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Welcome to week 2 where we'll be delving into herbs and botanicals!
Overview of Herbal Medicine
Review the fundamentals of herbal medicine including formulations and safety.
After completing this activity, participants will be able to:
- Differentiate formulations used in herbal medicine
- Recognize risks with herb-herb and herb-drug interactions
- Identify high quality herbal products
Quality of Herbs and Botanicals
This activity will review the factors that can affect herbal quality and identification.
After completing this activity, participants will be able to:
- Identify how herbs can be tested for validity
- Describe the factors that can affect the heavy metal content in herbs
- Discriminate the role of local factories and sources of pollution and how this impacts heavy metal content in herbs
Ayurvedic Approach to Herbs
Ayurvedic medicine incorporates herbs as an important part of the treatment toolkit for managing imbalances. In this course, you will learn about the key factors used to describe and differentiate how herbs affect the body. Specifically, you will learn about Rasa (Taste), Virya (Heating vs. Cooling), and Vipaka (Post-Digestive Effects).
After completing this activity, participants will be able to:
- Define the main factors by which herbs are differentiated in Ayurveda
- Recall how herbs affect the Ayurvedic doshas and correlate with conventional medicine
- Identify how herbal formulations are created and how the chief, support, and carrier herbs are placed into a formulation
Herbal Functions
This lecture will review the major functional categories for herbs and their typical mechanisms of action. We will also cover the concept of herbal formulations.
After completing this activity, participants will be able to:
- Recall the major functional categorizations for herbal actions
- Review the concept of heating vs cooling herbs
- Diagram how herbal formulations are created
Faculty
Dr. Raja Sivamani is a board-certified dermatologist and practices as an integrative dermatologist at Pacific Skin Institute. He is an Adjunct Associate Professor of Clinical Dermatology at the University of California, Davis and Director of Clinical Research and the Clinical Trials Unit.He is also an Adjunct Assistant Professor in the Department of Biological Sciences at the California State University, Sacramento and an Associate Professor of Dermatology at California Northstate University, College of Medicine.He engages in clinical practice as well as both clinical and translational research that integrates bioengineering, nutrition, cosmetics, and skin biology. With training in both Allopathic and Ayurvedic medicine, he takes an integrative approach to his patients and in his research.He has published over 100 peer-reviewed research manuscripts, 10 textbook chapters, and a textbook entitled Cosmeceuticals and Active Cosmetics, 3rd Edition with a passion for expanding the evidence and boundaries of integrative medicine for skin care.
After finishing Medical School and Dermatology Residency at the University of Wisconsin, Dr. Bodemer completed a fellowship in Integrative Medicine at the University of Arizona. She was the first Dermatologist to be board certified in both Dermatology and Integrative Medicine and currently is the only Dermatologist to serve on the Integrative Medicine Board. She has authored academic texts and curriculum and has spoken widely on a variety of topics related to Integrative Dermatology. She has always been drawn to exploring how lifestyle choices impact skin health and disease and feels that the most powerful role a physician can play is as an educator and guide, empowering people to get healthy and stay healthy.
