AIDUS & E-FONG HEALTH SOLUTION (CANADA)
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AIDUS & E-FONG HEALTH SOLUTION (CANADA)
About Herbal Medicine
Together with acupuncture, herbal medicine is a major pillar of Chinese medicine. The Chinese pharmacopoeia lists
over 6,000 different medicinal substances in terms of their properties and the disharmonies that they were helpful
with. There are about 600 different herbs in common use today.
Herbs are classified in two major dimensions. The first dimension refers to the energy characteristics of the herb,
namely hot (re), warm (wen), cold (han), neutral (ping), and aromatic. The second dimension refers to the taste
property of the herb, namely sour (suan), bitter (ku), sweet (gan), spicy (xin), and salty (xian).
The various combinations of energy characteristics and taste property give the herb its properties that can influence
the yin and yang energy patterns of the body. For example, sour, bitter and salty tastes are related to yin, whereas
acrid, sweet are attributed to yang. There are herbs that will warm, herbs that will cool, herbs that will tonify, herbs
that will move stagnation and so on. It is also important to understand that herbs do not possess one quality. They
are most always a combination of properties and temperatures and may reach one to as many as twelve organ
systems. Warm herbs can be used with individuals suffering from Heat disorders, but the herb with warm energy must
be mixed with herbs with Cool/Cold energy so that the overall balance of the mixture is on the Cool side. Likewise,
Cool herbs can be used with people with Cold disorders as long as the overall balance of the mixture is warm. Neutral
herbs are those that are neither hot nor cold, so they are often considered gentle herbs. There are not too many
neutral herbs in the pharmacopoeia.
As for the tastes, sour constricts or consolidates. Herbs of sour taste are often indicated for use in perspiration due to
deficiency, protracted cough, chronic diarrhea, seminal and urinary incontinences, leakage or spermatic fluid, and
other conditions related to hypo-metabolism (under-performance). In traditional Chinese medicine, they are seen as
deficient or cold patterns. Bitter possesses the function of clearing heat, purging the bowels, lowering the qi,
improving appetite and drying dampness or wetness. Bitter herbs are commonly used in fire-heat patterns, such as
the acute stage of infectious disease, and the patterns of damp-heat or damp-cold, such as in arthritis or
leucorrhoea. Sweet has the function of toning, improving, moistening and harmonizing many of the important systems
of the body, including the digestive, respiratory, immune and endocrine systems. Sweet tastes also relieve urgency
and inhibit pain due to the constrictive action of muscles. They are commonly used for treating deficiency patterns
such as dry cough, and dysfunction of the gastro-intestinal tract such as spleen and stomach “disharmony? Spicy
disperses, circulates qi and vitalizes blood. This group of herbs can stimulate the sweat glands to perspire, circulate
qi, activate the function of meridians and organs and vitalize blood to promote blood circulation. As a whole, spicy
herbs have the overall effect of activating and enhancing metabolism. Spicy herbs are commonly used in the
treatment of external patterns (catching a cold), when the function of the meridian and organs is weakened and
circulation of blood has been impeded. In traditional Chinese medical terminology, this is the stage of qi stagnation
and blood cloudiness. Salty herbs have the function of softening firm masses and fibrous adhesions. The salty taste
purges and opens the bowels. Salty agents are often indicated in sores, inflammatory masses, cysts, and connective
tissue proliferation.
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