If you have a serious health concern or are interested in broadening your herbal acumen beyond the basics, find a professional: an herbalist, a natural medicine practitioner, or a conventional doctor who uses herbs. Many doctors who practice complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) incorporate herbs, and although not all are licensed in every state, you can probably find at least one type of practitioner in your area (see Appendix C for some suggestions).

Herbalists

In the United States, there's no official definition of an herbalist, and there's no licensing or certification system in place for them. However, the American Herbalists Guild awards certification to herbalists who have at least four years of training and clinical experience. A professional member of AHG is considered a registered herbalist (RH) and will have the designation “RH (AHG)” after his or her name.

Naturopathic Doctors

Naturopaths are fully accredited physicians who have attended a four-year residential medical school and passed a postdoctoral board exam. A naturopath will have the designation “ND” — for Naturopathic Doctor.

Right now, naturopaths are licensed in fifteen states: Alaska, Arizona, California, Connecticut, Hawaii, Idaho, Kansas, Maine, Minnesota (as of July 2009), Montana, New Hampshire, Oregon, Utah, Vermont, and Washington, plus the District of Columbia and the U.S. territories of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands.

Chiropractors

Chiropractors, also known as doctors of chiropractic or chiropractic physicians, primarily treat neuromuscular issues — problems in the muscles, bones, and nervous system — like recurrent back pain and headaches. Many incorporate nutritional therapy and herbal medicine into their practices.

Chiropractic is arguably the largest and best known of the CAM professions. There are more than 60,000 practicing chiropractors in the United States, and chiropractic is recognized and licensed in all fifty states. Licensed chiropractors have completed at least four years of professional study and have passed national board and state licensing exams.

Traditional Chinese Medicine Practitioners

Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) uses herbs to treat all kinds of conditions and illnesses, which are almost always tied to an imbalance in the body. In TCM, herbs are generally used in combination with other medicinals (which are most often herbs, but can be minerals or animal products). Many formulas contain as many as fifty different components.

TCM practitioners are licensed in forty-three states; states that don't recognize TCM practitioners are Alabama, Delaware, Kansas, Mississippi, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, and Wyoming.

Depending on which state you're in, licensed practitioners might have a few different designations. For example, a practitioner in Arkansas will be identified as a “DOM,” or Doctor of Oriental Medicine, while his counterpart in New Hampshire will be identified by the letters “LAc” or “Lic. Ac.,” for Licensed Acupuncturist.

Ayurvedic Physicians

Ayurvedic practitioners use herbs as food as well as medicine; herbs are often incorporated into therapeutic massage and other types of bodywork.

According to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), less than half of 1 percent of Americans — only about 750,000 people — have ever used Ayurveda, in part because it can be tough to find a qualified practitioner.

Right now, there is no national standard for certification or training for Ayurvedic practitioners in the United States.

Ayurvedic practitioners sometimes use the title MD (Ayur.), which is the professional designation given in India. Practitioners who are accredited in the United States have the title DAv, or Diplomate in Ayurvedic Health Sciences, which is conferred by the American Ayurvedic Association.