chinese herbal medicine

Jan

2017

Tang or Decoction of Chinese Herbs

A decocted Tang, literally “soup”, is by far the most common form of Chinese herbal medicine administration in China. Decoctions are solutions and suspensions that are readily absorbed, thus expediting their therapeutic effects. They are prime in this way in the treatment of acute disorders. Decoctions, being liquid in form, are easily ingested and digested and so are excellent to tonify long-standing deficiencies, as well.

Tangs are comprised of the raw herbal constituents of roots, tubers, seeds, fruit, and leaves but shells and minerals, and sometimes animal ingredients, are also used for their medicinal value. Dense substances require longer cooking time, while fragrant herbs such as chrysanthemum flowers and peppermint leaves, for example, require brief decocting. Decocted formulas require preparation time and can deter some patients’ interest, however, the attributes of decocting medicinals in contrast to other forms of administration such as pills, granular concentrates, herbal wines, and elixirs to administer the compounds and energetic essence far outweigh objections to convenience or strong taste, in my opinion.

Decoctions should usually be ingested at room temperature. Traditionally, medicinals intended to treat lower burner issues would be taken prior to meals, while those treating upper jiao disorders whould be taken 30 minutes after, however, I tell my patients that they should take them at the recommended dosage and frequency, but when it works best for their constitution and/or daily routine, because the formula can not have its healing effect if the person does not have the time or interest to take it.

Wellness-Wishes to You

Mar

2016

Alchemy of Chinese Herbs

Photography Wendy Brown

Herbs and roots are life-nourishing.

They are sustenance as well as medicine,

and convey nature’s forces.

Through their connection to the natural world, herbs and roots of Chinese medicine imbue their resonance with these forces within us.

Regulated by the rhythms of Yin and Yang, influenced by the 5 elements (sun, soil, minerals, water, and other trees and plants), and through their ability to adapt to the climatic factors of heat and cold, wind, dryness and dampness, herbs renew our resilience.

Immortal Mágū collecting medicinal roots, fruits and plants

Chinese medicine has a long history of practices that propagate life; practices to nourish and prolong life through our mental-physical-spiritual oneness with nature. Such concepts and knowledge of creating rarified, spiritual states of being and longevity have passed through Taoist lineages, preserving the Three Treasures Jīng, Qì and Shen.

BURDOCK ROOT

The energetic nature of herbs and other organic substantive matter, in their particular parts, collected and prepared specifically to confer the essence of their elemental forces, guide and help to make whole.

Feb

2015

Red Jujube Dates 红枣

✍️Wendy Brown, Lic. Ac.

Chinese red jujube dates, or hongzao 红枣, have long been proclaimed a superfood. Date kernel fossils discovered by Chinese archeologists imply that red dates have been in China for over 8,000 years, and have been used medicinally for more than 3,000 years. In autumn, jujubes are fresh, crisp, and green; they are dried, taking on a deep red color and sweet, chewy texture. This pitted fruit has high nutritional concentration.

Very high in vitamin C, and also containing vitamins A, B1, B2, protein, calcium, phosphorus, iron, and magnesium, these fruits are, therefore, excellent for people with significant debility, as hongzao are said to stimulate the production of white blood cells that in turn strengthen immunity. Phosphorus and iron play an important role in preventing anemia and osteoporosis. High levels of Vitamin C convert excessive cholesterol into bile acid, helping to prevent gallstones. Hongzao also decrease the levels of blood cholesterol, protecting the liver.

Chinese red date can be deliciously added to soups, congees, and culinary dishes, but as with all foods and medicinal substances, moderation and understanding are key. Diabetics and those with excessive damp heat conditions should generally avoid or moderate their consumption of red dates.

🎥Da Zao

“Three red dates per day

keep you young forever.”

天吃三枣, 青春永不老

Yītiān chī sān zǎo, qīngchūn yǒng bùlǎo.

Sep

2014

Surgical Casebook

Pioneering doctor Hanaoka Seishū 華岡青洲, of the Edo period, combined his knowledge of Chinese herbal medicine with Western surgical techniques he had learned, and became the first to perform surgeries with anesthetic. He was the first to formulate and use general anesthesia to remove tumors from cancer patients. His proceedure came 50 years before anyone else would perform surgery with general anesthetic. In the medical manuscript (example seen above), hand-painted pictures visually document the likeness to the men and women patients who went to Hanaoka for treatment, as well as the medical conditions being treated. https://youtu.be/RNGfown7iys

Feb

2014

TREATMENT OF CHILDREN BY ORIENTAL MEDICINE

Increasingly, children are growing up here in the West with acupuncture and Chinese herbal medicine as a routine part of promoting health and treating the onslaught of childhood health complaints. Children, like adults, suffer from imbalances of QI which are vital to get to the root of. However, our young friends are not mini-adults; their energy is delicate and formative. What happens with them in the capacity of their care and habits that are formed is greatly determined by factors beyond their control.

Confucius presenting the Guatama Buddha baby to Lao t’zu.

