What happens when someone who spent years fixing broken healthcare systems realizes plants might be part of the solution? You get Monica Pastrana of Bellebrook Botanicals.

Monica is a community herbalist, healthcare professional, and homesteader in rural Wisconsin who built her herbal product line from three simple, food-like remedies and a clear mission: get effective, approachable plant medicine into people's hands.

What's in this episode:

• How a healthcare career led Monica straight to herbalism
• The morning she cut the tip of her finger off processing yarrow, and how that plant helped
• Burdock root and the stubborn skin issues it cleared
• Talking herbs with medical professionals without losing the relationship
• The bonfire analogy for inflammation every herbalist should be using
• Monica's seasonal herbal making classes on her Wisconsin property

For full show notes, resources, and links visit: theherbalistspath.com/blog/yarrow-burdock-herbal-business-monica-pastrana

Learn more about the Community Herbalist Certification and Mentorship Program at theherbalistspath.com/community-herbalist-certification

Like the show? Got a Q? Shoot us a Text!

If you've been dabbling in herbs for a while, but that inner voice keeps whispering you're
not 'herbalist enough' to actually do this work, then you're invited to a

Free LIVE class "Are You Herbalist Enough", Sign up here.

It's happening Wednesday, July 29th at 4:00pm PST
(Yup, there will be a limited-time replay)

Wondering how you can use your herbal skills to help people when times are tough?

Grab Medicine For The People - An Herbalist's Guide To Showing Up For Your Community In Times of Need

It's loaded with ideas and resources to help you help others!💚 Click here to ge

Support the show

Ready to deepen your herbal skills and knowledge?

Whether you're stocking your family's medicine cabinet, building your formulation skills, or stepping into the role of community herbalist, we have a program for you.

Learn more here

If you enjoyed this episode, it would mean so much if you left us a review and shared it with a friend. It helps more herbalists find their way here, and helps make herbalism #SpreadLikeWildFlowers 🌸

Join me on: TikTok | Instagram | Facebook | Pinterest | YouTube

Disclaimer:
*The information shared on this podcast is for educational purposes only and is not intended to be a substitute for medical treatment. Please consult your medical care provider before using herbs.

When an FDA inspector showed up to inspect my student's herbal product business, he flagged her elderberry echinacea tincture as dangerous, and cited Google AI as his research source. That's where this episode starts, and it gets crazier from there.

This herbalist has done the work, and played by all the rules. She documented everything from seed to final sale. Her SOPs in place, labels compliant. She’s even been working in healthcare for years. She was doing everything right. And still, an FDA inspector who couldn't explain cyanogenic glycosides without consulting an AI chatbot tried to bring her down.

What's in this episode:

• What happened when an FDA inspector flagged elderberry using Google AI as his only source
• The truth about cyanogenic glycosides in elderberries and why the inspector was wrong
• What the American Herbal Products Association's Botanical Safety Handbook says about elderberry
• Why AI-driven research on plant medicine is dangerous and what to do instead
• The bigger picture: how plant medicine has been systematically erased from mainstream knowledge
• What you need to have in place if you run an herbal product line
• How to find support and resources if this happens to you

For full show notes, resources, and links visit: theherbalistspath.com/blog/fda-inspects-herbal-business-elderberry-safety

Want support and mentorship as you build your herbal business, or gain more skills to become an herbalist? That's what we do inside the Community Herbalist Certification and Mentorship. Learn more at theherbalistspath.com/community-herbalist-certification

Like the show? Got a Q? Shoot us a Text!

If you've been dabbling in herbs for a while, but that inner voice keeps whispering you're
not 'herbalist enough' to actually do this work, then you're invited to a

Free LIVE class "Are You Herbalist Enough", Sign up here.

It's happening Wednesday, July 29th at 4:00pm PST
(Yup, there will be a limited-time replay)

Wondering how you can use your herbal skills to help people when times are tough?

Grab Medicine For The People - An Herbalist's Guide To Showing Up For Your Community In Times of Need

It's loaded with ideas and resources to help you help others!💚 Click here to ge

Support the show

Ready to deepen your herbal skills and knowledge?

Whether you're stocking your family's medicine cabinet, building your formulation skills, or stepping into the role of community herbalist, we have a program for you.

Learn more here

If you enjoyed this episode, it would mean so much if you left us a review and shared it with a friend. It helps more herbalists find their way here, and helps make herbalism #SpreadLikeWildFlowers 🌸

Join me on: TikTok | Instagram | Facebook | Pinterest | YouTube

Disclaimer:
*The information shared on this podcast is for educational purposes only and is not intended to be a substitute for medical treatment. Please consult your medical care provider before using herbs.

Wildcrafting has gotten trendy, and that's not always a good thing. Misidentified plants, sketchy sourcing claims, and a whole lot of misinformation are floating around social media right now, and it's worth slowing down to talk about why that matters.

Howie Brounstein, founder of Columbine School of Botanical Studies and an herbalist who has been teaching for over 40 years, talks about why botany matters, what real wildcrafting ethics actually look like, and why he’s scared by a lot of what he sees online.

What's in this episode:

• The real risks of misidentification and why positive plant ID is non-negotiable
• Why botany matters, and when it doesn't need to be your focus as an herbalist
• How to evaluate herb books and spot information that isn't coming from real experience
• Why Howie teaches a long-term apprenticeship instead of one-day wildcrafting classes
• Why Howie believes you should taste every herb you give to someone else
• What it was like building an herbal career in the late 1970s when nobody believed it was possible
• How AI and social media are accelerating herbal misinformation

For full show notes, resources, and links visit: theherbalistspath.com/blog/herbal-wildcrafting-ethics-howie-Brounstein

Learn more about Howie's apprenticeship and classes at botanicalstudies.net

Like the show? Got a Q? Shoot us a Text!

If you've been dabbling in herbs for a while, but that inner voice keeps whispering you're
not 'herbalist enough' to actually do this work, then you're invited to a

Free LIVE class "Are You Herbalist Enough", Sign up here.

It's happening Wednesday, July 29th at 4:00pm PST
(Yup, there will be a limited-time replay)

Wondering how you can use your herbal skills to help people when times are tough?

Grab Medicine For The People - An Herbalist's Guide To Showing Up For Your Community In Times of Need

It's loaded with ideas and resources to help you help others!💚 Click here to ge

Support the show

Ready to deepen your herbal skills and knowledge?

Whether you're stocking your family's medicine cabinet, building your formulation skills, or stepping into the role of community herbalist, we have a program for you.

Learn more here

If you enjoyed this episode, it would mean so much if you left us a review and shared it with a friend. It helps more herbalists find their way here, and helps make herbalism #SpreadLikeWildFlowers 🌸

Join me on: TikTok | Instagram | Facebook | Pinterest | YouTube

Disclaimer:
*The information shared on this podcast is for educational purposes only and is not intended to be a substitute for medical treatment. Please consult your medical care provider before using herbs.