Are you intrigued by complementary wellness? Do you feel that your wellbeing is not being optimised by western medicine, and that there might be something better out there? Here’s what everyone should know about one of the biggest aspects of Chinese medicine – Chinese herbal medicine.
Chinese herbal medicine is not just about herbs. Although herbs are the main ingredients in Chinese herbal medicine (in fact Chinese herbology boasts more than 3,200 different herb types – some prominent examples being ginseng and the root of astragalus), there is more to herbal medicine than just herbs.
Chinese herbal medicine also uses a huge variety of different minerals (over 300 different ones), various insects, animal extracts and sea creatures in its make up. Cinnabar (ore of mercury), seahorse, silkworm and rhinoceros horn are all examples of the various compounds that go into Chinese herbal medicine.
All these various compounds – both herbal and non herbal – are combined together to make more than 400 widely-known supplements.
Much like western medications and vitamins, Chinese herbs are full of chemicals which have illness-treating properties and agents. However, the chemical component in Chinese herbs is not the only consideration when planning an effective treatment. Instead, the level of energy output that each formula has is considered, in terms of how this can restore the body’s yin/yang balance.
In most cases, there are four types of herbs included in each formula. These are categorised as the emperor, minister, assistant and the ambassador. There can be more than one herb in each category. The reason that these names are used is because the emperor herb targets the main symptoms of an illness and any underlying cause, whilst the minister treats any accompanying symptoms of the illness and their underlying cause. An assistant herb harmonises the formula and gets rid of any toxins or any possible side effects. The ambassador herb’s job is to get the formula to the right medians and organs in the body.
