Commonwealth Podcast For Holistic Herbalism

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 instance – continues to be the largest fraction of sales.In the mainstream list, the biggest story is the increase for “mushrooms (other)”, which reached #26 despite not appearing at all in prior years. This listing includes lion’s mane, turkey tail, and other mushrooms – but not chaga, cordycpes, or reishi (those are tracked individually). Also of note, the sales numbers for saint john’s wort in 2023 were adjusted to the tune of a $20 million increase! This would place SJW at #17 on that year’s list, instead of being absent from it. This makes much more sense, since SJW has been suc

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 not, though. We’ll all age, and that will mean some things don’t work as well as they used to, don’t feel as good as they used to, don’t heal as fast as they used to. We’ll get tired, our hair will thin, our faces will wrinkle. All the amazing new products and one-weird-tricks will not stop these things from happening.We don’t need to stop them. They’re part of life. In just the same way that yes, it’s OK to be a plus-sized herbalist, it’s OK to be an aging herbalist. Chasing immortality is a fool’s errand, and it can distract both from more effective means of mitigating discomforts

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 available and inexpensive. Hepatoprotective and even able to regenerate damaged liver tissue, it is at the same time a very gentle and benign plant. But don’t try to make tea with it!Black cohosh’s reputation is as a remedy for PMS and menopausal symptoms, and often this is attributed to phytoestrogenic activity or constituents. The reality is murky – and has remained so despite decades of argument and investigation on both sides of the claim. Regardless, black cohosh can often help. We find it best to view the herb through the lens of its action as a relaxant. If PMS or menopause are

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, different strategies work for different people. Holistic herbalists are never trying to present “one right way” that everyone has to adhere to.Which means that as herbalists, we need to be creative and flexible. We need to match our strategies to each person’s life individually – and that creativity can be challenging!That’s one of the skills that we teach in our Clinical Skills course. Today’s episode is a segment of content on this topic, from that course, which we wanted to share with you. It’s self-contained, but it’ll also give you a peek into what our course material sounds like.When

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 specific proprietary extract from one species. It’s true that this extract has been well-studied and shown to exert good effects, but it’s also true that pine is much more than this one product.Today’s trio also offers an excellent opportunity to apply herbal energetics to help us critique and navigate marketing hype. While tribulus is very popular as a body-building aid, its cooling nature tells us that it is most helpful for those who already run hot. Garlic is the polar opposite of that. While garlic is very famous for its capacity to lower blood pressure and cholesterol, these effects

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 GuideIn 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, and build from there. The keys are consistency and continuity of communication.Second, getting started can be very simple! So often, people feel hesitant to begin – thinking they need a fully fleshed-out concept and perhaps some financial backing before they start. But mutual aid can be something that fits into your schedule and that lifts you up instead of burning you out.We discuss three examples to show what mutual aid can look like at different scales: a small personal support network, a medium community fix-it club, and a larger community disaster response team.We hope this epis

Our semi-annual 20% off Sale is active now!For the entire month of July,use code hawthorn at checkoutto take 20% off all our online courses!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 features which make it significantly better than other manuals or databases. These include the varied relevant experience and skills of the editorial team, its clarity about real vs theorized reactions, and other critical data points which are directly relevant to the herbalist’s practice.Checking one resource isn’t sufficient, though. We also need to consider the fact that ‘absence of evidence is not evidence of absence’, and remember that constitutional variations can significantly change the efficacy of a given herb for a particular person. Information outside of scientific studies – such as the pop

Our semi-annual 20% off Sale is active now!For the entire month of July,use code hawthorn at checkoutto 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. All three are long-term residents on the market report’s top 40 chart, and there’s no reason to expect that to change in the coming years.In this series of episodes, we’re working to present you with the perspective of a practicing clinical herbalist on these very popular plants. In the form of supplements, they’re among the most-taken and most-asked-about herbal remedies for the modern population. Their presentation in the marketplace, though, is generally quite restricted and limited in comparision to both historical and contemporary herbal practices!These herbs are “good for” more than just what’s

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 versatile and customizable – even without getting a dozen different types of gauze and pads. Truly, a box of 2″ and 4″ roller gauze, plus some gauze pads and micropore tape, is plenty for most situations you’ll run into. For the purposes of practice, they’re all you need to get started.When you’re practicing your bandaging technique, your big goal is to make the bandages neat, secure, and yet still allowing for a normal range of motion. The best way to get good at this is to practice. The best way to practice is to get some friends together for a “mummy party”, where everyone gets banda

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 the things you’ll need if the power goes out for a week, or you can’t leave your home for an extended period of time.Herbs, food, and ‘everything else’ all need to go in there – and don’t forget water! In this episode we discuss what to include, what to avoid, and ways to keep your stock rotating and fresh for a moment of need.Mentioned in this episode:HHP 233: Emergency Readiness Needs A Meal PlanFEMA AppWe’re highlighting first aid herbalism on the podcast all month. You can use the discount code FIRSTAID during checkout for $25 off of our Herbal First Aid course for the month of

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 be focusing on first aid and updating your kit.Your kit might need updates if your health needs change, or if different people enter your circle of care. Sometimes old remedies need replacing, or you find a better system to organize everything. Your first aid kit is like a garden – it needs tending to be at its best.This month we’ll be sharing lots of first aid information on the podcast. Let’s start off with your first aid kit. If you have one, it needs maintenance. If you don’t have one, this is the time to build one! This episode has everything you need to do both.Use the discount

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’re talking about expanding both your offerings and your target audience so that you can broaden your reach into more markets. This takes some creativity and some market research, but don’t worry! It’s not hard to do and this episode has plenty of tips. The most important take-away is that if you stay flexible and try several different ideas at a small scale to see what gets traction, shifting your business with the economic conditions becomes a lot less challenging.Most importantly though: you don’t have to do all this alone! Join our Herbal Business Program and let’s do it together!

