first simply an inconvenience (I was delving into herbal texts or websites on a daily basis to find information that is not nearly as available – or as credible – as one might think) became an interest, then a hobby, and finally an absorbing pursuit.
Herbs have a place in our lives. After all, we eat them every day (Hippocrates once admonished us: “Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food”). And many prescription drugs have their basis in herbal medicine. Indeed, pharmaceutical agents often find their way to market following observations that certain plant-based foods confer benefits to the cultures that consume them; drug development is then a mere matter of molecular rearrangement – and patent generation.
Aside from their day-to-day contribution to our wellbeing or their salubrious effects during times of sickness, herbs give those of us who routinely use them a sense of connection to a simpler, purer, and (probably) healthier time.
At Herbal Country Doctor, we hope to offer information and promote discussion about all sorts of things that pertain to the human condition: biochemistry, immunology, physiology, anatomy, disease prevention and management…maybe even politics, if the topic is germane. But we’ll emphasize – and strive to return to – our herbal roots.
Stephen Christensen, MD
The word means different things to different people. To the herbal practitioner, it is a way of life, a means to promote good health, a conduit to nature that is as ancient as mankind. To the Eclectic physicians of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, herbalism was part of their craft; they believed in using any substance or modality that was of benefit to their patients. To the typical, mainstream American physician of the 21st century, “herbalism” evokes images of charlatanism, of quackery, of noncompliant patients who’d rather take herbs than FDA-sanctified medications.
In truth, herbalism can be all of these things...and more. There is little doubt that the inappropriate use of herbs can be at the very best ineffective and at the very worst deadly. And it goes without saying that misrepresentation of herbal properties – usually by those with commercial interests – is one of the main reasons people use botanical preparations incorrectly. On the other hand, responsible, practicing herbalists are in touch with a vast cache of information that has, alas, been lost to the rest of us. What used to be common knowledge – the ability to procure a familiar plant from one’s environs and use it to address some day-to-day health concern – is now consigned to the misty realm of “folklore.”
For me, a board-certified Family Physician and emergency room doctor, herbalism initially represented one more discipline that I had to understand – at least superficially – to protect my patients from interactions between the supplements they ingested and the pharmaceuticals that I prescribed. This was no small task; what was at first simply an inconvenience (I was delving into herbal texts or websites on a daily basis to find information that is not nearly as available – or as credible – as one might think) became an interest, then a hobby, and finally an absorbing pursuit.
Herbs have a place in our lives. After all, we eat them every day (Hippocrates once admonished us: “Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food”). And many prescription drugs have their basis in herbal medicine. Indeed, pharmaceutical agents often find their way to market following observations that certain plant-based foods confer benefits to the cultures that consume them; drug development is then a mere matter of molecular rearrangement – and patent generation.
Aside from their day-to-day contribution to our wellbeing or their salubrious effects during times of sickness, herbs give those of us who routinely use them a sense of connection to a simpler, purer, and (probably) healthier time.
At Herbal Country Doctor, we hope to offer information and promote discussion about all sorts of things that pertain to the human condition: biochemistry, immunology, physiology, anatomy, disease prevention and management…maybe even politics, if the topic is germane. But we’ll emphasize – and strive to return to – our herbal roots.
Stephen Christensen, MD