Chinese Herbs Chinese herbs and acupuncture are both an essential part of Traditional Chinese Medicine. Chinese people have found thousands of plants and herbs associated with the treatment of disorders so, herbal medicine is really a large system on its own. TCM doctors analyze nature or property of the herbs such as 'cold, cool, warm and hot' or 'yin and yang' and the taste of the herbs (pungent, sweet, sour, bitter, salty), making use of all sorts of natural materials (roots, rhizomes, leaves, flowers, seeds, vines, grass, minerals, shells, insects, etc),then mixing and boiling them to cure disease. A diagnosis in Traditional Chinese Medicine is made with exactly the same principles, whether acupuncture, herbs or tuina massage are to be used. Both acupuncture and herbal medicine can be independently effective, but very often they are combined together, as they are ideal complements for each other. Acupuncture is considered particularly superior for moving energy blockages in the channels, but herbal medicine nourishes the body at a deep energetic level. However, their applications can not be separated. Nowadays, there are 3 types of Chinese herbs mostly used:
Theses herbs include all the roots, flowers, seeds, minerals, etc. in their original form. Traditionally a Chinese herbalist will make up an individual prescription for the patient. After asking the patient about all aspects of his condition and his general health, a formula is prescribed and made up, selecting a few (starting from 3 to 30) from the hundreds of herbs widely used in TCM. This is considered to be the most powerful form of herbal treatment. The herbs are prepared into an herbal decoction.
Pre-prepared herbal products or "patent" herbal medicines are also popular and widely used in China. These herbs are usually made in pill or capsule form, or sometimes as granules, or as drinks, and creams used for skin conditions. Pre-prepared herbal pills are convenient to take, and have a familiar format for those not accustomed to Chinese medicine in raw herbs decoction form.
Herbs may also be taken as concentrated powders. These can be individually prescribed like raw herbs, but unlike raw herbs they do not need to be boiled up into a decoction. The powder form herbs can easily be mixed together (depending on how many herbs have been prescribed) in a cup where hot water should be added. |
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