Chinese Herbal Medicine

 

What is Chinese Herbal Medicine?

 

Herbal medicine is a major component of traditional oriental medicine, a comprehensive health care system used for over 2,500 years in China and throughout the world today. Herbs have a balancing or regulating effect on the body. When disease occurs, specific herbs are chosen to rebalance the energy and allow the body to heal itself. Herbal medicine consists of 5,767 substances derived from plant, animal, and mineral sources.  Most herbalists, however, work with 200-300 herbs.

 

Conditions Treated by Chinese Herbs

Herbal Medicine treats the whole person, not just the symptoms or complaints, thus helping the body heal itself. It has a long clinical history of treating acute and chronic conditions. Herbal medicine excels in treating conditions that Western medicine has difficulty in treating as well as conditions that do not have a Western medical diagnosis. Chinese herbal Medicine may be used to treat infants, elderly patients and pregnant women under the direction of the doctor.

 

How does a Chinese doctor make a diagnosis?

Looking, Listening, Asking and Touching are the four important techniques used by a Chinese doctor to gather diagnostic information. The doctor will ask a variety of questions regarding your specific complaint and your general health and will pay particular attention to your tongue and wrist pulses because different tongue status and pulse patterns will tell the doctor the state of your internal organs. After completing an evaluation, the doctor may recommend an herbal formula consisting of several herbs.

 

 

 

 

What is Chinese herbal formula?

Individual substances are rarely prescribed alone in traditional Chinese medicine. The combination of substances in a formula creates the therapeutic agent that can treat much more effectively and completely than a single substance. The traditional method of preparing herbs is to cook the raw herbs in water to form a decoction or tea (See below). Although the taste is bitter, people find this acceptable given the health benefits.

 

Safety of Chinese herbs

One of the most appealing qualities of Chinese Herbal Medicine is the low risk of adverse reaction or side effects. Herbal medicine uses all the constituents of the plant, including the cellulose. The herb is completely balanced, and therefore has minimal side effects. The most common problem is minor gastrointestinal upset, gas and bloating due to slight difficulty digesting the herb material. If this or any other problem occurs, discuss it with your Chinese doctor so the doctor may modify the herbal formula.

 

How to Prepare Your Herbal Drink?

The treatment will normally start with 5-7 packs of mixed herbs, which are prescribed specifically according to your conditions. One pack is used per day, and prepared in 3 easy steps. From experience, it is more convenient to prepare the drink in the evening and drink half then and half in the morning after breakfast.

Step 1. First Batch. In a medium-sized pot, immerse one pack of herbs in one quart of cold water and soak for 30 minutes. Bring the mixture to a boil then lower the heat and simmer for 25 minutes.  Slowly pour and filter the liquid into a big mug. Save the herbs in the pot.

Step 2. Second Batch. Add another quart of cold water to the herbs left in the pot and bring the mixture to a boil and simmer for 25 minutes.  Filter and pour the second batch into the same mug.

• When you have consumed all packages, return and follow-up with your Chinese doctor.
• The herbal drink might taste like cheap coffee but it is therapeutic. You could add some honey (no sugar) to improve the taste.
• You can use an automatic herbal drink maker (see above photo) to simplify the process.