Herbal therapies are medically active substances harvested from plants. They may come from any part of the plant but are most commonly made from leaves, roots, seeds or flowers. They are eaten, drunk, smoked, inhaled or applied to the skin.

Herbal therapies are part of virtually every medical system. Many drugs now used by conventional Western doctors originated as herbal medicines. Practitioners involved in the medical systems discussed in the first half of this guide use herbs extensively. So do herbalists, who practise outside these systems. A European healing tradition, sometimes called the "wise woman" tradition, also focuses primarily on herbal healing.

Herbal medicines are often viewed as a balanced and moderate approach to healing. Pharmaceutical drugs derived from plants are made by isolating the chemicals that have a medical effect and concentrating them in the medication. Herbal therapies, on the other hand, contain all the chemical components of a plant, as they occur naturally. This important part of herbal medicine may explain why some herbs — used by experienced practitioners for centuries — have not performed well in modern clinical trials when their active chemicals were isolated from the rest of the plant.

Herbal therapies are available at herbal and health food stores and, increasingly, are being sold in drugstores and grocery stores. Buyers' clubs are another option for buying herbs and other nutritional and complementary therapy products. These clubs allow people to pool their money to obtain bulk products at lower wholesale costs. Then members purchase products through the club at a reduced rate, often through the mail. Although buyers' clubs have flourished in the United States, they are less common in Canada. Joining a U.S.-based buyers' club may involve hassles when importing treatments across the border.

Herbal medicines are often promoted as a gentle and non-toxic approach to good health. This does not mean herbal therapies never cause side effects or never interact with other pharmaceutical and herbal treatments. Learn enough about any herbal therapy to ensure that the dose is safe and effective. Learn about possible side effects and watch for signs of drug interactions. It is also important to inform your doctor, pharmacist and complementary therapist about all of the medications and health products you are taking – prescription and non-prescription – including herbs and supplements.

A Practical Guide to Herbal Therapies for People Living With HIV provides more information on the use of different types of herbs.  CATIE also publishes fact sheets on specific herbs that are commonly used by PHAs.  Although we hope that our herbal guide and fact sheets will be a useful starting point for people interested in exploring herbal therapies, we encourage you to get as much detailed information as you can about any treatment that you're considering. Think about consulting a qualified herbalist who has experience working with HIV-positive people.

Herbalists are not regulated in any province, but some are registered as naturopaths, and others are accredited through professional societies for TCM practitioners. The Canadian Association of Herbal Practitioners requires its members to complete three years of full-time study. Some institutions and associations differentiate between clinical herbal therapists and consultant herbal therapists: the former generally have more years of training and experience. An introductory session with a qualified herbalist costs about $60 to $100. Follow-up visits are around $40 to $70.