What are the Traditional Chinese Herbs? - Part 2

TAM (Traditional Asian Medicine) CARE (Four Tiers of Asian Medicine)

I. Food Therapy
II. Herbal Therapy
III. Exercise: Tai Chi & Qi Gong
IV. Acupuncture & Cupping

I. FOOD THERAPY

"Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food." - Hippocrates circa 431 B.C.

Traditional Asian Medicine first employs food as a therapeutic tool. Why? Because we are very pre-occupied with food. Our stomachs will let us know that we are hungry, so most of us, unless we are imbalanced, will eat 1-6 times per day unless food is not available. Since we eat, its important to consider what we are eating due to the fact food has a major influence on the health of our bodies. If we drink pop, alcohol, eat desserts, cheese, candy, red meat, bread, processed foods, etc. then guess what happens to the body? It clogs up and gains weight and we get sick. If we eat vegetables, fruit, water, fish, then what happens? We open up, lose weight to balance and leanness and we can get well. The effective TAM practice will include food therapy with the knowledge of what food works best with a particular constitution. Ever heard of, “You are what you eat”? What that means, is that certain foods will definitely determine the cell quality in the tissues of your body. Food, ideally, provides substance to make energy from, benefitting the cells so they can do their job. The more energy, the more capacity your cells have to do their jobs. If they are obstructed with poor choices, that fit your wants, then the result will be illness. Foods that balance your ailing constitution, are essential to re-establishing your health. Master herbalists, sophisticated in this specialty, will recommend this strategy in order to form a foundation for other traditional Asian medicine. No matter what treatment methodology, allopathic or naturopathic, healing can be sabotaged, if food therapy is not seriously considered in the remedial process. Therefore, food therapy is critical to restoration of your health. Though food is a more subtle remedy, its gradual nourishing effect, has the power to restore, unnoticed, only because it takes more time. Thus, when we get sick, it is difficult, to connect the dots as to how we got in that condition.

II. Herbal Therapy

“There are three categories of drugs; the lowest one of which is poisonous, the second one is a little poisonous, the highest one is no poison. The lowest drug cures 6 out of 10 sicknesses, leaving poisons in the patients. The middle one cures 7 out of 10 sicknesses, leaving a small amount of poison. Even the highest medicine cure only 8 or 9 out of 10 sicknesses. The sicknesses that medicine cannot cure can be cured only by foods.” Nei Ching

The next tier of traditional Asian medicine is herbal therapy chosen because of its relevant affective strength on the human body. Herbal therapy is applied to open the channels with specific influence on the underlying cause of imbalance and related symptoms. Comprehensive knowledge of herbal medicine is necessary or harm may be done. Herbal medicines have the same strength as food except that it does impacts the body directly. When reduced to an extract level which equals about 4-5 times the strength of the basic herbs, the effect is quicker and stronger. Natural herbs do not heal any better than synthetic medicines but they can help the body to fight disease, strengthen the body's immune system, and help to harmonize the body's functions. After a master herbalist learns about individual herbs then a herbalist will proceed to herbal formulas which make a greater impact to energize, reduce or harmonize more body parts in the healing process. Herb medicine deserves respect because harm can occur if not applied correctly. Though not as dangerous as synthetic medicines, imbalances can occur if rendered inappropriately.

The 4 Natures, 5 Tastes, 4 Actions, and the Meridian Attribution

These characteristics are found in food and herbs and influence the body’s reception of the herb’s medicinal qualities.

Four Natures of Herbs

The four natures of herbs are:
• Cold
• Hot
• Warm
• Cool

The "Nei Jing", an ancient book of Chinese herb wisdom, says if the body is cold, heat it; if the body is hot, cool it. The herbs that are used to treat hot type dysfunction are typically cold or cool. Herbs that are used to treat cold type conditions are generally warm or hot in nature. There are some herbs with a more subtle nature. They are categorized as neutral in impact on the body.

Herb tastes affect different body functions. Every herb has its unique nature and taste. Herbs with the same nature may have the same taste. Or herbs with their similar tastes may have different natures. Therefore, the study of tastes and natures can be very complicated. The Nei Jing says:
• spicy and sweet tastes move fast so they, characteristically, belong to yang constitution type.
• Sour and bitter tastes move body functions downwards so they reflect the yin body type.
• Salty taste moves energy downward too, so it also is yin in quality.
• Bland (a subtle sweet taste) permeates so it belongs to yang.
• Additionally spicy, sweet, and bland attributes are distinctively yang.
• Sour, bitter, and salty attributes are yin in their affect on the human body.

Ok, thats all for now, see in next post.