The Holistic Herbalism Podcast

It’s December, and here are some delightful things we’d like to share with you!

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A quote attributed to Hippocrates says “all disease begins in the gut.” No surprise, then, that gut-heal tea is a major part of our practice! We work with this formula – or better said, this schema for creating individualized formulae – very, very often. It’s not only a ‘digestive’ blend, it’s also a nervine formula: it operates at the nexus between the digestive and nervous systems.

But we don’t prepare it the same way every time! ...

Elderberry syrup isn’t everything an herbalist has to offer to someone suffering from a cold, the flu, COVID, RSV, or any of the other respiratory ailments to which we humans are susceptible. Despite being the first to come to many minds when asked if they’re prepared for winter illnesses, we encourage you to broaden your view both of what elder does, and what herbs can do.

Elderberry is famous for inhibiting viruses by interfering ...

We’ve been running a clinical herbalism mentorship program of one kind or another for more than fifteen years. We have some thoughts! Today’s episode is all about our model for a clinical herbalist mentorship, what we think it needs to include, and how it’s structured to benefit our students and clients most fully.

For context, we do have prerequisites to join mentorship – you need to have your herbal know-how dialed in before you c...

If you haven’t made herbal cold/flu/COVID care kits for your household yet, now is the time! Herbal care kits are one of our very favorite things. Here’s the premise: when you’re sick, it’s hard to think, no matter how good an herbalist you are. So get the stuff you’re going to need ready ahead of time! It’s like taking care of your future self.

Plus, it’s likely that you’re the herbalist in your household – so you’re going to need ...

This week we continue our investigation into the best-selling herbal supplements in the US. First, an update: the 2024 Herbal Market Report data is here!

The overall picture is very similar to the 2023 data, with most items on the lists simply changing position. The overall market had a 5.4% increase, topping out above $13.2 billion for the highest annual sales on record. Direct-to-consumer commerce – via websites like Amazon, for i...

When Ryn first met Katja, she was in the habit of inflating her age a bit. Why? Because as an herbalist – at that time – it was preferable to present as older, even as an ‘elder’, if possible. Times have changed, and now “influencerbalists” dominate the social media world’s public face, for herbalism as for so many things. Staying young forever looks almost plausible, when it’s shown through short-form videos on a tiny screen…

It’s ...

Herbs #22 and 23 on the top-selling herbs list for 2023 were milk thistle and black cohosh.

Today we continue our series on commercially popular herbs, and share our views as herbalists on the actions, benefits, and applications of these.

Milk thistle is widely known as an excellent herb for the liver, and this is a case where the common wisdom is correct. It’s one of the safest herbs out there, and fortunately, it is also widely ava...

When you’re using your herbal skills to help others – whether you’re doing that as a Clinical Herbalist in private practice, volunteering in your community, or even just caring for your own family – it becomes obvious pretty fast that your herbal knowledge is only part of the skillset you need.

You also need to creatively adapt what you know, so that it will actually work in that person’s life. Since every body is different, differe...

On the top-selling herbs list for 2023 (the most recent data), the herbs in places #19-21 were Tribulus terrestris, Pycnogenol (an extract of Pinus pinaster), and garlic. Today we continue our series on commercially popular herbs, and share our views as herbalists on the actions, benefits, and applications of these ones.

The pine extract is an interesting item, given that it’s not an entry for the herb itself but rather for a specif...

Mutual aid projects are a natural place for herbalists to gravitate, and setting one up in your community is easier than you think! Our mutual aid startup guide is a free resource we offer you to help with this. You can download it right here:

Mutual Aid Startup Guide

In today’s episode we want to emphasize two key things about this: First, it doesn’t have to be an enormous undertaking. You can start with a small circle of friends, a...

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Sussing out herb-drug interactions is complicated! In this episode we take the example of Celexa + skullcap, and demonstrate the process of investigation we’d use to sort out whether a proposed risk is real.

We start with the Botanical Safety Handbook, because it has certain featu...

Our semi-annual 20% off Sale is active now!
For the entire month of July,
use code hawthorn at checkout
to take 20% off all our online courses!

On the top-selling herbs list for 2023 (the most recent data), the herbs in places #16-18 were saw palmetto, cinnamon, and echinacea. In today’s installment of our best-sellers series, we share our views as herbalists on the actions, benefits, and applications of these herbs...

Bandaids are undeniably handy, and there are plenty of situations where they do the job that needs doing. But there are also lots of times when a wound is too big, too irregular, or too sensitive for a bandaid to be the best choice. That’s where bespoke bandaging comes into play! You can learn bandaging basics really quickly – yes, even through podcast audio – and that’s what today’s episode is all about.

Bandages are extremely vers...

When putting together a bug-out bag in case of emergencies, don’t forget your herbs! Just like a first aid kit, a go bag is best when you construct it according to your specific needs, and the needs of people you’ll be with. This isn’t a “one size fits all” situation!

The same goes for circumstances when you need to shelter in place. A ‘stay-in stash’ is just a go-bag without the go. It’s an orderly, intentional accumulation of all ...

Just like checking your stock of remedies in the apothecary, herbal first aid kit maintenance is one of those things you need to carve out time for – at least once a year! It’s June, which is the kick-off to summer adventure and here on the east coast, also hurricane season. In other regions, wildfire season is already started, and even without a disaster, summer means more bumps & bruises – so it’s the perfect time for us to b...

This is the second half of the Disaster-Proofing your Herbal Business theme.

Economic uncertainty is part of business – but there’s so much you can do to make sure your business stays strong throughout the ups and downs.

In the previous episode, we covered the first three steps in the work of diversifying your revenue streams and your product/service offerings to make sure that your herbal business keeps growing!

In this episode, we’r...

Economic uncertainty is part of business – but there’s so much you can do to disaster-proof your herbal business and make sure it stays strong throughout the ups and downs.

This episode is the first three steps in the work of diversifying your revenue streams and also your product/service offerings to make sure that your herbal business keeps growing!

We’re focusing here on how to shift your marketing so that your products/services r...

In our fifth installment in this series, we address the facts & fictions about ginkgo, guarana, and maca supplements in commerce! These were #13, 14, and 15 on the top-selling herbs list for 2023 (the most recent data).

This series is all about sharing an herbalist’s understanding of herbs very popular as commercial supplements and other mass-market products. We want to share perspectives of both traditional and contemporary her...