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David Winston, RH (AHG) is the President of Herbalist & Alchemist, our chief formulator and head of product development. David is an internationally respected herbalist, and is dean and one of the primary instructors for the David Winston’s Center For Herbal Studies (DW-CHS). He teaches throughout the US, Canada, and the UK and has been teaching the two year DW-CHS program for over 40 years. David was our first interview which started the wonderful tradition of catching up with his former students in the David Winston's students: Where are they now? page on our website.
But now it's time to catch up with David.
How have you seen the herbal industry evolve over the years?
When I started studying herbal medicine in 1969 it was part of the counterculture movement. After a slow increase in interest and growth through the 80’s, around 1995 there was this sort of exponential interest in herbs with every major news magazine publishing positive articles about them. I was getting 2-4 phone calls a week from physicians interested in knowing more about herbs. It lasted about three years and then the pendulum swung, and we started seeing a backlash coming primarily from the medical community. Press coverage switched to “these herbs are not regulated, they're dangerous, and herb / drug interactions are a risk.” Of course, herb / drug interactions are real, but clinically significant herb/drug interactions are also rare.
Over the last 5 years we are starting to see a little bit more balance in reporting. The main fallacies are that herbs are unregulated, which is absolutely untrue, and that herbs are not studied, which is also not true. There's more and more research on herbal medicine all the time. One of the things I find positive is that there is more familiarity with herbs. Everybody's heard of echinacea, saw palmetto, turmeric, and adaptogens.
As an early expert, or should we say the early expert, on adaptogens what do you think of the mainstreaming of this category?
I'm happy that more people recognize the unique benefits of adaptogens but marketers and companies that often have no real idea what an adaptation is themselves are using it as a buzzword. It’s a problem when people start using buzzwords and it becomes more about marketing than science.
In the decades since the term “adaptogens” was coined there's been more research and we now have a better understanding of what an adaptogen is, what they do, and how they work. Because adaptogens re-regulate the HPA axis and/or SAS, while up-regulating stress modulating molecular chaperones (Heat Shock Proteins, FOXO, Neuropeptide Y) and inhibiting stress-induced cortisol production, they can have a profound effect on our overall health.
We only have maybe 8 or 9 herbs that we absolutely have solid proof that they actually act as adaptogens. We've got another 5 or 6 that I call probable adaptogens, where the evidence is not quite as strong, and then we have another dozen plants that I call possible adaptations where the evidence is poor that it actually fits the definition of an adaptogen.
How do you think herbalism would be best incorporated into health care?
I'd love to see a time where every mom and dad and grandmother and grandfather knows basic kitchen herbal medicine for their families, and there are community herbalists in every area, and clinical herbalists available in any clinical setting. Herbal medicine is strong exactly where orthodox medicine is weak, and the obverse is true. For something like bacterial meningitis, you don't call the herbalist or the chiropractor, you want to be in the hospital with an IV antibiotic in your arm and likely they'll save your life. But turn to herbs after they release you from the hospital with massive cognitive impairment and they say you just have to wait six to 12 months hoping you'll regain your cognitive faculties; herbs are incredibly useful for situations like that that.
For me it's about understanding where herbal medicine is at its best, when it is appropriate, and how to use it effectively whether it is the primary modality or adjunctive treatment.
You were recently honored by the American Herbal Products Association for your contributions on the expert advisory council to the Third Edition of Herbs of Commerce, and you have been recognized similarly for your contributions to the committee that produces the AHPA Botanical Safety Handbook. What is that process like, collaborating with other experts to expand and confirm information so it's accurate?
The Botanical Safety Handbook committee is not just herbalists; it's medical doctors, pharmacologists, toxicologists… a whole range of people with different backgrounds and expertise. Herbs of Commerce is more herbalists, although it also includes people like Wendy Applequist who is a botanist and one of the world's authorities on botanical nomenclature. The nice thing about both books is they are a collaborative effort.
A lot of times meetings and committees in general are kind of challenging for different reasons, but these are actually quite wonderful because you're spending time with other people that you know and respect. I've learned so much from being part of these committees, and it's wonderfully interactive.
The Botanical Safety Handbook is important because what it contains clarifies that most herbal medicines are indeed safe for people to use. Herbs of Commerce is an essential reference book that harmonizes herb names, which helps to combat adulteration and confusion in the industry. To ensure herb quality and efficacy the first step is accurately identify any herb. Herbs have many common names, sometimes multiple botanical names, and the confusion can increase the risk of adulteration of herbal products, as well as invalidate research. Herbs of Commerce clearly states this Latin binomial goes with this common name, so it creates sort of an intellectual chain of custody. This can help manufacturers and regulatory agencies like the FDA to have clarity about ingredient identity and make sure consumers are getting what they paid for and wanted.
