Consulting Medical Herbalists in the 21st Century About our Education About us & our goal
Contact us for information concerning consultations This page is designed to illustrate the role of modern day medical herbalists. There is nothing synthetic or contrived about using herbs to enhance one's health, simply an understanding of the rich plant diversity around us we so commonly forget to consider. Modern scientific research has justified many of the traditional uses for plants used for millenia, by people with no science background, merely a co-existant relationship with their surroundings and inherited 'empirical knowledge'. ( Passed down from one generation to the next). Plant based research is continuing to unveil phyto chemicals with properties that seem promising in the fight against as yet in-curable diseases like Cancer, HIV and many others. It seems all to easy to forget that many of the medicines that we now know, and take for granted, have originated from plants. Full spectrum plant based extracts utilize plants in their entirety, not just the isolated fractions. To briefly explain: Plants contain a wealth of compounds we refer to as phyto chemicals. Plants are living entities and their bio mass is a complex interplay between many enzyme systems and energetic processes. The compounds exist in a state of equilibrium and so the delicate balance is maintained, a buffering activity so to say. Why then do scientists insist on isolation, extraction, purification and sterility? The reason lies in the isolation of a single ingredient. Testing an isolate obviates the possibility of other interactions and thus pharmacological testing can be directed to one component... It sounds fair and reasonable in theory but leaves no room for the interplay of inherent stability through the buffering status present in living systems! This is the very interaction that within living sysytems prevents a beneficial process from becoming a potentially negative one, the buffering activity of the many phytochemicals within whole plant products allows balance to remain. There are many instances where isolated chemicals do not behave as they should and lead to further imbalances in other bodily systems. Medical herbalists recomend whole plant tinctures / extracts, not isolates. The plant repetoire / Materia Medica has many generations of use behind it and the components within these plants have been intertwinned with our development through the generations of interaction. Modern chemical compounds that have never before been present in the wider environment as well as our own personal environment, are inherently questionable, whether they have been through "extensive trials" or not. There is usually a price to pay for the introduction of de-novo compounds. A typical format for consultation with a NIMH (National Institute of Medical Herbalists) practitioner would be as follows: 1.Client consultation with emphasis on presenting complaint, timing of complaint, associated factors and:
2.Past medical history.
This allows the practitioner to put the presentation in some perspective. It is followed by detailed enquiry into the following systems: 3.Gastro intestinal.
4. Urinary.
5. Musculoskeletal.
6. Nervous .
7. Gynaecological.
8. Cardiovascular .
9. Respiratory systems.
As well as enquiry into social history, diet, allergies and drug history.
This is then followed by taking the clients blood pressure and pulse. All the above should take approximately one hour. After consulting with the client, nutritional recommendations are made, which may include herbs and other dietary supplements. When you visit a professional medical herbalist, one who has graduated from a respected programme, and who is preferably a member of either the College of Practising Phytotherapists(MCPP), or The National Institute of Medical Herbalists (MNIMH), you can be sure that they are genuine, and have been trained in a 21st century appreciation & understanding of millenia old empirical knowledge. Contact us for further information here Back to home page
