Video Series for Clinicians: Building Immunity

Posted on November 16, 2020December 4, 2020 by Robin St. James

building immunity

A video series for health care providers – with continuing education for naturopathic physicians – bundled together in one discounted package:

Six (6) video lectures (1.5 hours each)
Digital book of notes (89-page PDF)
Continuing education credits for naturopathic physicians
Order with one click for $89 ($135 value)

Note: The information in this series is provided as a research resource for health professionals and is not intended to replace diagnosis and treatment by a qualified health care practitioner.

Video Series Details
(See below for titles and descriptions of videos)

One click orders all six videos selected from the 2020 conference season (4 videos from Medicines from the Earth and 2 from the Southwest Conference on Botanical Medicine), plus an 89-page pdf of notes. Together these provide comprehensive information on the clinical management of immune conditions.

The series begins with an overview of immunity from childhood to the elder years, followed by a more detailed look at the lymph system and the role it plays in immunology.

Specific immune challenges are then addressed, including the influence of estrogen on autoimmunity, managing acute viral respiratory infection, a panel discussion on immune-centered illness and, finally, the latest research on managing COVID-19. (This was recorded in March 2020, just as the pandemic was spreading, so the speaker, Donald Yance, provided an update in August 2020 featuring all the latest research findings. The updated article link is included in the pdf of lecture notes for the series).

Video presentations offer complete clinical information, with the speaker and the PowerPoint playing together in an ideal format for online learning.

(Series price of $89 includes an 89-page PDF of lecture notes.)

Rosemary, Turmeric, and Lemon Balm

Posted on August 24, 2020September 14, 2020 by Robin St. James

Read the transcript for this video.

Mary Bove, ND was recently asked a question as part of the 2020 Summer Series: “What three herbs would you recommend for study by beginning students of herbalism?” In the video above she listed Rosmarinus officinalis (Rosemary), Curcuma longa (Turmeric), and Melissa officinalis (Lemon Balm) as a great place to start. Continue reading

Managing Osteopenia and Osteoporosis with Botanical Medicine

Posted on August 8, 2020August 31, 2020 by Dr. Allison Williams, ND.

milk thistle — Milk Thistle (*Silybum marianum)*

Our bones are powerful! I’m still amazed sometimes that these hardened structures, allowing for muscle attachments and acting as a scaffold for movement, are indeed very much alive. Right now, as you’re reading this, they are hard at work creating blood cells and maintaining their structure and intricate framework. Continue reading

Medical Marijuana Education for Clinicians

Posted on June 26, 2019October 28, 2019 by botanical

Cannabis Therapeutics

An audio series for health care providers – bundled together in one discounted package:

Six (6) audio lectures
Digital book of notes (50 page PDF)
Order with one click for $55 ($70 value)

Details: These six audio recordings offer the clinician detailed information on prescribing Medical Marijuana, the most appropriate delivery system for specific conditions, possible side effects and interactions. Includes complete references. Features up-to-date information on medicinal uses of Cannabis for pain, cancer, mental health conditions, sleep and more. Includes digital book of lecture notes (50 page PDF).

Naturopathic CE: If CME has not previously been earned for the below lectures (either in person or distance) you can earn 3.5 general and 6.5 pharmacy credits. See more Continuing Education details.

Recordings included in this series:

Therapeutic Uses of the Cannabinoids and Other Cannabis Compounds, Part 1

Kenneth Proefrock presents his clinical experience using Cannabis therapeutically for a wide range of conditions from seizures, restless leg syndrome and insomnia, to cancer, MS, Parkinsons and chronic pain. Detailed usage information includes prescribing Medical Marijuana as an internal agent, a vapor, as food and in topical applications for pain. Speaker: Kenneth Proefrock, ND. (Product Code: 15SW01)

Therapeutic Uses of the Cannabinoids and Other Cannabis Compounds, Part 2

Continued from Part 1, Kenneth Proefrock continues presenting his clinical experience using Cannabis therapeutically for a wide range of conditions from seizures, restless leg syndrome and insomnia, to cancer, MS, Parkinsons and chronic pain. Includes some of the more interesting research on the variability of constituents with different cultivation techniques and cross-reactions with other therapeutic agents. Reviews laws surrounding medical uses with an emphasis on Arizona. Kenneth Proefrock, ND. (Product Code: 15SW02)

Use of Cannabis Compounds for Health and Disease Treatment: A Science-Based Review

