guide to Chinese Herbs
All You Need to Know About Chinese Herbs
Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) has been used for thousands of years as a diagnostic framework and therapeutic treatment to contribute to holistic health. TCM is a method to both prevent illness and to remedy ailments in patients. Tai Chi/Qi Gong, Acupuncture, and Chinese Herbs are some methods utilized in Traditional Chinese Medicine to support a well-balanced lifestyle.
Chinese Herbs are a natural system of herbal medicinal formulas that your practitioner is trained in to prepare the formula specifically for you to take as a treatment. In China, these are given in some hospitals alongside daily foods and pharmaceuticals but in the West, TCM Practitioners dispense these herbs typically in private practice.
Keep reading to discover why Chinese Herbs are a great remedy to optimize wellness and prevent health issues.
What Are Chinese Herbs?
Chinese Herbs are the application of herbal medicine to treat the pattern or imbalance from the Traditional Chinese Medicine diagnostic framework. In our clinic, the herbal medicine is consumed as you would a hot tea. You will be sent home with a Chinese Herbal Formula to make your own long infusion by adding hot water and drinking as you would a cup of tea.
In their “raw” form (i.e. dried and prepared, as opposed to granulated/encapsulated), the Chinese herbs look like a bag of spices and may in fact include many different herbs and spices we are familiar with–cinnamons, fennel, ginger, licorice, sesame seed, cardamom, ginseng, goji berries, and peppermint—to name a few. Which ones show up in your formula depends entirely on what your body needs to find balance.
TCM practitioners use the language of movements of “qi” and of fluids in a general way. Herbs are identified as warming, cooling, drying, moistening etc. Their flavours connote the movement or “energetic”: sweet is building and nourishing, sour is astringent and descending, pungent and aromatic means it helps things rise up and out, and bitter is descending. As with foods, the flavours of herbs tell us what they do. Think of how your face puckers when you have sour lemon (a very sour astringing flavour, which makes you salivate and brings fluids and “draws your energy inwards”—you have lemonade so you don’t get dehydrated on a hot day). Or, you may get sweaty and red-faced eating habanero peppers (extremely hot and pungent, warming and raising the heat, or “yang”). Each formula treats the entire body, not just the symptoms of illness.
These “uplifting/warming” or “grounding/cooling” herbs, for example, might loosely correlate in Western medical terms with “metabolically stimulating”, or “sedative”, respectively. Bitter herbs might be used for purgative effect of the bowels, whereas sweet herbs will be building and nourishing.
What Do Chinese Herbs Treat?
Chinese Herbs may be blended in various formulas to treat common and particular illnesses.
Formulas range and may be used to treat issues such as:
Hormone imbalances
Gynecology
Digestive issues
Stress levels, post-traumatic symptoms
Nervous system support
Sleep problems
Fluid Metabolism
Immunoregulation
Inflammation
Edema/Swelling
Sore Joints
Injury rehabilitation & pain
How Long Until the Chinese Herbs Work?
The treatment may take several weeks to several months, depending on the individual's health problems. It may be a few weeks for something simple as headaches or joint pain. The more intricate the issue and longevity in health problems, the longer it may take the Chinese Herbs to work their magic and produce results.
Who Are Chinese Herbs For?
Adults and children can take Chinese Herbs. Anyone who seeks holistic methods to live a balanced lifestyle can take Chinese Herbs to better their health and prevent illness. Some extra precautions will be taken in those who are on medications—especially blood thinners, high blood pressure medication, heart medication, chemotherapy, and extra precautions will be taken around women who are pregnant or breastfeeding, but with a highly trained practitioner, this is not a contraindication to taking herbs.
How Are Chinese Herbs Administered?
Chinese Herbs may be taken at home, unlike acupuncture, where being in the clinic is essential for treatment. There are a few traditional ways to take Chinese Herbs.
Tea-like mixtures called decoctions are potent in taste and smell and take time to make. Decoctions were cooked on the stove for an extended period, often overnight, and required a lot of prep time.
More modernized herbal extracts called granules: This method is the mixed formula created by your practitioner with water to drink like tea, but with a carrier like corn starch. This option is less intense in smell and taste.
Patent formulas via pill or tablet.
Syrups. This method is best to treat the throat and get children to take the tincture.
Liniments, salves, compresses, plasters are applied to the skin.
Our main method: Long infusions (a tea brewed overnight) that are custom blended for each person.
For our pharmacy, the method is slightly different. We use the technique of long infusion teas that you can easily take home and prepare for yourself once the formula is blended. Your practitioner blends the raw Chinese Herbs to create the formula specifically for you, depending only on your health and needs. To achieve optimal results, the formulas are unique to each individual.
