Herbalism & Nutrition

Food is medicine and herbs are medicine. In modern life, the category of nutritional supplements has developed. Food is a cornerstone of health. Underappreciated and often dismissed in modern medicine, our diets can be major drivers of both health and illness. In our practice, Alenka Ravnik, an expert nutritionist, shares her expertise in cutting edge functional nutrition, practical approaches to making food an essential part of your wellness plan, and building a healthy relationship between you and your diet. Herbal formulas are customized to the individual and their particular pattern of disharmony.

Capsules, Tablets, Powders, Liquids and Teas 

Herbal medicine is available in all forms. The best form for each individual is determined through communication between the practitioner and patient. There is also a difference between pure whole herb extracts verses supplements that isolate only active ingredients from a plant or substance. The resulting product is more similar to a pharmaceutical because it does not occur in nature on its own. Whole plant extracts contain a myriad of chemical compounds that a whole host of health benefits. Isolated chemical extracts from a plant require laboratory techniques that are similar to pharmaceutical production and the resulting substance has an effect that is quite different from whole plant extractions. There are benefits and drawbacks to each. My preference is to utilize whole herb extractions and plant derived vitamins whenever possible. Research exists on both whole plant extracts and isolated chemical extracts. 

My Herbal Medicine Practice

Herbal medicine has been part of my life’s mission to help families and individuals to have basic knowledge of healing much the same way humans have up until the turn of the century. Modern medicine has made many improvements to the human condition but at the cost of the local herbal wisdom that people all over the world possessed and applied in daily life. Spices, herbs and produce in the grocery store are sources of great healing when you know what to do with it. In my practice I do my best to educate individuals on easy to obtain, effective medicine that they can use when needed. I also prefer to prescribe individualized raw herb formulas that patients can cook at home. Herbal formulas can be written for most conditions including but not limited to digestive challenges, hormone imbalances, pain, insomnia, weak energy and stress. They can be used with pharmaceuticals when prescribed by a qualified practitioner. 

My Herbal Education 

My first significant exposure to herbal medicine occurred when I was 19 years old in Chatworth, California. While in my first year at Cal State Northridge, working on my undergrad in Exercise Science, I landed a job working for an elderly couple guiding Virginia in therapeutic exercises and helping Earl with filing and running errands. I’ll always be grateful for the experience I had with both of them. Earl was a brilliant man with several high-level degrees. He worked as a psychologist in a Minnesota State Mental hospital, military weapons analyst and meditation instructor. His research on herbal medicine developed toward the end of his career and into his retirement. I became the repository for his knowledge in this area and many others. We prepared herbal formulations and administered them to ourselves and friends. 

A few years later I developed walking pneumonia. Pharmaceuticals were not able to resolve it for about 9 months. He advised me to go to a doctor of Oriental medicine to have an herbal formula prescribed to me. I did this and within a month my lungs were clear. It was these two experiences that inspired me to pursue a career in Traditional Chinese Medicine from YoSan University in California. I also chose Chinese Medicine because it was the only licensed profession from an accredited institution that included herbal medicine in the education and scope of practice. Today other accredited educational programs that have California licenses include Naturopathy and Ayeruveda but other individuals who prescribe herbal medicine are learning it from seminars and other less formal programs. Additionally, those programs that teach functional medicine and integrative nutrition do not specifically teach classical herbal medicine and the its practice. 

Chinese medical school involves four years of herbal education in addition to Chinese nutrition and acupuncture. After I graduated and began my private practice in Camarillo, California I decided to enter into a PhD program in Classical Chinese medicine from American University of Complimentary Medicine AUCM. This four-year program heavily emphasized herbal medicine, Chinese nutrition, and essential oils. The primary professor was Jeffrey Yuen, 88th generation Taoist priest whose knowledge was gained through education as well as family lineage. Since these 8 years of formal education in herbal medicine and nutrition, I have continued my herbal education by attending hundreds of hours of continuing education in herbal medicine.