What are some of your favorite herbs you use personally and what are some of your formulas you are most glad you created?
I have been so happy to have Andrographis throughout the last five years and have taken a lot of it for upper respiratory support. I truly love the Hawthorne and Blueberry solid extracts. I was working in my product development lab a few weeks ago (the new facility is so big that there’s room for me to have my own product development lab again!) when they had just finished making a batch of our Blueberry solid extract and they brought in a cup. It was still warm and just so good; it really embodies the whole adage of let your food be your medicine and your medicine your food.
At different times different products have really made a huge difference in my health and in my life depending on what's going on. Tension Relief was absolutely my friend and ally when going out in the world again after the Covid lockdown. I don't feel the need for it so much lately, but I might just start taking it again because we live in a stressful world.
Certainly, Grief Relief is probably the formula people thank me for creating the most (editor’s note: including me). I have to say I don't even know if “created” is the right word because the plants told me about the formula; I just listened. I have seen it help so many people through such incredible trauma. It is so heartwarming when somebody comes to you and says that that it made such a difference in their life.
The Kidney Support formula is another product that includes an herb I learned about from the plant itself (Nettle seed) and I have seen it do amazing things for people. Also, I’ve been using the formula we now sell as Osteo Herb clinically for over 40 years, and have seen wonderful results in bone health. Another formula that I am proud of is the Men's Prostate Formula, which just won another award. I find It works so much better than most of the products out there.
When you're doing really good herbal formulation it's about synergy and understanding what things enhance each other’s activity, so 1 + 1 doesn't equal two, 1 + 1 equals 4 or 5 or 6 or 10, and that is essential to make an effective product.
Why David Started H&A
When I started practicing as an herbalist in 1976 there were very few good herbal tinctures on the market. In fact I would go as far as to say that there weren’t any decent tinctures in the herbal marketplace and so I started to make my own tinctures, ointments, oils, teas and other products for my patients. The problem was that when you make a tincture there’s a certain volume of scale that’s necessary. Tiny little batches simply don’t work. I would have to make a gallon of tincture when I might only need a pint, so in 1981 decided to start a business to sell all the “extra” tinctures. Along with a few investors that included my mother, a friend, and a friend of a friend, I got together little bit of money and formally incorporated Herbalist & Alchemist, Inc. in 1982.
The name Herbalist & Alchemist actually came to me in a dream. Prior to 1982 I was using the name Herbal Therapeutics, which I actually ended up using for another one of my companies (Herbal Therapeutics provides herbal education). When I dreamt that the name of the company should be Herbalist & Alchemist, I decided to use it because I felt it accurately reflects how plants are transformed into the best and most effective medicines.
Why We Started Selling Formulas
Early in my career as an herbalist, I believed that each person needed their own distinct formula and so I only made individual herbal extracts, no formulas. But there was a constant demand for formulas; both practitioners and natural food stores wanted them. So I reviewed cases from my clinical practice and found that even though I might not be using the exact same formula for each patient, there was often a basic group of herbs that consistently worked clinically for a specific condition.
For example, our Bitters Compound came from a base that I called DOPAA. DOPAA stands for Dandelion root, Orange peel, Angelica and Artichoke. I had found that that combination was incredibly useful for helping to stimulate gastric hydrochloric acid and enhance digestive function. All of our formulas are based on a nucleus of about 300 herbs that I’ve consistently used clinically for specific conditions with good results. People with more complicated problems should consider going to a clinical herbalist and get a formula designed specifically for them, but we have seen in the last 30 years that you can create herbal formulas that work well for the vast majority of people.
Why We Are Alchemists
I learned about Alchemical or Spagyric processing many years ago from a Dutch naturopath who explained the whole process. When I started making tinctures myself what he said made a lot of sense. I had heard a lot of people talk about “full spectrum” extracts, but questioned whether their products really matched that description. Many herbs contain minerals that are a very important part of their activity. For example with nettles, alfalfa, raspberry leaf, dandelion leaf, oat straw or fresh oat, minerals play a very significant role in their activity. I knew for a fact that water and especially hydro-alcoholic solutions are very poor methods for extracting minerals. I felt something was missing from the “full spectrum” concept and that it was the minerals.