"The benefits of the long infusion teas from powder is that the water takes up the most medicinal compounds, with a much smaller dosage than classic decoctions or granules. This means you won't have to drink the coarse granules, or pay for a huge amount of herbs. You can sip your Chinese Herbs like a tea once you’ve strained them. The pharmacy I'm stocking is known for its purity and flavour, all Spring Wind brand. A lot of the herbs I dispense will be pleasant flavours with cinnamons, gingers, and licorice, as well as some bitters or sours."
— Alix Jean, R.TCM.P
How to Prepare Your Formula with the “Steep Method”
5 Steps to Take a Long Infusion at Home:
Long infusions are the most straightforward method to take Chinese Herbs at home. Do not consume a mixture that was not explicitly designed for you! Before you take long fusion tea, it is best to consult with your practitioner to create the best formula for you.
How are the Chinese Herbs Prepared?
Chinese Herbs are traditionally decocted on the stove for a longer duration, but in modern times this has shifted more to the prescription of herbal granules or pills, which are often pre-formulated. Granules are single herbs concentrated in to a liquid extract, and then mixed in to a carrier. While they are tested for purity from reputable companies, still they will have additives to standardize the extracts. One downside to this format is a large amount of plastic waste with the typically 100-g plastic bottles that are not refillable.
Why do we use Chinese Herbs?
Chinese Herbs are used to prevent illness, remedy disease, and contribute to a well-rounded, balanced lifestyle that promotes a holistic way of living. Like acupuncture, Chinese Herbs treat the body to reduce stress and suffering for the patient. Herbal formulas stimulate a specific response that reacts with the client's current state as prescribed by the practitioner. The Chinese Herbs are selected based on your current state and result.
There are thousands of Chinese Herbs and anywhere from 4-12 are used in a formula. The formulas date back thousands of years. The rations are customized based on your desired outcome and need to achieve a healthy, balanced lifestyle. Each formula is individualized and highly nuanced.
Your practitioner will evaluate your current qi—the life flow and energy—before selecting the Chinese Herbs for the formula. Mental, emotional, physical, and spiritual fluctuations are sought to be addressed to redistribute the flow of the qi before the formula is made.
How Are Chinese Herbs Unique from Western Medicine?
Traditional Chinese Medicine—including Chinese Herbs—treats the entire body, not just the source of the problem or symptoms. The whole pattern of the person is considered, before a treatment is prescribed.
This style of treatment has been used in China for over 2000 years. To effectively treat the ailment, the person's pattern is considered thoroughly. The therapies utilized work with each herb and the various combinations of herbs before the formula is created for that particular person. It is a much more nuanced way of developing a treatment process.
The entire body is taken in from head to toe; each sign and symptom of the disease is thoroughly considered before the Chinese Herbs are selected. The condition is not treated; the pattern within the person is treated. The hope is to observe the habits of the individual, their life experiences and constitutional tendencies to create a formula that enhances the overall vitality to also prevent the disease from reccurring.
What should I Expect In my First Appointment?
Your practitioner will ask you questions concerning your health history, illnesses, diet, medications prescribed, activity level, and sleep. Once the pattern of illness is observed, the Chinese Herbs will be selected to create the specified formula for you to take home. Please note a separate herbal consultation is not available at this time, as the practice of treating with acupuncture is in itself diagnostic and informs the practitioner’s choice of herbs. To receive a herbal formula, simply book in for acupuncture and discuss with your practitioner.
History of Chinese Herbs
Traditional Chinese Herbal Medicine has been around for thousands of years. Like acupuncture, Chinese Herbs address mental, emotional, and physical health problems. The practice and application have evolved, and various psychological and biological approaches are used to treat multiple conditions.
The practice shares a rich history with acupuncture. Chinese Herbs and medicine take root in China. The diagnostics used for acupuncture treatment are similar to Chinese Herbs. Instead of coming to the clinic for a hands-on acupuncture treatment, clients are sent home with an herbal formula to take at home.
A Note on Sourcing and Ethics: Vegan, Kosher, Allergies
At Black Spruce, we use only the highest quality of organic and/or certified pesticide- and heavy-metal-controlled herbs. While the vast majority are plant-based and grown in mainland China, others can be sourced from Taiwan, Korea, Japan, USA and more. With the line of herbs carried (Spring Wind Herbs), all efforts have been made to ensure ethical/organic sourcing. A number of herbs are not plant-based, such as mu li (oyster shell), long gu (bovine bone), or e jiao (gelatin). If you are vegetarian/vegan, Kosher or have any allergies, your practitioner will customize your formula with this in mind.
If you have any questions, please email us!
Or book your initial appointment to create your Chinese Herb long infusion tea today.