HERBAL MEDICINE   

Herbal  Medicine  is  the  use  of  plants  or  various  natural  substances  that  can  help provide the body with what it needs to heal.  Herbs have  been  used  around  the  world  in  every  culture  for  thousands of years.  They can benefit us on a physical level  as well  as mental, emotional, and spiritual level.  The Chinese herbal system of medicine  is an artwork that is being accepted as one of the most developed and preserved systems of them all. 

A Brief History

Although  Amazonian,  Ayurvedic,  and   Native-American  systems  of  herbalism  are  very useful  and  amazingly  effective, the Chinese have  keep documentation and records that date back to the 3rd century B.C. and have been a huge contribution to herbal medicine. 

Originating since the slave  society, the ancient  ancestors  used  single  herbs for healing and  through the course  of practice they  realized that  the curative effect of several herbs combined  was  more effective  than just one single herb.  Think about this, you clean your house and finish it in 3 hours.  But if  you have a team that helps you, it is possible to finish in  a  quarter of  the  time. Herbal formulas are like an advanced selected team of herbs to work  synchronistically  together. Most  formulas  are  thousands of  years old.  Let’s put  it this way, if it made it this far you better believe there is a good reason. 

Herbal History

A book  that  describes  the  medicinal  function of  herbal  medicine  is the  Shen  Nong  Ben  Cao  Jing.  It  is  a  famous  book  having the recordings  of  365  medicinal  substances. The author  Shen Nong was famous for ingesting and recording the nature and effect of these 365  medicinal  substances.  Later  in  the  Han  dynasty, a  book  named  the  Shang Han Lun was compiled and covered 375 herbal pres-criptions. The  author  Zhangzhong  Jing  was  regarded  as  a  holy  doctor  for  the work he contributed to Chinese Medicine.  Many other books have been compiled to help the herbal system develop and evolve even till today.

Herbal Properties

Herbal  formulas are  composed of  several herbal ingredients that are selected specifically to work together as team and help correct the individual’s issue. They contain various plants that are used medicinally to interact, influence, and adjust the body in various ways. 

Herbs  are  classified  according  to  energetic properties such as cool or cold and warm or hot. They are also categorized as being acrid, sour, sweet, salty, and bitter, which correspond  to the  five element theory of Chinese Medicine. Lastly they are categorized according to the  meridians  and  organs  they  enter  and  influence  such  as  the  lung  or  stomach. For  example, if  a  stomach problem exists due to excessive cold a selection of sweet and warm herbs that go to the stomach organ and meridian may be selected.  

Treatment with Herbs

If  herbs  are  selected  for  you as  part  of your  treatment  plan  they may  be  given  in pill form, capsule, tablet, powder extract, tea form, tincture, or as a topical application.  Herbs  may be given  or may  not be  given. This  depends on the patient and also the condition being treated. Herbs may  be  given  for  short-term  use  or  even  long-term  use. This  all  depends  on  the  condition and whether it is acute or chronic, easily treatable or not. 

Pill form, capsule, and powder extract form are the most convenient and allow the patient to take the herbs with them where ever they go. Although a convenience, pills are not  the best and  most powerful way to take herbs. A tea or decoction is the most powerful way and has been  traditionally  the most  popular  method of using  herbal  medicine  for thousands of years. During the consultation both you and the practitioner will decide which is best for you.

Are Herbs Safe?

Herbs have been used for thousands of  years and are very safe when taken correctly. It is best to have a qualified herbalist prescribe you herbal  medicine.  This  will  ensure  you get  the  correct  herbs  to benefit you the most. Most herbs are very safe and can be regarded as foods  such  as  the  red  date, goji berry, or longan fruit, or as spices like cinnamon, clove, nutmeg, fennel, or pepper.  But, some of them can be strong and should be used with caution or under the supervision of a qualified herbalist.

Today  herbs  are  still  used  by  all cultures  and are becoming a large business.  Because it’s growing so rapidly, many herbal producers and herbal manufacturers have become more focused on quantity rather than quality. 

It is  important  to buy quality herbs and herbal products. If you buy low quality products you will get low quality results. Not to mention the terrible pesticides that are sprayed not only on the food you eat, but the herbs as well. 

The herbal companies we chose are carefully  chosen due  to the high quality  herbs  they supply  and also because  they excel at  testing multiple  times  for  purity  to  avoid  heavy  metals, pesticides, molds  funguses, etc. Organic is always our first choice. We encourage you to do the same with any and all of your purchases no matter where you shop. 

Do your research to discover the quality and research behind the company you choose and even the food you eat. These useful tips may help significantly with your health journey. You can also ask a qualified herbalist for help. 

Recently, the vast  knowledge of  herbal research  has grown making  the drug  companies  very happy. They  are researching  this know-ledge and finding the herbs active ingredients. They then develop a synthetic form of  the herbs active ingredient and make it very potent. They also will patent this product and raise its price exponentially  compared to  the price of  the natural herb  that can never be patented. This  can  be  good  because  it  may  save  many  lives  if  used  properly  for  acute  life  threatening  events. But, of  course  the  are many undesirable side effects that also come with taking drugs. Herbs have a huge variety of minerals, vitamins, and  nutrients that  are needed for the body to function properly. 

The  goal  is  to  have   the  patient  get  better  and  overcome  the  illness. We  love  using  herbs  for  our  patients  and  families  alike. We believe herbs are God’s  special  medicine since  he created everything in the world including all the natural substances for us to discover and use. 

Our  acupuncturists  are well  trained  Board  Certified  Herbalists. They  have  received  extensive  training  using  herbal medicine to help patients and have both trained directly under multiple Chinese  Masters  after graduating from the formal training the received. They have years of experience and have also traveled to China and parts of Asia studying herbs.