Alchemical processing gave me a way to include these essential nutrients into my tinctures, taking full advantage of the plant’s activity. After the herb is macerated in the extracting liquid (the menstuum), the used herb or marc is removed and then burned and reduced to white ash. This white ash is pure minerals and almost all of it is soluble when it is added back into the tincture. To me that produces the finest, full-spectrum extract available.
In addition, we have done scientific research to develop the best and most effective methods for extracting the unique constituents of each specific herb; this includes determining the correct percentages of organic alcohol, distilled water, and if needed, glycerin or acetic acid for each menstruum. We also use traditional processes such as water decoction, hydrolization, wilting or acidification for certain herbs to enhance their extraction. This knowledge of and attention to using whichever method yields the best activity from each individual plant is not common practice, but I could not do it any other way.
Sourcing and Creating
I am often asked why H & A uses herbs from around the world. In my clinical practice I use what works, whether the herbs are from Asia (including Chinese and Ayurvedic herbs), Europe, Africa, South or North America. I am trained in Western/Eclectic, Chinese and Southeastern American herbal traditions, so I have experience with many different systems of medicine and the wide array of herbs used by each tradition to draw from. I use herbs according to their specific indications, energetics, modern research and my decades of clinical experience. This means that I am not bound to standardized combinations or the few herbs have been studied by science for a specific condition. I attempt to combine the art, tradition and science together in my use of herbs. What is important is that the herbs are of high quality, preferably organically grown or sustainably wildcrafted.
What I’ve learned from my training and experience is that to understand herbs better you need to know not only what they do, but also their “energetics.” Once you understand the energetics—is the herb warming or cooling, or bitter or drying or moistening—you understand how to combine them more effectively for a specific purpose. Let’s use our lung formulas as an example. We have respiratory tonics and anti-spasmodic formulas, but we also have energetically based formulas: one that’s for hot and dry lung conditions, one for cold and dry, one for cold and damp, and one for hot and damp.
I think it’s unfortunate that so many people limit themselves to a small handful of herbs, which essentially means trying to fit the patient to the available herbs. There are Chinese and Ayurvedic herbs that have simply no Western equivalents. There are Western herbs for which there are no Ayurvedic or Chinese equivalents, and so I choose the best of either herb world. Of course it depends on what is seasonally available or whether you can find high quality botanicals that are free from heavy metals and pesticides. We use the best of everything that we can find in the world, literally.
Evolution of the Business
A Harvard Business School graduate, H&A CEO Beth Lambert had a very successful Wall Street Career, but she left to follow her interest in environmentally based businesses. For years she had made money for clients whose products were made without consideration for sustainability or the environment. Having met some environmental pioneers in the Permaculture movement in the late 1980s, she resolved that the rest of her life would be dedicated to making products that were healthy, “closer to the earth” and sustainable. Before she knew it, she was running a Permaculture publishing company and a community-supported farm, and teaching at Rutgers University. One of her farming partners was taking David Winston’s two-year herbal studies program, and introduced them. David was looking for some advice on his herbal products company. And after reviewing the business, she joined the company as his business partner.
Beth has been very involved not only in running the company for the last 17 years, but is a long time board member of the American Herbal Products Association, the Veterinary Botanical Medicine Association, Genesis Farm and Chair of the AHPA-ERB Foundation.
30 Years Later
When I started Herbalist & Alchemist thirty years ago you could start a company on a shoestring and we did, in very humble conditions. Now the amount of regulation (FDA, FTC and ATF) is much, much more significant. Especially with the FDA’s Dietary Supplement Good Manufacturing Practices regulations, it is a more complex business with everything from detailed documentation and staff training to our various computer systems. We started off with a little 512K Macintosh as our first computer. Now we have computer systems and manufacturing systems. Production is on a much larger scale of course, but the biggest changes are the regulatory requirements and quality assurance costs of production. The cost of regulations, the cost of business insurance, the cost of innovation... all these things have dramatically increased, as well as the complexity of meeting all of those challenges. We meet those requirements very well, but it would be much harder to start Herbalist & Alchemist today.
I guess many companies don't last 30 years and I am very proud that we’re still here producing products that I’m as satisfied with as when I made everything with my own hands. The basic premise of wanting to produce the best medicines I could for my patients is still the guiding force behind what we do today. They’re not necessarily my patients today, but whether it’s a customer in a health food store or a practitioner in their office, I want to know that we’re producing the best quality product that we possibly can. And that we are consistently looking for ways to improve and enhance products, even if they been successful for 30 years. I believe that there is always room for improvement, for growth and that is part of our company culture. I hope in another 20 years when we’re celebrating our 50th anniversary we will hear people say “they are one of the great Herb companies of all time.”
