American Herbal Medicine: Sourcing, Affordability & the Dosage Debate with Bevin Clare

Bevin Clare is a herbalist, nutritionist, mother and Professor and Program Director of the Master’s of Science in Clinical Herbal Medicine at the Maryland University of Integrative Health. She holds a MSc in Infectious Disease from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and has studied herbal medicine around the world to blend her knowledge of traditional uses of plants with modern science and contemporary healthcare strategies as a consultant and educator. She serves as an adjunct Assistant Professor at the Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and is an Adjunct Associate Professor at the Northeast College of Health Sciences.

Bevin is the President of the American Herbalists Guild, the largest body of professional clinical herbalists in the US and is a board member of the United Plant Savers, a group working to protect at-risk medicinal plants in North America. She travels the world with her two kids in tow, tasting spices, exploring markets and wandering the countryside.

Bevin discusses her focus shift from herbalism to the herbalists, ensuring they are supported and their skills valued. She speaks about how her early study of infectious diseases highlighted the need to treat the human experience and why not being permitted to diagnose or treat diseases in America is so liberating. Simon and Bevin reminisce on their shared time at MUIH and celebrate the unique aspects, such as bio-regionalism and cultural nuances, that make herbalism so fascinating.

Bevin talks on:

• US herbalists and herbalism - the legal & licensing frameworks.
• American herbal programs and the introduction of online learning.
• Naturopaths versus herbalists - how do they align?
• The restrictions of licensure - protecting the nature of herbalism
• To to best support herbalists - including non-professional associated practitioners
• The urbanisation of herbalism and building diverse communities.
• Crediting Jim Duke - an introduction.
• American herbal sourcing - dosage versus affordability.

Explore Bevin’s musing on a variety of Clinical Herbalism topics, including infectious disease, at www.bevinclare.com

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Herbcast is produced by Decibelle Creative: @decibelle_creative / www.decibellecreative.com