ARTICLE
Interview :
Andrew Whitfield-Cook speaks with Denis Stewart , Pioneer of Australian Herbal Medicine
Part 1 .
This article is adapted from a podcast kindly provided by FXMed . In it , the celebrated pioneer of herbal medicine in Australia , Denis Stewart , discusses historical changes in approaches to herbal medicine in Australia . The discussion with presenter Andrew Whitfield-Cook ranges over the eclectic fusion of European , English and American phytotherapies and the adaptations to some specific herbs this involved .
Andrew : This is FX Medicine . I ' m Andrew Whitfield-Cook . Joining us on the line again today is Denis Stewart , a clinical medical herbalist and naturopath who ' s been in continuous practice for over 40 years and currently conducts busy practices in Newcastle and Cessnock in New South Wales , Australia . Referred to as the godfather of Australian herbalism , Denis spearheaded a renaissance in Australian herbal medicine in the early 1970s and he established and taught at the New South Wales College of Naturopathic Sciences and then in the late 1970s , founded the Southern Cross Herbal School . He was also conjoint associate professor at the University of Newcastle from 2002 to 2007 . Today we ' re going to be indeed discussing the Australian renaissance in herbal medicine . So I think we need to go back in history . You ' ve been in practice for 40 odd years . You would have seen some changes .
Denis : Yes , I have seen some remarkable changes and fortunately , I ' ve had the real privilege of being able to be part of that change and to participate in that change . I was there at the beginning and I ' m still here now observing the change going on .
Andrew : So , Denis , what about the types of herbs that you ' ve seen from your early years to now ? I mean , we ' ve seen some herbs like comfrey and coltsfoot taken off the herbal register , and a change in both the expectations of herbal medicine practitioners over the years and in the products that they have available to them .
Denis : Yes , I think that ' s a significant observation . When I was studying herbalism and indeed when I first started practice , practices were very much based on what was called the physio-medical or the Anglo-American system of herbalism that took its roots from the U . S . under the auspices of Samuel Thompson , many of whose ideas and indeed the herbs he used were subsequently transported back to Europe , particularly to the UK . So the herbs that characterised my practice in the early days were strongly physiomedical herbs , that is herbs associated with this significant development in herbal medicine , the development of a style of herbalism incorporating a significant number of American herbs , but also blended with herbs in use in England and Europe generally . So my practice was very much taken up with the herbs that represented that system of herbalism at that time . And in those days , we could use such herbs as lobelia , coltsfoot and comfrey - many other herbs which were part and parcel of our practice , which these days , fortunately or unfortunately , are no longer available or no longer permitted to be prescribed by non-medical practitioners .
But moving from that era , we have seen a significant alteration in the style of herbalism , one that has become fairly obvious , in that many of the herbs we use and depend on today were largely not used when I started 40 years ago . And good examples of this would be the way in which herbs like bilberry and ginkgo , and some of the more modern remedies , like turmeric now represent , if you like , a movement in medical herbalism to embrace a modern and more eclectic selection of herbs .
Not that we ' ve in any way departed entirely from the initial remedies - we couldn ' t practise without the remedies from the physio-medical tradition - but the herbs that we use today are different in many ways : they are broadly based , drawn from many other traditions . Dong Quai from the Chinese tradition , for instance , is a good example , and Withania from the Ayurvedic tradition , now play a significant role in the practice of herbalism . So it ' s a move , if you like , from a strong Anglo-American base with all the remedies that went with that to a much more eclectic system of herbalism today .
Andrew : Yes , “ eclectic ”. Can you elaborate on that term ?
Denis : Yes . They were a good group of practitioners in the U . S . known as eclectics . They took on board herbal medicine certainly , but they also
98 | vol27 | no2 | JATMS