Welcome to my blog – an opportunity for me to provide information and commentary for herbalists, naturopaths and people generally interested in their health and wellbeing. I hope to debunk some common complementary and alternative medicine myths, empower people with useful tips and advice, and keep people up to date with the Australian and international herbal and naturopathic scene.

And additionally, I will spend a little time talking about my other passion – fine quality chocolate!

Who Am I?

My name is Ian Breakspear. I am a qualified herbalist and naturopath with many years of clinical, industry and educational experience. I first graduated from the Australasian College of Natural Therapies in 1992, where in addition to my triple diploma I was awarded for “Excellence in the Academic Understanding & Clinical Application of Herbal Medicine” by the National Herbalists Association of Australia (NHAA). I have been fortunate to experience a number of different areas of the profession – from retail health food stores to pharmacies, from technical consulting for companies to designing and creating a range of therapeutic products for the Australian market, and from one-on-one patient care to the education of hundreds of naturopathic and herbal medicine graduates through the years.

Education

After completing my initial 4 years of naturopathic and herbal training, in 1993 I was privileged to attend a 6 day postgraduate workshop course run by the late Hein Zeylstra. Hein was the Principal of the School of Phytotherapy in the United Kingdom, and along with my long standing teacher, mentor and friend Nick Burgess, was instrumental in the formation of my approach to herbal therapeutics and dosage principles.

In 2005 I graduated from the University of Sydney’s Faculty of Pharmacy with a Master of Herbal Medicines, which provided me with a more in depth understanding of the analysis, manufacturing and quality assurance of herbal medicines, as well as herbal pharmacology and research design.

Additionally I hold a Certificate IV in Assessment & Workplace Training.

Teaching & Lecture Tours

I have been teaching since 1996, at all of the major Sydney colleges including Nature Care College, Australasian College of Natural Therapies, and the former Endeavour College of Natural Therapies (not to be confused with the current Endeavour College – it does get confusing!). My primary teaching focus has been herbal materia medica, therapeutics and pharmacognosy and phytopharmacology, however I have also enjoyed teaching chemistry and biochemistry.

From mid 2004 to mid 2010 I worked at the University of Western Sydney, as a full-time Associate Lecturer in the Naturopathy Program. In this role I taught as well as managed and coordinated all Western Herbal Medicine units in the Bachelor degree and Graduate Diploma programs.

Currently I am Program Director – Natural Therapies at the Australasian College of Natural Therapies (ACNT). In this role I am responsible for overseeing the Naturopathy, Western Herbal Medicine, Nutrition, Homoeopathy, Aromatic Medicine courses.

I have been a key speaker at a number of national lecture tours for Phytomedicine, the NHAA, and others, mostly speaking on cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and inflammatory diseases. I was an invited speaker at the 5th International Conference on Phytotherapy in Canberra, and have presented at a number of seminars in New Zealand.

Additionally I have been involved in the continuing education program for the Pharmaceutical Society of Australia for a number of years, speaking on complementary medicine issues relevant to pharmacy practice.

Industry Roles

I have worked as a Technical Consultant for a number of prominent herbal medicine companies, including MediHerb and Phytomedicine. It was through this experience that I gained a greater understanding of the commercial and technical issues behind herbal medicine manufacture and supply.

Professional Appointments & Awards

I sit on the peer review panel of the Australian Journal of Medical Herbalism, and have been a peer review panel member of journals such as the Journal of Complementary Medicine and the Journal of Alternative & Complementary Medicine.

In 2000 I was nominated to sit on the Board of Directors of the National Herbalists Association of Australia (NHAA) in the position of Examiner. Over the years I transitioned to Coordinating Examiner, Executive Director and then Vice-President. In that time I was responsible for leading various projects including rewriting the NHAA’s Continuing Professional Education Program, establishing a set of standard operating procedures for Examiners, redeveloping the NHAA’s Course Accreditation and Herbal Medicine Curriculum Standards, and rebuilding the Association’s website. I stepped down in mid 2009 after 8 years to focus on other opportunities.

In 2006 was awarded with Fellowship of the National Herbalists Association of Australia.

My Passions

Without a doubt herbal medicine is my professional passion. I remember sitting in my very first herbal medicine lecture when I was 17, delivered by Nick Burgess, and feeling this amazing sense of awe and fascination with plant medicines. That fascination has never diminished, and I continue to be constantly inspired by the power, subtlety, complexity and simple efficacy of herbal medicines.

In my personal life chocolate, in its finest forms, is what some may call an obsession! It gives me the chance to blend my fascination for plants chemistry and extraction with my love of the taste and texture of fine chocolate. My search for the perfect medicinal dark chocolate is legendary, and consumes much of my energy – thus forcing me to eat more chocolate! In 2007 I was fortunate to visit the Michel Cluizel Chocolatrium (museum and manufacturing facility) in France to see first hand some of the finest chocolate in the world.

My other personal passion is gadgets and technology – particularly technology which makes life and work easier or makes it possible to do things we once thought of as science fiction.