Nature Produces All The Medicines
TCM Herbology
Here in North America, many people know acupuncture and use the term as a synonym for Chinese medicine. Another less known but very important technical branch of TCM is herbology or herbalism. There are now over 10,000 documented herbal ingredients. About 300 of them are used in daily practise. Over majority of the ingredients are plant origin and a small percentage is from animal and mineral sources. Any part of the plant could be used in herbal medicine, the roots, stems, branches and twigs, vine, leaves, bark, flowers, fruits, and seeds, etc. but different parts may serve different healing purposes.
History and Theories
There are 5000 years of history of using herbs, the first 2500 years are empirical and theories started to evolve from the 4th century BC. The legend says that Shennong, the Devine Farmer and one of the creators of Chinese civilization, discovered herbal medicines. He was supposedly poisoned 70 times in a single day during the process. In fact, the masses detected therapeutic properties of the herbs by trial and error and the scholars made note of the knowledge into books. We humans are energetic entities and the natural energies contained in herbs can help us to restore our equilibrium. The following are the general theories that herbs have:
Four Properties: hot, warm, cold, cool (and neutral);
Five Tastes: sour, bitter, sweet, spicy, salty (and bland):
Four directions: ascending, descending, floating, sinking (and centering):
Herbs work on their targeted organs and body parts reaching through acupuncture channels. The colors, shapes and texture of herbs have influences on their therapeutic functions.
Most importantly, each herb has one or several therapeutic functions.
Forms of formulas
Different from any other herbal traditions which use exclusively single herbs, Chinese herbology uses almost always a combination of ingredients for optimal synergy. The most common way is to boil the herbs and drink the solution. For convenience, formulas are compressed into pills or in capsules. We’ll have a separate video on how to brew herbs. Strengths of TCM herbology This system of healing is good for a greater range of diseases and disorders, or simply promoting health and longevity. It is particularly effective for chronic internal problems, such as low immunity, cancer, digestive disorders, auto-immune conditions, hormonal imbalances, infertility, PMS, menopausal symptoms, and skin problems. Please click on the picture (link) below for a detailed video.
Herbology Consultations Sessions
At TCMWORKS Clinic, we are fully trained in the whole range of traditional Chinese health sciences. Besides acupuncture, we also use individualized herbal formulae and TCM herbal products. For certain conditions and certain clients, we might suggest herbology in combination with acupuncture. We also have some clients who had good experiences with TCM herbology asking for such services. If a current acupuncture client who is also using our herbal remedies, the herbal consultation fee is waived. For those who use only herbal formulas, the consultation is $28 and the individualized herbal formulas are sold at cost.
Herbal Instruction
1. Put the herbs in a big pot, add 9 cups (each 250ml) of cold water and then put the pot on your stove top. Turn the heat to “high”, bring the water to boiling, and then turn the heat to “low”. Simmer the herbs for 20 min. Next, you may drain out the liquid to a container and leave the herbs in the pot. Now you should pour another 5 cups of cold water into the pot to cook the herbs the second time for about 10 min and collect the liquid to the same container.
2. You should have about 10 cups of liquid in the container. Keep the container in the fridge once it cools down. Drink 1 cup of liquid twice per day after breakfast and supper. You can heat up the liquid for a short time in the microwave oven if you like. You can also add lemon, orange juice or honey to the liquid for easier drinking. Finish the liquid in five days. If you collected more than 10 cups of liquid, you need to drink more each time in order to finish it in five days.
3. If you received more than one bag of herbs, process the second and third bag the same way as above. They contain the same ingredients. We tailor made this herb formula according to your specific condition. Although, all ingredients are natural, you should not take the formula if you have serious food intolerance. If you have any unexplained symptoms after taking the formula, you should stop taking it and contact us
How to use Ginseng Root?
1. Put one rinsed ginseng root in a mug, add boiling water to fill the mug. Put a lid on top of the mug, let ginseng soak for few minutes till the temperature is right to drink.
2. Add more boiling water when you finished one mug of ginseng water. Repeat the process till the taste of ginseng is gone. Then you can cut the ginseng root into slices and put it back to the mug and add more boiling water. Stop drinking when the taste is completely gone.
3. You may throw the sliced ginseng root into garbage when the taste is gone or you can cook it with food. You can make a stew with meat and vegetables.
P.S. North American Ginseng is good for nourishing the Ying, strengthening the Yang, and improving immune system and energy without any side-effects. It contains anti-cancer ingredients.