Botanical Medicine Health Article

Training & certification

Naturopathic physicians are licensed as primary care physicians in many states and complete a four-year graduate level course at a naturopathic medical school. Naturopaths are trained in nutritional medicine, homeopathic medicine, botanical medicine, hydrotherapy, psychology, and counseling.

Traditional Chinese medicine practitioners are heir to the benefits of thousands of years of tradition. This ancient system of health care is experiencing a revival in China after efforts by Chinese Nationalists in the 1930s to eliminate traditional Chinese medical practices in favor of Western medical methods. The ancient way persisted, and traditional Chinese medicine is taught in Chinese medical schools using the traditional medical literature. By the 1990s, China had opened its hospitals to American students of acupuncture and Chinese herbology.

Western herbalism is taught in numerous schools of herbal medicine in the United States, as well as through correspondence and on-line courses. Certification as a clinical herbalist is not required in the U.S. and herbal remedies are widely available commercially as food supplements without a medical prescription.

BOOKS

Burton Goldberg Group. Alternative Medicine: The Definitive Guide. Washington: Future Medicine Publishing, Inc., 1993.

Kowalchik, Claire, and William H. Hylton. Rodale's Illustrated Encyclopedia of Herbs. Pennsylvania: Rodale Press, 1987.

McIntyre, Anne. The Medicinal Garden. New York: Henry Holt and Company, Inc., 1997.

Pelletier, Kenneth R., MD. The Best Alternative Medicine, Part I, "Western Herbal Medicine." New York: Simon & Schuster, 2002.

Price, Shirley. Practical Aromatherapy, 3rd ed. London, UK: Thorsons, 1994.

PERIODICALS

Arora, S., K. Kaur, and S. Kaur. "Indian Medicinal Plants as a Reservoir of Protective Phytochemicals." Teratogenesis, Carcinogenesis, and Mutagenesis (2003) (Supplement 1): 295–300.

Azaizeh, H., S. Fulder, K. Khalil, and O. Said. "Ethnobotanical Knowledge of Local Arab Practitioners in the Middle Eastern Region." Fitoterapia 74 (February 2003): 98–108.

De Vos, P. "An Herbal El Dorado: The Quest for Botanical Wealth in the Spanish Empire." Endeavour 27 (2003): 117–121.

Kinsel, J. F., and S. E. Straus. "Complementary and Alternative Therapeutics: Rigorous Research Is Needed to Support Claims." Annual Review of Pharmacology and Toxicology 43 (2003): 463–484.

Loman, D. G. "The Use of Complementary and Alternative Health Care Practices Among Children." Journal of Pediatric Health Care 17 (March-April 2003): 58–63.

Matthews, H. B., G.W. Lucier, and K.D. Fisher. "Medicinal Herbs in the United States: Research Needs." Environmental Health Perspectives. 107 (October 1999): 773-778.

McNamara, Damian. "Warn Patients About Bad Herbal Advice on Web." Family Practice News (January 1, 2002) : 8.

Torpy, Janet M. "Integrating Complementary Therapy Into Care." Journal of the American Medical Association 1 (January 16, 2002) : 306.

ORGANIZATIONS

American Association of Naturopathic Physicians. <http://www.naturopathic.org.>

American Botanical Council. <http://www.herbalgram.org.>

Flower Essence Society. <http://www.flowersociety.org/about.htm.>

National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM) Clearinghouse. P.O. Box 7923, Gaithersburg, MD 20898-7923. (888) 644-6226. <http://nccam.nih.gov>.

National Center for Homeopathy. <http://www.homeopathic.org.>

U. S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). 5600 Fishers Lane, Rockville, MD 20857. (888) 463-6332. <http://www.fda.gov>.

OTHER

American Association of Naturopathic Physicians. "What Is A Naturopathic Physician?" http://www.naturopathic.org/Basics/Definition.html.

Baker, Joanne. "Aromatherapy, Massage and Chinese Medicine." http://www.positivehealth.com/permit/Aritcles/Aromatherapy/jobaker.htm.

Gardenchild, Lyn, and Martin Watt. "AIDS, HIV & Aromatherapy." Aromatherapy Global Online Research Archives. htttp://www.nature-helps.com/agora/aidsanda.htm.

Katz, Richard, and Patricia Kaminski. "The Twelve Windows of Plant Perception." http://www.flowersociety.org/twelve.htm.

"Naturopathy." http://www.noaw.com/Naturopathy/naturopathy.htm.

Vanhove, Michel. "Aromatherapy." http://www.nature-helps.com/infopage/engels/HISTORY1.HTM.

Watt, Martin. "Essential oil safety-The known and the unknown." Aromatherapy Global Online Research Archives. http://www.fragrant.demon.co.uk/eosafety.html.

"What Is Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM)?" Chinese Medicine and Acupuncture in Canada. http://www.medicinechinese.com/intro.html.

Wicke, Roger, Ph.D. "A World History of Herbology and Herbalism: Oppressed Arts." Rocky Mountain Herbal Institute. http://www.rmhiherbal.org.

Clare Hanrahan

Teresa G. Odle

Rebecca J. Frey, PhD