Reviews over 250 clinical trials on the efficacy and safety of Medical Marijuana use for glaucoma, HIV/AIDs, opiate addiction, nausea, cancer-related cachexia, muscle spasms, epilepsy, pain, autoimmune diseases and inflammation. The benefits and drawbacks of different delivery systems, different solvents for extraction and vaporizers are discussed. Clinically relevant details on the chemistry, pharmacology, pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of cannabinoids, including THC and CBD, are summarized. Speaker: Christopher Hobbs, PhD. (Product Code: 18SW03)

The Influence of Cannabis on the Psyche

Reports in both the biomedical literature and from patients suggest that there are beneficial effects of Medical Cannabis on various psychological conditions. Conversely, there are reports of detrimental influences of Cannabis on mental health, including addiction. This lecture discusses both sides and shines a light on a topic that will increasingly be discussed in healthcare provider forums and the press. Speaker: Kevin Spelman, PhD. (Product Code: 15ME30)

Cannabis and Cancer: Sifting the Science

The use of Medical Marijuana to treat issues such as cancer pain or chemo-induced nausea and vomiting is well established. However, there is also widespread patient interest in Medical Cannabis as a direct anticancer agent. This session reviews how cancer involves the endocannabinoid system, and presents data on the anticancer properties of Cannabis both in terms of cancer pathophysiology & molecular biology, as well as its effects on specific malignancies. Speaker: Jonathan Treasure, MNIMH. (Product Code: 17SW25)

Cannabis as an Alternative to Opioids, Benzodiazepines, NSAIDs and other Drugs

While these drugs can have unintended side effects, the use of Medical Marijuana as a substitute should be carefully evaluated for efficacy, adverse reactions and best use for either weaning patients from a drug or using it in conjunction to reduce drug dosage and negative effects. In a fair comparison, Medical Marijuana may be better, but a user may also develop tolerance, loss of effect, and side effects from Marijuana. Examine all sides of this topic with three experienced clinicians. Panelists: Paul Bergner, Jonathan Treasure and Kenneth Proefrock. (Product Code: 17SW17)

Plus, the Series Lecture Notes for Cannabis Therapeutics, in PDF format.

Order the complete Medical Marijuana package »

Mast Cell Activation Syndrome & Histamine Intolerance: An Herbal Approach

Posted on July 10, 2019January 1, 2021 by Dr. Allison Williams, ND.

I always tell my patients with histamine issues, whether it’s histamine intolerance or mast cell activation syndrome (MCAS), that they are “the canary in the coal mine.” The canaries were the warning sign, just like people with easily-angered mast cells warning us that our environment is changing, our genes are becoming more sensitive to pollution, and our physiology is losing its resilience to stressors of daily living. However, there is indeed hope and healing – the body can be retrained and herbal medicine offers a set of tools to help it do just that! Continue reading

Western Larch – New Uses for an Ancient Medicine

Posted on May 27, 2019September 13, 2020 by Dr. Scott Tyler, BSc, ND.

Western Larch in Canada

Larix occidentalis, the Western Larch, is a species of larch native to mountainous regions of North America’s Pacific Northwest; southeastern British Columbia and southwestern Alberta in Canada, eastern WA, eastern OR, northern ID, and western MT in the United States. Continue reading

2016 Herbal Conferences

Posted on February 11, 2016 by botanical

herbal conference blue ridge black mountain

Medicines from the Earth Herb Symposium, 2016
Dates: Friday June 3 – Monday, June 6
Place: Blue Ridge Assembly, Black Mountain, North Carolina

Over 40 presentations on the integration of botanicals with the latest medical discoveries along with medicine making demonstrations, herb walks and intensives.

Pre-conference Events: Friday, June 3:

Ethnobotanical and Native Plant Field Study with herbalist and ethnobotanist David Winston.

Healing the Gut-Brain Axis with Botanicals with Jason Miller, Master of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine.

Full topic listing

Continuing education at Medicines from the Earth approved for nurses, naturopathic physicians, acupuncturists and pharmacists licensed in North Carolina.. All approvals now definite.

Looking forward to seeing you again in the mountains of North Carolina!

Southwest Conference on Botanical Medicine, 2016 (Past Event – Thanks for making it such a great weekend! )
Dates: Friday April 8 – Sunday, April 10, 2016

Recordings: Now available for download. Purchase full set of audio (mp3) recordings and speaker lecture notes in pdf.

Continuing education approved for recordings for NDs including 10 pharmacy hours.

Photo report on the conference on Facebook

We look forward to seeing you all again next year (April 7 – 9, 2017).

We hope you will join us for an herbal conference! These events are a great way to meet like-minded people and learn the latest information on botanical therapies for a variety of conditions.

