Prunella vulgaris, also known as Self Heal and Xia Ku Cao.
In this practice, the term botanical medicine refers broadly to the perspective that plants and the natural world are powerful allies in health and healing. This includes a focus on consuming a variety of vegetables and fruits in a Mediterranean or other plant based diet, the use of culinary and medicinal herbs and the power of spending time in nature among flowers, gardens and tall woody plants, also known as trees. This approach helps strengthen our connections to the change of seasons both in the world around us and in the timeline of our own lives. It appreciates complex interconnections and the wisdom of staying closer to the whole foods and whole plant medicines and finding time to rest. This perspective accepts that no type of medicine can work optimally in a physical terrain beset with the crashes and cravings of processed foods, endless screens and chronic stress.
Botanical Medicine
botanical: "concerned with the study or cultivation of plants," French botanique (17c.), Medieval Latin botanicus, Greek botanikos "of herbs, grass, pasture"
“When in doubt, start with the gut.”
I always remember this statement in my Functional Medicine training, referring to where to start treatment with complicated patients who had problems in multiple body systems. It reminds me to keep a focus on food as the most foundational medicine. I encourage everyone to consider how what they are eating nourishes them and/or contributes to medical diagnoses, poor mood and fatigue. Having helped design a Food as Medicine program for low income patients and having asked countless people if they are eating their vegetables, I get how hard eating healthy and changing habits can be. Still, I work to find sustainable practical solutions for individuals that work with their preferences, resources and schedules - and try not to increase people’s stress about food. Really! I love watching people (re)discover the joy of eating real delicious food, try new recipes, notice their taste and palate preferences changing and replace rigid ideas about diet with more flexibility and self compassion. I can assist with elimination diets to explore allergies and intolerances, as well as therapeutic eating plans to address inflammation or metabolism.
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“The food you eat can be either the safest & most powerful form of medicine or the slowest form of poison.”
Ann Wigmore
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"Those who have no time for healthy eating will sooner or later have to find the time for illness"
Edward Stanley
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"Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants."
Michael Pollan
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"Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food."
Hippocrates
“Those who contemplate the beauty of the earth find reserves of strength that will endure as long as life lasts. There is something infinitely healing in the repeated refrains of nature — the assurance that dawn comes after night, and spring after winter.”
-Rachel Carson
Personalized Formulations
When requested and arranged in a visit, I create custom herbal tea or botanical extract formulas, choosing ingredients based on a person’s concerns, medical history, preferences, available research and historical usage. I am a professional member of the American Botanical Council and have access to resources including HerbMedPro, Natural Medicines Database, The Complete German Commission E Monographs (on herbal medicine) and UpToDate. Mindful of both safety and quality concerns, I work with high quality botanical dispensaries that practice sustainable harvesting, seek ethical relations with growers, do independent testing for adulteration and contaminants and use organic plants when possible. The personalized formulas are mailed directly to the client and I do not profit from the sale, like a regular prescription going to a mail order pharmacy.
