Specialist Herbal Medicine Clinic Opens

Nelsonians will now have easy access to full time health care based on herbal medicine thanks to two practitioners who have joined forces. The Medical Herbalists, Carole Fisher and Angela Palmer, can treat a wide range of health conditions through their modality, which mostly utilises herbal tinctures, liquid medicines in which the active constituents of herbs have been extracted in alcohol and water. Herbal teas, ointments and compresses may also be prescribed.

Angela says "Education will be a key focus for me this year. This is western herbal medicine and has been practiced for thousands of years. It is not Chinese medicine nor homeopathy. It uses the actual plant material itself, and many of these plants are growing around us right here in Nelson. I realise for my practice to succeed I need to help people to understand how herbal medicine works and that it can address most health issues. Of course we refer on to GPs or other health professionals if necessary, we don’t see it as ‘us and them’ ".

Carole is one of a handful of herbalists in New Zealand to be trained and registered through the prestigious Institute of Medical Herbalists in the United Kingdom. She has a background in biochemistry and medical research in overseas hospitals and has been practicing herbal medicine in New Zealand for a number of years. Carole has taught herbal medicine and has published a textbook currently in use in New Zealand and Australia.

Angela has recently graduated as a Clinical Medical Herbalist through the Canterbury College of Natural Medicine in Christchurch. Herbalists must train in anatomy, physiology, pathology, biochemistry, differential diagnosis and pharmacology as well as studying numerous herbs and their applications. Angela has a particular interest in holistic health for women stemming from her previous work with women’s groups, environmental issues and running a small business dealing in women’s menstrual products, Moontime. She has also been trained in Natural Fertility Management. This program is a comprehensive method of teaching natural fertility awareness for either conscious conception or confident contraception based on natural health principles.

Herbal medicine is the traditional medicine of all cultures and it still accounts for three quarters of the remedies used throughout the world today. Although it was largely overlooked in western society last century the techniques of science increasingly support the use of herbs. Modern herbalists feel both traditional uses and modern scientific discoveries are valid and consumers seem to agree. Many people are now trying herbs for health as they come to understand their gentle and effective nature.

The service of these Medical Herbalists is available through ‘144 Health’, a complementary health clinic in Collingwood St.

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Contact : Angela Palmer 03 522 4198 em : turtle@ts.co.nz

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