What Exactly Are Chinese Herbs?

Chinese herbal medicinals

If you are a patient of mine, you have most likely taken a Chinese herbal formula that I have crafted for you from my herbal pharmacy. But what are these formulas, what are they made from, and how are they taken?

Chinese herbs are primarily plants and plant parts which possess substantial medicinal properties. Leaves, twigs, roots, bark, petals and berries are all examples of plant parts I use in my herbal pharmacy. Many people know about the health benefits if ginseng which is primarily used by taking the root of the ginseng plant, decocting it (boiling it in water for an extended period of time, anywhere from 1 hour to several days) to extract it’s medicinal properties, and then drinking that decoction. The herbs I use in my pharmacy have already been decocted by professional herbal manufacturers and then dehydrated into a powder form. I take the powders of individual herbs and mix them together into a bespoke formula which I present to you. You then take the formula home and mix several scoops at a time with boiled water to rehydrate the herbs, and then drink it down. You generally take the formula two or three times per day, depending on what it is being used for.

The uses of Chinese herbal formulas are as varied as the plants themselves. As a fully trained and licensed herbalist, I went to school to learn about the medicinal properties of hundreds of herbs. Some categories of herbs are:

herbs that clear heat (inflammation and fevers)

herbs that drain dampness (water retention, edema, swellings)

herbs that transform phlegm and stop cough

herbs that calm the spirit (anxiety)

herbs that regulate blood (blood clots, amenorrhea)

The list goes on and on. Any ailment or imbalance in the body has a corresponding herb to regulate it and the right combination of herbs can be used to treat any illness. A wise herbal healer once told me, “You have to know your herbs extremely well, and your patients even better.” This quote is actually what inspired me to study herbal medicine. At the age of twenty-three I knew that this would be a life long journey of study and learning and I was thrilled to start on that path. Twenty five years later, I can say that it’s true and I continue to learn more about herbs every day and every year that I practice this medicine.

So, where did these formulas and knowledge about herbs come from? There are various sources but many come from ancient texts on Chinese medicine written during the Han Dynasty in 200 BC. I studied many of these texts with teachers from all over the world who spent their lives and careers working with these herbs and refining their uses.

That is Chinese Herbal Medicine in a nutshell. If you are interested in taking an herbal formula, feel free to reach out for an herbal consult anytime.