Chinese Herbal Medicine An old medicine, stemming back to the dawn of civilization. Your practitioner may recommend Chinese herbs for your condition. Chinese herbs are traditionally combined into a formula that, when used together, enhances the balancing effect of the different ingredients. These sophisticated combinations have been developed over centuries to address symptoms while treating the underlying cause. Common concerns about herbs are taste, safety and effectiveness. Herbs are available in several forms to suit your palate and lifestyle. Small pills ("wan" or "pian" in Chinese) are most common and convenient, and are effective in treating many conditions. Other formulas are traditionally given as tinctures (steeped in alcohol), or as dried herbs (cooked in water or ground into powder), as each process has been found to extract different important constituents. Some patients enjoy cooking the roots, leaves, and flowers from scratch, others prefer something quick. Fortunately we can now offer many formulas as granules, which are herbs that have gone through an extraction process and then dried. You simply pour into hot water, stir, and it is ready to drink. How do they taste? That depends on what is being treated. Many formulas have a pleasant, sweet, nurturing flavor. But a few do taste strong or bitter. If drinking this is uncomfortable, you might request that this formula be given in a pill form, if possible. A few formulas are not readily available as pills or must be cooked to get the best results. In this case we suggest that you eat a bite of banana after you drink your tea to clear the taste from your mouth. (Just a bite will do it.) Recently, conflicting information about Chinese herbs has been in the media. As Chinese herbs are becoming more popular, the US Food and Drug Administration has taken a greater interest in their regulation. There were concerns about adverse events related to ma huang (ephedra). It is important to note that none of these events were related to a person under the care of a practitioner trained in Chinese herbs. Specifically, Chinese medicine practitioners do not use ephedra by itself or for weight loss. Ephedra is used in specific combinations to moderate its effects, and only for certain patients, with particular diagnoses, usually related to respiratory complaints. In fact ephedra is the original source of products like Sudafed, which are still available over-the-counter. Rather than relying on a single ingredient in a strong dosage to produce an effect, as is often the case in western drug therapy, Chinese herbal medicine relies on the actions of several herbs that work together. This tends to be gentler on the body, reducing the likelihood of harmful side effects. Although it may take time to achieve some results, the aim of the herbal treatment is to correct the root cause of imbalance rather than require taking the formula indefinitely. While many herbs are relatively safe, seeking professional advice can save you time and money and ensure proper use. Frequently people who are interested in good health practices seek information from magazines or health food stores. The practice of western herbal medicine and Chinese herbal medicine are quite different. Professional diagnosis can get you on the right track instead of bumping around looking for the product that will help, as slight variations of the same imbalance may be best treated by quite different formulations. Your practitioner will talk to you about the underlying cause for your condition and may also recommend foods to add to your diet or to avoid, or simple exercises that will help you to achieve the results you want sooner. Although the best, safest use of these formulas is accomplished through adhering to traditional, time-honored principles of East Asian medicine, scientific research offers the opportunity to develop a conversation between medical professions. Research in China has been ongoing for decades, but is often discounted because the double blind, placebo-controlled trial has not typically been their standard. In Japan many of these herbal formulas are regulated and tested as drugs, providing a strong base for research that in some cases has been translated into English language. Here are some sites that may be helpful to you in looking for current scientific research information on Chinese herbs, some of it here in the United States: http://clinicaltrials.gov/ct/gui/action/SearchAction?term=Herbal+Medicine http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?SUBMIT=y Still, the sophisticated and time-honored traditional medical theories of East Asian medicine are our best guide to safe, effective use of Chinese herbal formulas. Find a practitioner of Chinese Herbology near you. All content Copyright © 2007 - 2012 WEAMA. All rights reserved.