By helping to educate parents on care for children in the wisdom of oriental medicine, and relying on these treatment methods, prevents imbalances and pathogenic factors from settling in that further weaken, pattern, and chart a course for the child’s future health. Various childhood infectious diseases, as well as problems with diet, food cravings, sleep, and emotions commonly effect children and can be well-addressed through the practices and support of oriental medicine. Good health and well-being of a child is likely to increase happiness of the family.

Jan

2014

THE FIVE ELEMENTS IN LIVING FORM ☯

Nurturing core elemental tendencies while simultaneously balancing states of excess through a combination of diet, Chinese herbs and acupuncture and other mind-body techniques, we maintain innate elemental tendencies; transforming what may be hindrances into assets.

FIRE TYPES ☯ Are jovial pleasure-seekers. They like to relax, socialize and have fun. They often seek thrills and excitement, and love to entertain others. They are fascinated by sensory stimuli and often get carried away by the carnival of light, sound and image that the world presents. They often dislike school because it is not fun and the dislike grows as they get older and the workload intensifies. They try to make things more amusing by becoming the class entertainer.

EARTH TYPES ☯ Are all about the social world. They view their worth in terms of interpersonal relationships and they seek social contact. They want to fit in, and often play the role of peacemaker. These are the constant-talkers who get in trouble because they can not contain the need to connect with others. Quiet study periods are torture to them. Social matters are foremost in their minds, and they fret incessantly about who’s talking to whom and who will sit with them at lunch, all seeming far more important than their lessons.

METAL TYPES ☯ Are highly sensitive and detail-oriented. They see things few others do, and have an innate sense of order, beauty and perfection. They seek control and like to see their visions met. They value precision; where a Wood or Fire type might gloss over details, a metal type digs in. The Rigidity, inflexibility and getting stuck in their own sense of right and wrong, leaving no room for others, are a downside. They have difficulty letting go of small details, become anxious when something is not done ‘right,’ and they become negative when they feel out of control.

WATER TYPES ☯ Think and feel very deeply. They live in the realm of ideas and imagination and have only a modicum of interest in the physical, practical world. They are natural wisdom-seekers, and have a rather advanced interior world for their age. They often seem to be ‘off somewhere’, not particularly concerned with punctuality, and respond to time-pressures and other external demands by disconnecting, staring out the window, or retreating to their inner world. [Unlike Wood types who become confrontational, or Fire types who seek thrills, Water element types become withdrawn in chronic stress situations.]

WOOD TYPES ☯ Are very physical, competitive and want to be first. Natural leaders; they always want to win, to be in front. Pioneers who see a path and want to take it. They usually win the enthusiasm of peers. Since they live primarily in the physical world, they often act out physically when stressed, becoming aggressive, argumentative, ‘In your face.’ Under duress, they become the restless and assertive ‘Wild Child.’

* Dr. Stephen Cowan, who studied with Efrem Korngold, co-author of the modern TCM classic, Between Heaven and Earth, has spent 20 years affirming the distinctions of the Five Elements. He has amassed a vast library of work with thousands [of children] across the developmental spectrum, and believes the elemental tendencies begin to show themselves within the first year or two of life.

Oct

2013

Yun Zhi Mushroom

Yun Zhi 雲芝, known also as Cloud Mushroom, Coriolus, and Turkey Tail exhibits a marked immune enhancing scope of activity, including antiviral and antibacterial effects, and has been used for centuries in traditional oriental medicine. Modern clinical research in Japan and China focus on water extractions of Coriolus to stimulate and strengthen immune health, particularly in people with cancer.

The immune stimulating compounds found in Yun Zhi replenish vital kidney essence and Qi, and contain several protein bound polysaccharides that are recognized to possess anti-tumor factors. In Japan, sales generate several hundred million dollars per year, making Cloud Mushroom-Coriolus the world’s top-selling natural product used by cancer patients in Japan.

*This is not intended to be medical advice, nor to diagnose, treat, prevent or cure any condition.

Jul

2012

Safe, Effective Treatment with Chinese Herbs

Chinese herbal medicine, a vital aspect of Chinese medicine, relies upon collecting detailed information from a patient by means of questioning, visual examination, pulse and tongue diagnosis, and some bodily palpation to derive a specified diagnosis that is unique to each patient’s expression of what may seem by the primary symptoms surrounding the illness to be one and the same. However, by the traditional methods of pattern discrimination, TCM practitioners derive the particulars of how an individual generates and bears the disorder by their underlying interconnections. This is the basis of pattern discrimination according to TCM.

From the pattern we derive the diagnosis, treatment plan, and prognosis. A formula of medicinals in their raw form is composed, or if a prepared medicine fits the pattern, it may be used. Additional formula modifications are taken into account that continue to address current and evolving patient experience and characteristics of their disease. This is in contrast to a single herb or herbal blend prescribed by cookbook-style symptom identification. Access to information regarding herbs and sundry home remedies is routinely taken out of context leading to adverse cumulative effects or none whatsoever with regard to conditions requiring resolution. If something has the ability to facilitate healing, it can also elicit harmful changes if used inconsistently with the unique roots of the condition. This is commonplace in philosophical health goals and self-diagnosis to identify and treat health problems. An experienced, licensed acupuncturist who is also a Chinese herbal medicine practitioner, is able to offer sound guidance in deriving results using herbal allies safely and effectively for an infinite array of health conditions.