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Dietary Therapy Including Herbology
One of the important modalities of oriental medicine is dietary therapy and herbalism. In this practice, a careful assessment is made and food and herbs are recommended for the patient’s current condition. The herbs originate in China, and there are about 2000 total herbs and other materials in the Chinese material medica or medicinals group. The herbs are almost always used in groups of from 3 to 20 or so. For 1500 years or more, formulas have been developed, refined, and documented in the medical literature of China. For a given patient, one formula may be used for a while, and it may then be modified or changed as the patient’s condition changes. We often take well-known formulas and modify them for a patient.
The herbs can be taken in a number of forms. The basic method is to boil the materials in water for an hour or more, strain, and drink the tea one to four times daily. In another method, herbs are extracted under pharmaceutical grade conditions in factories to produce a granular concentrate powder. In this case, either ready-made formulas or custom-made formulas of these powders are used. The powders are either dissolved in water, taken dry in the mouth, or placed into capsules for use. Many American patients appreciate the convenience of this form of herbs. In another form, the herbs are cooked together at the factory and then formed into tablets or pills. Herbs can be additionally used as a wash for the skin, poultice or plaster on the skin, suppository, liniment, or steam bath.
The taste of the herbal formulas can vary from sweet and pleasant to bitter. One of the interesting things in Chinese Herbology is that when the formula is the correct one for a patient, the patient will like the taste, even if it is bitter. We can often tell when the formula needs to be changed, because the patient will report that suddenly the formula doesn’t taste good any longer.
Chinese medicinal materials are screened to assure correct species of plant, and are tested for contamination by pesticides, heavy metals, or drugs. The Chinese herbal manufacturing plants that source the herb products we use meet GMP (good manufacturing practices) standards, just as is required by American pharmaceutical and food production companies.
Warning: A patient should never try to self-prescribe Asian medicinals. Many people are now acquiring chinese herb formulas from the internet or other vendors to try to treat themselves. However, the professional assessment process is critical to the choice of the correct materials. We have seen many cases of patients’ who became ill after taking the wrong remedy or taking something by a poorly trained practitioner. At best, the patient does not improve from the herbs and wastes their money, at worst, the condition gets worse or the patient becomes ill in some way.
Professional oriental herbalists are trained in acupuncture programs and may take an herbal diplomate exam from the NCCAOM, the same national body which certifies acupuncturists and oriental bodywork therapists.