When people learn I am an herbalist, they often share their
frustration and dismay that their “regular doctor” does not sanction the
inclusion of herbs and supplements in their diet and health care. Discouraging
comments or disagreeable advice from their very important primary healthcare
providers perplexes many people. Doctors’ responses range from “I don’t know
anything about it” to “Where is the data? It has not been clinically proven.”
OK, fair enough. Doctors are reluctant to
offer anything that has not been clinically proven because it is a risk. Should
anything go wrong—side effects, allergic reaction or negative results from the
inadvisable mixing of herbs and pharmaceuticals—they could get sued.
Curious about just exactly what data
physicians require to recommend herbs and supplements and also what new
information they look to for positive assurance, I attended the conference,
“Natural Supplements: An Evidence-Based Update,” sponsored by the Scripps Center for Integrative Medicine in San Diego. The lineup of 27 speakers from
around the country and Canada was impressive, with all but two being MDs or
PhDs. The topics were indeed mostly about supplements, but some presentations
included herbs, and there were workshops on medicinal spices; one on coffee,
chocolate and tea brought herbs to the fore.
Mary Hardy, MD, reported on her review of herb
and supplement clinical trials, listing significant results: Increased intake
of Vitamin D improves bone health; folic acid was proven to improve cognitive
function over a three-year period. Black cohosh is associated with reduced
incidence of breast cancer. Red yeast rice has applications for coronary heart
disease and diabetes and it lowered cholesterol. Genistein, an active agent
from soy, benefits heart and bone health. Essential oil of lavender did not
promote gynecomastia (breast growth in boys). Gargling with tea catechins
reduced the risk of flu in elders. Smooth Move® tea was effective for
constipation. Taking cranberry for four months significantly reduced the
incidence of urinary tract infections in women who had been prone to have at
least six per year. Hardy suggested that broader acceptance and use of herbs in
healthcare would probably come with the introduction of “simples”—preparations
using a single herb. Perhaps some day hospitals will offer chamomile tea for
poor digestion and warming, or arnica oil might be used topically to relieve
arthritis pain.
Mark Blumenthal, founder and executive
director of the American Botanical Council and editor and publisher of
HerbalGram magazine, was the voice of herbalism in his presentation, “The Role
of the Herbalist: A Global Perspective and Future Trends.” He pointed out that
herbs often offer a gentler, safer approach to medicine that may be more in
line with the patient’s philosophy. He predicted wider consumer acceptance and
demand as more research verifies the benefits of herbs.
A final presenter was Tierona Low Dog, who was
an herbalist before she became an MD. She directs the education program in
integrative medicine and clinical assistant professor in the Department of
Medicine at the University of Arizona School of Medicine. Hearing her talk in
the realms of more familiar territory about the sensual, physical and
therapeutic qualities of herbs and even explaining how to prepare them put me
at ease. Noting that abdominal fat and insulin resistance can contribute to
polycystic ovary disease, she listed the herbs cinnamon, fenugreek and bitter melon to inhibit the condition, including directions for how to prepare the
melon and a description of how real cinnamon can be identified (“The bark rolls
in the same direction and is very breakable”). She went on to talk about the
benefits and applications of licorice, peony, chaste tree berry and sawpalmetto for hirsutism (hair growth). She proclaimed, “I do not worship at the
feet of evidence-based medicine!” It was all I could do not to jump up and yell
“Bravo!”
The busiest vendor booth sold fish oil
capsules, the substance most frequently mentioned in presentations. Turmeric
was another hot seller, recommended to reduce inflammation which many
professionals now regard as the root of almost all disease.
To many at this conference, this was breaking
news; I have heard this same information at herb conferences for 15 years.
Many clinical studies of herbs validate what
herbalists already know. Besides showing whether a therapy works, clinical
trials often explain its physiological mechanism. The documentation presents
the information in a format that physicians can assimilate into their medical
knowledge.
On the plane ride home, I browsed through a
peer-reviewed journal, Journal of
Alternative Therapies, that had been distributed for free at the
conference. The Brief Report inside was on the use of nettle stings for pain by
Les Alford, MSc. The author researched the age-old use of gently slapping skin
with nettle leaves to relieve pain after a patient reported he had gotten
significant relief of lower back pain by doing so. Alford investigated a study
of such therapy that had shown similar, positive results. At the end of the
article, he rhetorically asks “Is it time to add nettle leaf sting to heat and
ice as home physical therapies for short-term pain relief?” I say, “why not?”
One glaring omission— the report never
mentions that only fresh nettle triggers the pain-relieving action. Confusion
and doubt about an herb’s healing potential can develop when essential details
are not included about its proper use. This is precisely where I see the role
of the herbalist as a necessary affiliate of any integrative health-care team.
Herbalists base much of their practice on old healing wisdom handed down to
become home remedies and practical therapies. Attending the conference did not
assuage my perplexity at the disconnect between botanical medicine and the
widely accepted practice of western medicine, but a quote in Krista Tippett’s
book, Speaking of Faith, offered me
an interesting insight. Substituting the contrast between western medicine and
herbalism for that between science and religion in the following quote
describes my view of this quandary.
“Beyond our culture’s entrenched debates, a
parallel universe of dialogue is unfolding.... It’s not so much true that
science [medicine] and religion [herbalism] reach different answers on the same
questions, which is how our cultural debate has defined the rift between them.
Far more often, they simply ask different kinds of questions altogether, and
the responses they generate together illuminate human life more completely than
either could do alone.”
This article was previously published in Catalyst Magazine and has been reprinted with permission.