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 remain essential as people tighten their budgets, as well as shifting which products or services you offer to make sure that you really do remain essential! In order to do that, you’ve got to really know your customers, and so we’ll talk about exercises for how to do that, too. Taking the time to gather some data will help you to stay relevant and survive the budget cuts!And if your business is still in the planning stages, that’s great – that means that you can be structuring your business to be economically resilient right from the start.Most importantly though: you don’t have to d

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 herbal practice, so people can understand these are “good for” more than just what’s on their labels.It’s too easy for herbs to be boxed in to smaller and smaller ranges of application when they’re commercialized. This is an antidote to that movement!For practicing herbalists & clinicians, it’s very important to know well those herbs which are most commonly consumed. Your clients will ask you about them, or be taking them before they even visit you – so you’ve got to know what they do! You might be able to give advice about a better remedy, or a compensation for some effect of the

What does it mean to heal? When are we “healed”? Are there some wounds that can’t be healed? If we can’t heal – in the sense of achieving “perfect health” – are we failures, as people or as herbalists? In this episode, Katja shares her thoughts on the words and ideas “healing” carries in our culture, offering a critique of their common (and commercialized!) semantic and emotional baggage.TranscriptLately, in conversations with several different people from different realms of my life, the word “heal” – healing, healer – has come up a lot, and specifically, what we mean when we talk about “healing”.I have some strong feelings about this word that might resonate with you. I think that it’s an important discussion about how we understand health and care, how we understand our bodies, and how we understand the journey of being a human.​Lots of people call herbalists “healers” – but we’re not doing any healing, you, the people we help, are! I don’t like to call myself a healer because it means that i’m taking cred

We discuss green tea, fenugreek, and ivy leaf in this, the fourth part of an episodic sequence about the best-selling herbs in the US.Our primary purpose for creating this series of episodes is to share an understanding of these herbs from the perspectives of traditional and contemporary herbal practice. Frequently, the high-volume sales of these herbs comes along with oversimplified or diminished ideas about what they can do. If we ask “what does this herb help with?” and answer it based only on what we see on store shelves and product websites, we’ll miss out on a lot of possibilities!Every herbalist practicing in the US today should be familiar with these herbs, because they are the ones your clients are most likely to be taking even before they show up for an appointment with you. Their use may have implications for your own herbal recommendations, or serve as a jumping-off point for a more involved protocol. You may also be able to advise your clients about alternatives which may serve them better, or ev

In part three of our series on the top-selling herbs in the United States, we cover wheatgrass, beet root, and ginger supplements.As we share our opinions about these popular herbal supplements, our primary goal is to help you understand these herbs in their breadth and depth. They’re too often pigeon-holed into limited ranges of application – the usual answers to “what is it good for?” are too small! There’s plenty more to say about them than their most common selling points.If you’re an herbalist, it’s good for you to be well-informed about herbal supplements which people take most often. You can learn what is popular, and why it is. You can understand how to answer questions about those plants, how to differentiate hype from health, how to help someone find a better alternative, and which supplements just aren’t worth the cost. This series is intended to help you do that!If you’re new to herbalism, we’re happy that we get the first chance to form your thoughts around these herbs. At the same time, this wil

If you’re trying to decide whether you need adaptogens or a nap, well, the answer just might be both! But you can learn how to combine your adaptogens with other holistic interventions for better effects.In this episode we’re talking about choosing the best adaptogens to work with when what you really need is rest – a super common situation we all find ourselves in from time to time. We talk about ways to get rest – even if you don’t have time to nap! – as well as ways to rest that aren’t about sleep at all.How to start? Well, we can choose the least stimulating adaptogens necessary, first. That might mean going with tulsi before red ginseng, or jiaogulan before rhodiola. It might mean combining reishi and lion’s mane with burdock and dandelion root, to keep a grounding influence right there with our adaptogens. It might even mean formulating with digestives and nervines to subtly shift the influences of the adaptogenic herbs themselves.We can also be discerning about the type of activation we get – mental or

This episode continues our series covering the top-selling herbs in the United States. As we give you our thoughts about these popular herbal supplements, we’re hoping to help you break out of the box. These herbs are frequently pigeon-holed into very narrow ranges of application – the answers to the question “what is it good for?” are usually very limited! There’s more to say about them than their most effective selling points or marketing campaigns.If you’re a practicing herbalist, you should be well-informed about the herbal supplements people take most frequently. You should know what’s popular, and why. You should know how to answer people’s questions about these herbs, how to sort hype from health, how to identify better alternatives, and which ones simply aren’t worth the money. This series is intended to help you do that!If you’re new to herbalism – we’re glad that we get to help you form your initial opinion of these herbs. More broadly, though, this will serve as an introduction to marketing literac

Katja writes…Today a student sent me a question and it was so important, i asked her if i could (anonymously) share it, because i know other people are wondering this too.She wrote:"I wanted to ask for any advice or your thoughts on how to handle being a plus size herbalist.I am plus sized. Though I am currently in working on a healthier life style that includes using herbs, I feel like when people see me or see that Im plus sized that they may not want to work with me or any of my products.I feel like this is my calling I have fallen in love with herbs and how they naturally work with in the body. but I feel like this could possibly hinder me from even opening my own practice one day. I kinda feel alone in this due to most of the herbalist I see on social media are very fit and “healthy”.Am I wrong to want to be an herbalist even though I am also going through a battle and journey with my weight?"The bottom line is: we need you. We need plus-sized herbalists. We need everyone, no matter where you a