interview so far

Ben Zappin
also first 5 questions into Adam Lerner

1. How did you first begin your practice involving herbal medicine? It all started out with a pan of nettle lasagna. That
is a girlfriend of mine made the pie without steaming them first. I suppose really my ‘practice’ involves much more than the
clinical aspect. It involves ecology, knowing where plant medicines come from, their habitat and or cultivation practices, how to
harvest and prepare them for optimal clinical use, and how to combine them with other plants. How I began my clinical practice was
by helping people around me, treating minor maladies with plant medicines. The great things about this is you can start today
with very simple things, you just have to know your limits. It is counter culture in that you can be an herbalist without
subscribing to a medical hierarchy. That is not to say that developing advanced skills as a western medical practitioner is a bad
thing, it is just a different skill set with a different cultural context. You can also be a physician that has a high level of
knowledge about the Western medical body and apply herbal medicine in a sophisticated way. I began my legal practice as a primary
health care practitioner when I passed California’s licensing exam for the practice of Acupuncture, a profession which includes
herbalism as part of the training.
2. What drew you to this practice? I had watch half my immediate family die of either cancer or cardiovascular disease at a young
age in the hands of advanced and expensive medical care. These are both diseases that have substantial origins in lifestyle and
environmental causative factors. Thus I wanted to explore something to serve people intervene before they had an advanced illness
and something to complement where conventional therapies lack what it takes to effectively treat or cure an illness.
3. Do you find herbal medication in some instances more effective than
more traditional medication. The first question for you is which is traditional? Most herbal medicines I use have been used in
China for thousands of years or by native people of the Americas as well as Europeans, Africans, etc. Many are certainly more
effective than pharmaceutical remedies, less side effects too! Of course much of the work I do is getting people to change their
lifestyle to make more healthy choices so they don’t get sick in the first place. There are many places where Western
pharmaceuticals are essential for providing life that I acknowledge and value as well.
4. Have you ever considered practicing herbal medication in a hospital or
even practicing in a hospital using pharmaceuticals? I would be very pleased to use herbal medicine in a hospital setting. This
is an uphill climb due to the politics and beliefs of the people running hospitals. I believe it would save money and accelerate
the healing of many people taking up hospital space to incorporate herbal medicine into this model. I’ve trained a bit in Chinese
hospitals where this is actually the case and it is really remarkable. I would love to train to use pharmaceuticals in a hospital
and really get a chance to find out where the limits of either medicine are.
5. In terms of the actual visit, how is visiting someone trained in herbal
medicine and visiting a doctor different. It really depends on who the herbalist is. There are some herbalists who will provide
herbs based on western diagnostics. I use a combination of Western diagnostics and information about herbs based on research in
combination with a traditional energetic model of the body and how herbs relate to that. I recommend you read a little about how
Traditional Chinese Medicine to get a sense of how the Anatomy, Physiology, Pathophysiology etc. are different and not just the
treatment. It is pretty sophisticated. I suppose the most significant thing most herbalists offer patients is more time to
listen to what is going on. Many Western docs rely on lab test to make decisions, that is quantifiable information. We
herbalists override Descartes (see Descartes Error) and look at mind, body, spirit, and take time to integrate the three in
diagnosis and treatment. Again, that is a bit of a generalization.

1. So along with patients who come in with specific illnesses, do you get many people looking for recommendations for herbs to use daily.
2. What is the most common herb you recommend for daily use and why?
3. What age, economic standing and ethnicity of people do you most often treat?
4. What is your opinion on insurance companies covering herbal treatment? Do some companies do so?
5. Would you anticipate a swing back towards the ancient form of medication using herbs? If so what would trigger such a change?