Peter DeCarlo of Penn Forest Township will present a free introductory herbal workshop on Wednesday, Oct. 12 at 7 p.m. at the Friends of the Dimmick Memorial Library, 58 Broadway in Jim Thorpe.

"The main focus is about helping people take control of their health," DeCarlo said, "to use herbal medicine in their homes, for their families, and or themselves to improve their own health."DeCarlo, an herbalist graduated from the Global College of Natural Medicine, combines herbalist traditions from the Western, Greek, Chinese and Indian Ayurveda.DeCarlo first learned about herbal remedies when he taught martial arts."During training, you strike your arms together to condition them," he explained. "We used a traditional Chinese herbal liniment that conditions the nerves, skin and bones so you don't hurt them."To save money, he decided to try to make the liniment."I started buying books on all sorts of traditional Chinese medicine," he explained. "That progressed and I began to realize there was a lot more out here than I realized. It sparked my interest and I ran with it."He spent six months devouring books on herbs."I started making my own herbal formulas. From there, I wanted to learn how to use materials that are available closer to home. I wanted to use materials that could grow in my backyard," he said.That kicked off his studies. First, he took a dermatology and traumatology course class at the Blue Poppy Institute. He followed this with a self study of books from herbalist Bob Flaws. This led him to take a distance learning certification course at the Global College of Natural Medicine in California.As part of the program, had to have a long-tern consultation study with at least five people. This quickly grew as his friends and family became curious in his new interest.Besides lecturing and consulting, DeCarlo grows and formulates many of his own herbal materials, but these are only for his family's use or for his experimentation. He said that he will not recommend any herbal formula that he hasn't personally tested to become familiar with the ingredients and potency.When he makes recommendations, he advises people how to grow, prepare, and/or suggest alternative places to purchase the herbal ingredients. He believes that it is not right to sell his formulations.In his introductory lesson - and he hopes that the information will encourage interest in future classes, DeCarlo, will discuss the different schools of herbology. He noted that because of licensing laws, herbalists are wary of using medical jargon, a situation that often makes the explanation of how herbal remedies work seem esoteric, with explanations of the symptoms of ill health being described in terms of hot and cold illness, or dampness and wind.These explanations, DeCarlo said, came from the Rational branch of herbalism. The Medical branch of herbalism seeks to explain the actions of herbs using chemistry and biology. The Folk branch of herbalism is based on herbal remedies that have been passed down through the generations. Because natural materials cannot be patented, there is no incentive for corporations to submit these materials to double blind multimillion dollar FDA approval testing.DeCarlo will discuss how herbal products can be formulated. They can be dissolved in water, vinegar, oil and alcohol, and can be used in a variety a ways from being poured over vegetables as a dressing, to being rubbed on the skin to relieve sore muscles."My passion is to educate people," DeCarlo said, "so they don't have to worry about taking care of family members." He noted that herbal remedies are generally lower cost than pharmaceuticals and when used as recommended, rarely produce side effects, except with cardiac herbs."When kids learn to put a plantain leaf on a cut to stop bleeding and disinfect, they feel they have done something," he said.