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Herbal Teas | Cassic Teapills | Chinese Herbs
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A Chinese Herbal Primer The 5,767 different healing plants with exotic names do a lot more than ward off colds. Jean T., a vegetarian in her early 30s, desperately wanted to have a baby-despite the fact that she hadn't menstruated in seven years. She sought help from one specialist after another; was poked, prodded and tested ad nauseam (literally); and even resorted to taking Clomid, a potent fertility drug. But instead of helping her get pregnant, the drug made her sick. When Western medicine failed her, Jean tried something different: She turned to the East, specifically to Misha Cohen, an Oriental medical doctor (O.M.D.) in San Francisco and author of The Chinese Way of Healing: Many Paths to Wholeness (Perigee, 1966). Noticing that Jean was cold to the touch and that her pulse was weak, Cohen diagnosed a kidney deficiency. Her three-pronged prescription to re-establishing Jean's balance included acupuncture, burning the herb mugwort over parts of her body and a custom-blended tea of 14 kidney tonic herbs. After several months, Jean's pulse grew stronger and she began menstruating again. Two months later, her periods became regular, and within eight months she was pregnant. She switched to an herbal formula to prevent miscarriage in her first trimester. Today, the healthy mother of two children, Jean is a Chinese-herb success story. What's old is new (again) Jean's case is a testimony to the efficacy of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), a 5,000-year-old healing system that includes herbal medicine, acupuncture, dietary therapy, qi gong (or energy) exercises and meditation. TCM views mind, body and spirit as deeply interrelated parts of an elaborate, endlessly changing network of linked systems. At its core, TCM is about maintaining balance in all three realms. "We don't directly treat disease, we try to make the body function in harmony," explains Nan Lu, O.M.D., and director of the American Taoist Healing Center in New York City. TCM's philosophy and nomenclature is a world away from Western medicine's. Instead of talking about a virus, for instance, Chinese doctors may refer to a deficiency or excess of environmental influences (heat, cold, dampness) or emotions (joy, anger, fear) that can interfere with well-being. Organs aren't treated as specific sites in the body-it's their function that is important. (The kidneys, for example, manage fluid retention and rule reproduction.) Nurturing these organ systems and helping to sustain balance is qi (pronounced chee), the life-sustaining energy that flows through pathways, or meridians, which link the entire body into an inseparable whole. The bountiful world of chinese herbs One of the primary and most potent modalities in TCM is the use of herbs. "People have been writing and arguing about Chinese herbal medicine topic for at least two thousand years," notes Kevin V. Ergil, dean and director of the Pacific Institute of Oriental Medicine in New York City. "It's also been the subject of significant scientific scrutiny." TCM offers its users a rich pharmacopoeia of 5,767 different substances (including some animal-derived substances, so check before taking). Some, such as ginseng , peppermint and Ginkgo , are in wide use by Western herbalists. A few, like ephedra (ma huang), have been adapted as pharmaceuticals; pseudoephedrine, a synthesized form of ephedra's active ingredient, ephedrine, is commonly used in decongestants. As with Western herbs, Chinese herbs are taken either on a short-term basis (a few days) for acute problems, such as fever or diarrhea, or for longer periods for chronic ills or to reverse a disease process (a period of weeks or months to slowly return the body to balance). They also can be used preventively to boost immunity, increase overall energy and enhance longevity. But unlike Western herbalism, TCM rarely employs single herbs. Instead, they are usually combined in formulas-often a dozen herbs or more-to produce desired effects without the toxicity or side effects that can result from too much of one substance. While Chinese herbs aren't necessarily more potent than Western ones, they are more finely targeted to particular ailments. The Chinese have spent thousands of years pinpointing herbs' pharmacological effects. "I can individually diagnose someone and give them a specific formula that meets that diagnosis," points out Cohen. Other Points of Departure Whereas "fresh" is the operative word in Western herbalism, Chinese herbs are generally processed. First, the proper parts of the plants (stem, leaf, root, etc.) are selected. Then they might be fried, dipped in honey or boiled, baked or soaked. Only after such processing are herb mixtures made into strong teas, pills, powders, tinctures or elixirs. Some herbs, usually mugwort, may be burned over acupuncture points during a session. (The smoke that enters the body aids digestion, warms specific areas or boosts immune function.) Additionally, there are many time-tested "patent" formulas, in pill or powder form, that are traditionally utilized for chronic complaints. But because one person's "wind-damp" condition may be caused by a different type of energetic imbalance than another's, herbal medicines are often custom-mixed for acute health problems, like the flu. You can treat minor ailments yourself (see Stocking a Chinese Herbal Medicine Chest, p. 102), but for more serious conditions (or for children, the elderly and pregnant or lactating women), see a qualified Chinese herbalist to determine if self-treatment is the right course of action. Be sure to inquire about potential nonvegetarian ingredients in preparations. Also, because Chinese regulations differ from American, according to The Journal of Chinese Medicine, some patent medicines made in China may be adulterated with antihistamines, lead, synthetic corticosteroids and more. A trained herbalist can help you avoid these substances. Diane Umansky is a New York-based writer who specializes in health.
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