Chinese herbal therapy, next to dietary therapy, is the most widely used among all the TCM treatment modalities in Asia, where they use Chinese herbs for not only the treatment of illness but also in the optimization of health and prevention of disease.

 

Traditional Chinese herbology includes over 13,000 medicinals (including parts of plants, such as the leaves, roots, stems, flowers, and seeds, as well as animals and mineral substances) used in China and over 100,000 herbal formulas recorded in the ancient literature. In modern days, there are 300 substances commonly in use. The materia medica (the authoritative book on TCM medicinal substances) includes information on the traditional uses, dosages, drug interactions, contra-indications for each substance, as well as conventional medical research that has been published.

 

TCM categorizes medicinal substances according to their effects on particular vital substances, their resonance with particular zangfu (organ) systems, the channels of the meridian system into which the substance is to enter, and the pathogenic factors and patterns of disharmony they address.

 

Unlike western medicine and other forms of herbalism, Chinese herbs are often used in formulas instead of being used singularly in larger amounts. Formulas allow you to blend herbs to enhance their positive effects and reduce or eliminate any negative side effects they may have.

 

As with other TCM modalities, Chinese herbal formulas are prepared to match each patient and their signs and symptoms exactly. You should never attempt herbal treatment without proper training as some of the herbs are toxic and need to be prepared correctly, while others can have side-effects without being used in proper amounts or when mixed into inappropriate formulas. Chinese herbal formulas are mostly given as teas, capsules, liquid extracts, granules, or powders.