If you’ve ever had a cup of chamomile tea to try to relax a little before bed, or picked some plantain and crushed it up to put on a bug bite, then you already know what herbalism is. It’s simply using plants’ roots, seeds, barks, leaves, and flowers for their purported medicinal purposes. Typically plants are made into teas or tinctures, and topical preparations such as salves and ointments are used externally, but herbal medicines can come in myriad other forms, ranging from herbal vinegars to steams to lozenges and even essential oils.

I’ve been playing with herbal medicine, largely informally, for the past 15 years. It’s not a magic bullet. Supplementing one’s diets with teas and tinctures won’t cure all diseases. However, much like dietary and lifestyle changes, herbs have the potential to address underlying issues that, left unchecked, can lead to health problems. But wait. Here’s what they’re not for.

The Herbal Frontier

Herbalism is largely unregulated in this country, so an herbalist could be someone with a vast amount of clinical experience over several decades or it could be someone who’s read a book or two and become a self-proclaimed expert overnight. There are all sorts of herb schools and courses, but the quality of those varies as well. The closest thing to a certifying body in this country is the American Herbalists Guild, a voluntary credentialing process in which candidates passing a review by a multidisciplinary admissions board can receive professional status. That’s not to say that all AHG herbalists practice scientifically, or that uncredentialed herbalists aren’t worth their salt, only that it’s sometimes hard to distinguish one from another.

Herbal medicines themselves are also unregulated, though the FTC regulates their marketing and advertising, and the FDA regulates their manufacturing and labeling. Many herbs are quite safe—some are even used as foods. However, some herbs can exacerbate preexisting conditions, or are contraindicated for certain constitutional types. Some herbs that are safe for adults are harmful to children, and others should be avoided during pregnancy. And then there’s the identification issue—an unskilled herbalist may incorrectly identify a plant in the wild, which could of course cause harm. The herbal frontier is still the Wild West in a sense. Caveat emptor.

Some Drawbacks and Limitations

When shouldn’t you use herbal medicine? When you have a serious condition and require medical attention. Supplementing with herbs can sometimes be helpful, assuming they aren’t contraindicated for your condition or medications you’re on, but herbs are a terrible substitute for allopathic care for diseases. Herbal medicine in itself is unlikely to cure cancer, no matter what anyone tells you, though some herbs may be able to ameliorate side effects of certain cancer treatments. Though there are herbal remedies to be found for every condition imaginable, playing with plant remedies instead of visiting ER during an emergency can send you to an early grave.

Other drawbacks of using plant medicine? The strength of remedies isn’t consistent. Unlike pharmaceutical remedies, which have very consistent properties, the strength of individual batches of plants you’ve harvested can vary. This can make dosing a bit more difficult.

As I alluded to already, it can be difficult to find out if the information you’re getting from an herbalist is accurate. While some herbalists are scientific and research-based, others are not. I recently took a course with an herbalist who prided himself on his logical approach but asked students not to fact-check his (often inaccurate) claims, repeated myths about the so-called alkaline diet (debunked in these very pages, and more thoroughly elsewhere, around six years ago), and spewed out some very dangerous recommendations.

Since many herbalists offer consultations and also sell their own remedies, there’s an inherent conflict of interest. That’s not to say that all herbalists are unethical, just that herbalists have a built-in incentive for telling a client that certain remedies are necessary. Several years ago, I presented research I’d come across on the use of vitamin D for immunomodulation and preventing the overexpression of inflammatory cytokines, which meant that cod liver oil could have been a better preventative for bird flu than their own concoctions. Sadly, the herbalists opted to ignore the research rather than reviewing it and considering changes to their lucrative product line. This is similar to gyms that sell post-workout shakes to overweight clients, even though the extra calories aren’t going to help them reach their goals.

You’re Really Selling It, Yael!

With all of these inherent issues, why use herbal medicine at all? Most herbs sold as dietary supplements have little or no side effects, which isn’t the case for over-the-counter drugs, and sometimes herbs can be equally effective (if not more effective). In many cases, allopathic medicine often offers limited options for chronic conditions, and herbal medicine can be used in educated self-experimentation to address these issues. Drugs often address specific symptoms and diseases, but nutrition, lifestyle changes, and herbal medicines can often get a layer deeper. If stress is causing headaches, for example, why not test out different herbs to address the stress instead of, or in addition to, popping Advil?

Last but not least, harvesting plants and making medicine can be a lot of fun, in the same way that building a primitive shelter or making fire with sticks is fun. There’s just something about a long hike in the woods harvesting purslane for dinner or gathering calendula for salve. And if you’re prone to picking up tinctures for $10 a pop at the local health food store, making your own is not only more rewarding but far less expensive. Interested in ethnobotany? Research how indigenous people in your bioregion used a plant and consider following in their footsteps, especially when you can compare ancient uses with modern-day science and find a bit of overlap.

So if I haven’t talked you out of playing with herbal medicine completely, you’re in luck: next month I’ll explain various herbal preparations you can make at home.