The Smart Human with Dr. Aly Cohen Herbal Medicine with guest David Winston
Herbalists Treat The Person Not Just The Disease
- An herbalist practices medicine using plants and focuses on the person, not just the disease.
- David Winston emphasizes treating underlying causes and patient subtypes rather than one-size diagnoses.
Always Share Your Medications First
- Tell your herbalist or physician every pharmaceutical you take before adding herbs to avoid interactions.
- Be especially cautious with high-risk drugs like warfarin and immunosuppressants when using herbs like St. John's wort.
Natural Doesn't Mean Harmless
- Herbs can act as foods, medicines, or poisons depending on dose and context.
- David Winston warns that 'natural' doesn't equal safe and gives examples of toxic botanical medicines.
In this interview, we cover:
🔹What is herbal medicine, and how has its use influenced human healing
🔹The basic tenets of herbal medicine…can its use be integrated safely and effectively into conventional medical care
🔹Any risks when considering the use of herbal medicine…herb-drug interactions?
🔹Which conditions might be contraindicated in with the use of herbal medicine
🔹Why might someone seek out an herbal medicine doctor…what are the benefits/limitations 🔹Finding a reputable herbal medicine practitioner
🔹Most commonly used, safe herbs used for the most common conditions
🔹Which herbs are David's favorites ….and SO MUCH more! 🤩
David Winston is an Herbalist and Ethnobotanist with 56 years of training in Chinese, Western/Eclectic and Southeastern herbal traditions. He has been in clinical practice for 49 years and is an herbal consultant to physicians, herbalists and researchers throughout the USA, Europe and Canada. David is the founder/director of the Herbal Therapeutics Research Library and the dean of David Winston's Center for Herbal Studies, a two-year training program in clinical herbal medicine. He is an internationally known lecturer and frequently teaches at medical schools, professional symposia and herb conferences. He is the president of Herbalist & Alchemist, Inc. a manufacturer that produces herbal products that blend the art and science of the world's great herbal traditions.
In addition, David is a founding/professional member of the American Herbalist Guild, and he is on the American Botanical Council and the American Herbal Pharmacopoeia Advisory Boards. He was a contributing author to American Herbalism, published in 1992 by Crossings Press, and the American Herbal Pharmacopoeia (AHP) , 2000-2018, the author of Saw Palmetto for Men & Women, Storey, 1999 and Herbal Therapeutics, Specific Indications For Herbs & Herbal Formulas, HTRL, 2024 (14th edition) and the primary -author of Adaptogens: Herbs for Strength, Stamina and Stress Relief, Healing Arts Press, 2007 & 2019 2nd Ed, and Winston and Kuhn's Herbal Therapy and Supplements; A Scientific and Traditional Approach, Wolters Kluwer/Lippincott, 2008. David has also published hundreds of articles in medical and botanical medicine journals and conference proceedings. He is also a member of the AHPA Expert Advisory Council that created the second edition of the Botanical Safety Handbook, CRC Press, published in 2013 (3rd edition in press). In 2011 David along with 9 other members of the Botanical Safety Handbook expert advisory committee were recipients of the AHPA Herbal Insights award. In 2013 he received the Natural Products Association Clinicians award and was awarded a fellowship by the Irish Register of Herbalists. In 2018 he was the Mitchell visiting scholar at Bastyr University, in 2019 he was awarded an honorary DSc degree from the National University of Natural Medicine (NUNM) in Portland, OR, in 2023 he was awarded the AHPA Herbal Insight award recognizing his over 50 years of educating people about herbal medicine and in 2024 he was given the American Botanical Council's Mark Blumenthal Herbal Community Builder award.
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