Questions? Email us and we’ll be happy to help.

Herbal Educational Services
555 Tyler Creek Rd.
Ashland, Oregon
(541) 482-3016

Christopher Hobbs, PhD at Medicines from the Earth

Posted on February 10, 2016 by botanical

Christopher Hobbs is a fourth-generation internationally known herbalist, licensed acupuncturist, author, clinician, botanist, mycologist and research scientist with over 35 years of experience with herbal medicine. Here he talks about his intensive at Medicines from the Earth on June 5 titled “Treating Infections with Natural Medicines—An Integrative and Cross-Cultural Approach”

Please tell us about your family heritage in botany.
My dad was a professor of botany and entomology and I still remember riding or walking with him when I was very young and being interested in flowers and plants. I’d ask the names of trees, shrubs and weeds and he would always know the name and some interesting things about them. Lucky for me, because I developed a life-long hyper-fixation on plants myself.

My maternal grandmother and great-grandmother were herbalists. My grandmother studied with a Chinese herbalist and had her own organic herb garden from which she treated people in her community. It’s interesting that so many years later I would receive training in traditional Chinese medicine, receive my acupuncture license, and study herbal medicine in China.

We are looking forward to your intensive entitled “Treating Infections with Natural Medicine—An Integrative and Cross-Cultural Approach” This seems to imply an energetic model of diagnosing and prescribing for infection—can you elaborate?
My practice and teaching style today is always a combination of traditional medicine, my own clinical and personal experience, the counsel and teachings of my peers, and the 10-year science training I completed in 2014. Although I am a scientist, I believe that healing between plants and people results from something greater than just the biological activity of herbs. Something indefinable and hard to measure occurs: a life-force that comes from the relationship between the growing and living plant, the soil and it’s microbes, its complex chemistry, the water, the sunlight, and the atmosphere, which all combine to work for healing on the highest level of intelligence. Continue reading

Chanchal Cabrera and Biophilia

Posted on February 10, 2016July 16, 2019 by botanical

Medicines from the Earth News: Chanchal Cabrera’s Biophilia Intensive

Speaker Chanchal Cabrera is a medical herbalist practicing on Vancouver Island, Canada. She lives at Innisfree Farm, a 7-acre botanical reserve and herb farm she and her husband Thierry Vrain created over the last ten years.

Linnea Wardwell spoke with Chanchal last week to find out more about biophilia, the instinctive bond humans have for all other life forms on the planet. It shapes her recent work on the farm, and is also the subject of the intensive workshop on Saturday afternoon at the symposium.

LW: Whenever we have a chance to chat, it seems there are new initiatives in your practice and farm activities. We’d like to find out what’s going on recently.

CC: Oh, that is a big question! I am always busy and always dreaming and scheming for the next opportunity to spread the word about herbal medicine.

Since my 4 months of training at Kew Gardens in 2013 and 2014, the farm has been listed on the international register of botanic gardens, one of 7 registered gardens in BC. Our specialty is medicine and food plants but we are also offering more and more education as well. We are running workshops, hosting events and teaching classes. Last year the 2nd biennial Vancouver Island Herb Gathering at Innisfree Farm had 270 people attend over 4 days. Next one is June 2017!

On top of that, I am still running the botanical medicine department at the Boucher Institute of Naturopathic Medicine in Vancouver, as well, so plenty to keep me busy.

LW: You’ve been a practicing medical herbalist since 1987 and were made a Fellow by the National Institute of Medical Herbalists (the United Kingdom’s leading professional body representing herbal practitioners) in 2009. What is the main focus of your clinical practice?
Continue reading

SCNM – A great place to hold an herbal conference

Posted on January 18, 2019January 21, 2020 by botanical

SCNM Herb Garden in full bloom (See more photos below)

Back in 1996, the Southwest College of Naturopathic Medicine (SCNM) occupied a small building in Scottsdale. The school had recently opened its doors and the first Southwest Conference on Botanical Medicine was held that April. We had an enthusiastic crowd of naturopathic students, health professionals, local herbalists and volunteers. Some of you may remember that first panel discussion on Saturday night, under the stars in the inner courtyard–since there was no central meeting hall large enough!

SCNM has since moved to Tempe, and is now one of the top schools in the US for training naturopathic physicians. It is also one of the first colleges in the country to qualify for LEED certification, a green building certification program that recognizes best-in-class building strategies and practices. The herbal conference is an annual event here, and the profits help support the botanical medicine program at the school.

The two photos above illustrate why SCNM is such a special place: the commitment to the environment through sustainable… Continue reading