Using only natural properties and flavours of medicinal substances, it may help restore the imbalance of the body’s energy. For over 3000 years in China, it has played an important role in preventing disease as well as improving longevity. Chinese herbs have different tastes, properties, natures, functions and enter different channel pathways, they can affect the flow of qi and blood, and the balance of Yin and Yang of the body. Herbs help to assist the body’s natural healing process.
Raw herbs required the patient to soak, boil, strain, re-boil, re-strain, etc. to get the resulting decoction. Most herbal formulas consist of four to eight herbs or even more. There are complex relationships between the different components of a prescription, and much skill is needed to select the most appropriate combination of herbs for your body’s needs.
Chinese herbal medicines are mainly plant based, but some preparations include shells and minerals. They can be packaged as raw herbs, liquids, powders, granules or tablets depending on the herb and its intended use. Chinese herbs have different properties, flavours and energetics which help to balance the different areas of the body. Prescribing a specific herb or formula decoction means the practitioner’s diagnosis has to take into account the state of the patient’s energy, yin and yang, and the five elements that govern the affected organs of the body.
Raw herbs require the patient to soak, boil, strain, re-boil, re-strain, etc. to get the resulting decoction. It is more common and easier these days for most patients to take granulated powders, which is mixed with hot water to form a liquid decoction.
There are complex relationships between the different components of a prescription, and much skill is needed to select the most appropriate combination of herbs, the formula could also change over time as body changes.