By Kim Naraine

For many of us, the return of Summer signals the return to our gardens. Plants lend beauty to our landscapes, bring food to our table, and can even be used in our beauty routines, as we learned with BKIND. Plants can also have medicinal use, and Valérie Dubuc, a certified clinical herbalist, is working hard to spread the word about their therapeutic properties.

Valérie is passionate about nature and natural remedies. She completed her herbalist 4-year training through Flora Medicina School of Herbal studies, where she now teaches, and is an accredited member of the Guilde des Herboristes. Herbalists work to bridge the gap between traditional medicine and our modern evidence-based system.

Valérie approaches well-being holistically, looking at her clients’ lifestyle and diet before recommending plant remedies to improve their overall health. She deals with a broad spectrum of issues, from stress and anxiety to autoimmune diseases, allergies, and digestive problems. Valérie’s main objective is to help her clients understand their own bodies.

She also hosts workshops that aim to teach participants how to incorporate medicinal plants into their food. These workshops, which can be enjoyed by the whole family, provide a background on the herbalist practice, as well as hands-on cooking experience with healthy herbs and plant extracts. Valérie guides participants through this process with her own recipes, but also encourages creativity.

To learn more about clinical herbalism and foods as medicine, as well as any future workshops, visit Valérie’s site at http://www.valeriedubuc.com/