There are over 750,000 plants on earth. Relatively speaking, only a very few of the healing herbs have been studied scientifically. And because modern pharmacology looks for one active ingredient and seeks to isolate it to the exclusion of all the others, most of the research that is done on plants continues to focus on identifying and isolating active ingredients, rather than studying the medicinal properties of whole plants. Herbalists, however, consider that the power of a plant lies in the interaction of all its ingredients. Plants used as medicines offer synergistic interactions between ingredients both known and unknown.

The efficacy of many medicinal plants has been validated by scientists abroad, from Europe to the Orient. Thanks to modern technology, science can now identify some of the specific properties and interactions of botanical constituents. With this scientific documentation, we now know why certain herbs are effective against certain conditions. However, almost all of the current research validating herbal medicine has been done in Germany, Japan, China, Taiwan, and Russia. And for the most part, the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA), which is responsible for licensing all new drugs (or any substances for which medicinal properties are claimed) for use in the United States, does not recognize or accept findings from across the sea. Doctors and government agencies want to see American scientific studies before recognizing the effectiveness of a plant as medicine. Yet even though substantial research is being done in other countries, drug companies and laboratories in the United States so far have not chosen to put much money or resources into botanical research. The result is that herbal medicine does not have the same place of importance or level of acceptance in this country as it does in other countries.

WORKING WITH AN HERBALIST
As of this writing, there is no national licensing or certification for herbalists in the United States. If you wish to locate a qualified herbalist, the best place to start is probably in your local herb shop or health food store. They may be able to refer you to a knowledgeable herbalist who can advise you. If you are unable to locate an herbalist this way, you may wish to contact the Herb Research Foundation, located at 1007 Pearl Street, Boulder, Colorado 80302 (www.herbs.org) for suggestions.

An herbalist may assess your child's health needs in a variety of ways. Along with taking your child's history, methods of observation used by herbalists include pulse and tongue diagnosis, abdominal diagnosis, and iridology, which involves the correlation of minute markings on the iris with specific parts of the body.

After making an evaluation of your child, an herbalist can be expected to suggest individual herbs or herbal combinations known to be beneficial for your child's particular condition. An herbalist will often recommend herbs or herbal combinations to both strengthen the underlying system or organ and to relieve symptoms. Ask your herbalist when the preparation can be expected to effect an improvement in your child's condition. When you administer an herbal prescription, observe how the preparation makes your child feel. Promptly report improvement, lack of improvement, or any side effects to your herbalist. If the specified amount of time passes without any change in your child's symptoms, it is important to report this, too. A change in prescription may be indicated.