Medicinal Herbs

Dr. Olejak offers consultations on the use of herbs at his Delmar office as well as over the phone and via the web.

After assessing each patient’s nutritional status using the Symptom Survey Form and an in-depth health history, Dr. Olejak will create an individualized treatment plan which may include medicinal herbs or dietary changes. Since each patient is unique, we may outline different plans for individuals presenting with the same problem.

Dr. Olejak employs the use of medicinal herbalism (phytotherapy) to nutritionally support a wide variety of body functions that impact specific ailments. Medicinal herbs are used to help heal and strengthen a particular organ or body system, whereas pharmaceuticals are used to either suppress or promote a biochemical pathway. Addressing symptoms in this way is like the tail wagging the dog.

“It is far better to use natural products to normalize function than synthetic products to force function” ~Dr. Olejak

Many medications have adverse side effects. Some, like Embrel, for example, can compromise the body’s immune system, making the development of cancer a real possibility. Others, like statin drugs, may lower cholesterol, but the risk of  kidney disease, and a serious complication called rhabdomyolysis, is more common than people realize. Researchers now know that it is not cholesterol that is the important factor in heart disease but the triglyceride to HDL ratio that matters most. Ancel Keyes got it wrong!

Medicinal herbalism is a sophisticated discipline, on the same level as pharmacologic treatments; utilizing organic chemistry to understand active constituents. The difference is that medicinal herbalism is natural. The trained medicinal herbalist not only has an in-depth knowledge of how to use herbs, but is also highly trained in understanding how all of the body’s systems function together. A simple example: A patient with high cholesterol (a disease which affects the heart, arteries, etc.) may be prescribed an herbal treatment that affects how the liver packages cholesterol as well as herbs that support circulation.

The use of medicinal herbs is not for the novice. The use of herbs should be evaluated and supervised by a highly trained practitioner who understand the phytochemistry of the plants and how they interact with both drugs and the human body.

Dr. Olejak has 25 years experience in the field of medicinal herbs and lectures across the United States on the subject. Dr. Olejak has also published a book in 2004 on the subject called Whole Food Nutrition & Herbal Medicine.

  Make an appointment via email, or call 518 301-5717.