Chinese Herbology
Chinese Herbology
Chinese Herbology or Chinese Herbal
Medicine is used in the form of formulas. Most formulas consist of at least two or more
different kinds of herbs. They treat and prevent a wide range of diseases while
balancing the body and stimulating the body's natural healing process. Chinese Herbal
Medicine can be used singly or combined with Acupuncture as supportive treatment.
Some people in the U.S.A. buy Herbs
like Ginseng or Dang Gui from supper market and consume them singly for long term without
consulting a trained Chinese Herbalist. This can harm people's health. Since chinese
herbs are hardly ever prescribed singly. In a chinese herbal formula, different herbs in a form
should be prescribed to work as a team to enhance the positive effectiveness and reduce
those negative ones from each other.
There are sophisticated rules and strategies
for composing chinese herbal formulas. However, a skilled Chinese herbalist should be
able to composite an individualized herbal formula that fit the patient's current
condition exactly and without side effects. The formula should be modified accordingly
when the condition improves or changes.
How To Take Chinese Herbs?
According to Traditional Chinese Medicine
theory, each herb has five properties (cold, cool, neutral, warm, and hot), and five
flavors (sweet, Sauer, pungent, bitter and salty), which are related to its therapeutic
actions. Decocted (boiled down) raw herbs do not always fit the patient's palate.
However, the taste of the herbal tea is part of the therapeutic action of the herbs.
It seems that after time, the body begins to crave a certain formula, specially the ones
that help the body and you will find the taste to be more attractive.
For people who cannot stand the taste
, there are alternatives. There are
herbal formulas made in form of pills, tablets, powder and tincture. These are not
going to be as beneficial as an individually tailored raw herbal formula, but they
work well for most common conditions and they are convenient to take.
How To Cook Chinese Herbs?
Container Use
container with lid. Ceramic is the best container for cooking Chinese herbs.
Glass and stainless steel is ok. Materials to avoid include cast iron or other
metals. Because some Chinese herbs can interact with these metals causing
chemical reactions that can alter the therapeutic qualities of your herbs, or
even worse, have an unhealthy effect on your body. Cook the herbs Strain the tea (tea #1, about one 8 ounces-cup) Strain the tea again (tea #2, about one 8 ounces-cup) Mix the tea (#1
& #2) from both batches for drinking.
When and how to take the herbs: It is the best to drink the herb tea warm and on an empty
stomach. This provides the best absorption of the ingredients of the herbs. You
can drink the first half of the tea ½-1 hour before dinner or 2-3 hours after
dinner. Put another half to the refrigerator for next morning and take it at
least a half hour before breakfast. ·
If you find the taste so unpalatable that you can’t
drink it, do watering it down a bit. Or add a little honey to sweet it. This
should only be done with the consent of your herbalist. Honey or anything else
can adversely affect the therapeutic qualities of the formula and so it should
only be added when appropriate. It seems that after time, the body begins to
crave a certain formula, especially the ones that help the body and you’ll find
the taste to be more attractive. ·
If the herbs cause a little stomach upset, drink the
herb tea one hour after eating. If the tea causes nausea, drink some fresh
ginger juice or eat some fresh ginger before taking the formula. ·
If you take other medicine, take them at least one hour
before or after you drink the herb tea.