Chinese Herbs-General Information

Introduction
In the West, herbs have been used to treat medical conditions for a long time. But when Western medicine started using technology to develop stronger, "purer" forms of medicine, herbal medicine became less popular. It has only recently begun making a comeback, as people look for more natural-and less potentially harmful-ways to treat their ailments.

Herbs, on the other hand, have been an active part of Chinese medicine since they were identified and classified more than 2,000 years by a sage named Shen Nung. The knowledge of herbs and what they can do has been passed, mainly by word of mouth, by all kinds of people-from scholars to the uneducated.

There are more than 6,000 different Chinese herbs, of which about 300 are in everyday use. And actually, the word "herb" has a somewhat different meaning in Chinese medicine; it can include animal products and minerals as well as plant material.

Classification of Chinese Herbs
Chinese herbs tend to be classified by their qualities, which have differing effects on the human body. These qualities include the following:
- temperature-herbs can be warming, cooling, or neutral
- taste-spicy, sour, bitter, sweet, salty, or bland. Some herbs can have more than one effect because they have more than one taste.
- color
- shape, dryness/moisture level, texture-used to treat the part of the body that they resemble

What do Chinese herbs do?
The practitioner of traditional Chinese medicine does not use herbs to treat conditions as they would be defined by Western medicine. Instead, the condition is described in Chinese medical terms, and an herb is prescribed because it would benefit that condition.

Chinese herbs act on the qualities of Qi, Blood, or Moisture, and they do it in one of four ways:
1) dispersing-moving something that has become stuck or stagnant
2) consolidating-basically the opposite of dispersal; gathering in something that is scattered
3) purging-removing something that's blocked or excessive
4) tonifying-strengthening something that is weak

How are Chinese herbs used?
Just as with Western medicine, the practitioner must diagnose the patient's problem before determining treatment. However, Chinese medical diagnosis uses different techniques, and draws different conclusions, from those of Western medicine. For example, the practitioner may decide that a patient has too much Moisture.

Once the diagnosis is made, the practitioner will determine the most appropriate form of treatment. This may include acupuncture as well as herbs. When herbs are prescribed, they can be used individually or in combinations, and in different ways. Herbal pills are available, as are teas, extracts, and powders. Herbs can also be used nutritionally, in everyday cooking recipes.

When they hear the term "Chinese medicine," some people think only of acupuncture. But Chinese herbs are an equally important part of this ancient practice.