Karta Purkh Singh Khalsa shared his wisdom and Ayurvedic perspective on botanical therapies for chronic anxiety, insomnia and fibromyalgia. His remarks on a sleep disturbance called "non-restorative sleep syndrome" that could play a role in fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue syndrome prompted me to consider the many relaxing, stress-relieving and restorative herbs in the herbal pharmacy.

Michael Tierra, author of "The Way of Herbs," gave a half-day intensive on traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). In speaking about how to integrate the herbs of TCM, Ayurvedic and Western practices, he said, "There are no Western herbs!" meaning that herbs from the Indian and Asian traditions can be integrated into Western herbalism and vice versa.

For example, turmeric, the spice which gives curry its yellow color and is a potent anti-inflammatory, and shisandra berries, one of the few substances that triggers all five flavors on the tongue, have been useful therapeutic additions from Eastern traditions to my herbal pharmacy.

Of particular interest to me were the talks given by Donald Yance and Robert Roundtree. Yance is doing remarkable work with cancer patients, developing and introducing beneficial botanical therapies to be used in conjunction with regular pharmaceutical ones. In this vein, he spoke on "Botanical Compounds for Cancer-Related Pain." In "Herbal and Nutritional Strategies for Harmonizing the Hypothalmus-Pituitary-Adrenal Axis," he discussed the complex effects of stress on our health and how herbs can, in just as complex a fashion, support our bodies in keeping us from the brink of disease.

Robert Roundtree, MD, gave two fascinating talks. The first was on "Botanicals, Nutraceuticals and Blood Sugar Metabolism," where he listed goat's rue, fenugreek, garlic, ginseng, cinnamon and tea among the herbs that show promise for treating "Syndrome X" and insulin resistance. In "Understanding Signal Transduction and Modulation of DNA Transcription: The Crossroads Between Optimal Immunity and Inflammation," he gave an analysis of why echinacea, turmeric, ginkgo, Chinese skullcap and other herbs are valuable for managing immune response.

Both Roundtree's and Yance's publication credits include articles in peer-reviewed journals such as the New England Journal of Medicine and the Journal of Clinical Endocrin-ology and Metabolism. For consumers and practitioners interested in integrating botanical medicine into their health care, the days of scarce literature and research to support the benefits of herbs, even for serious health conditions, may become a concern of the past.

Merry Lycett Harrison, RH(AHG) is a clinical herbalist, teacher, author and wildcrafter. For class schedule and to ask questions: contact Merry at Millcreek Herbs (www.millcreekherbs.com).