In North America the medical system has pretty much zero knowledge about herbs and generally assume that they are going to react with the medications that a doctor wants to put their patient on.

That is why there was such a need for a separate regulated profession practicing alternative medicine which Naturopathic medicine fills. It is much more common for a MD in Germany to use herbs or homeopathy then in North America to our detriment.

Canada and the US both have some of the most expensive healthcare systems in the world and my opinion the only way we are going to bring the expenses down is to start trying herbs and homeopathy before pharmaceuticals rather then after pharmaceuticals don't work.

@foodaddict if you really want to blend Eastern and Western medicine I would suggest you check out some integrative medical conferences or the naturopathic schools in your area so that you can practice true to what you believe. (unless you are wanting to do surgery)