Tag: herbs

Up to 75 percent of women will suffer through a yeast infection, or candidiasis, at least once in their lifetimes, and many women experience at least two episodes, reports Mayo Clinic. This fungal infection is caused by an overgrowth of a yeast-like fungus called Candida albicans. It often leaves women with frustrating and sometimes debilitating …

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Many people make light of hair loss, but it can be a truly traumatic experience for men and women of all ages — particularly for younger men with few peers experiencing the same problem. Men are typically advised to use Rogaine, to shave their heads, or to simply accept hair loss and move on. Those …

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Typically marked by blotchy, itchy, or otherwise irritated skin, eczema refers to a group of skin conditions that cause sufferers both physical and mental anguish. The annoying symptoms associated with eczema are typically eased via steroids and topical medications, but these often lead to unwanted side effects. Increasingly, patients are turning to traditional Chinese medicine …

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Essential oils are a useful tool for alleviating a wide variety of health problems.

By Thea Elijah A student recently wrote to me: I have two patients who are having a hard time swallowing their raw herb formula. It comes right back up. They say they cannot get past the taste. Any suggestions for these patients to help them take their formula and keep it down? Understanding Patient Resistance …

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By Eric Brand, Zhongzhen Zhao, and Ping Guo Throughout history, Chinese herbal medicine has been deeply influenced by the natural resources and culture of China. Natural resources such as wild and cultivated plant resources are inseparably connected to the development of Chinese medicine. Agriculture and trade have long played a pivotal role in the production …

Continue reading “What is “Daodi” Medicinal Material?”

By Bob Damone In the early 1980’s, a few years before it ever occurred to me to pursue a career in Chinese herbal medicine, I became interested in “Western” herbal medicine.  I read everything I could get my hands on, including “The Way of Herbs” by Michael Tierra. I immediately devoured it, and immersed myself in …

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By Andrew Gaeddert What are medicinal mushrooms? Medicinal mushrooms are fungal organisms that are used in traditional Chinese Medicine, nutritional supplements and drugs. It is estimated that China is responsible for 70 percent of the world’s mushroom production. Shiitake cultivation is reported to have begun in China in the 12th century. It is estimated that …

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The classical Chinese medical system views health and disease through the “eight-principle and six-syndrome” differentiation methods. In ancient times, Chinese medical experts identified groups of symptoms as patterns, and associated them with specific formulas. Eventually, with repeated clinical success they recorded these patterns as “formula patterns”. Later, during the Eastern Han Dynasty between 40 to 200 AD, Zhang Zhongjing recorded all of this clinical experience handed down from generations in theShang Han Za Bing Lun (Treatise on Cold Damage and Miscellaneous Diseases), which was later edited and separated into the Shang Han Lun (Treatise on Cold Damage) and the Jin Gui Yao Lüe (Essentials from the Golden Cabinet).

Teachers I admire at my alma mater (Steve Bonzak) and in our profession-at-large (Dr. Huang and Sharon Weizenbaum) speak decisively about raw herbal medicinals as the time-tested, irreplaceable gold standard. Pioneering veteran farmers Jean Giblette and Peg Schafer emphasize that a demonstrated, steady demand by herbal clinicians for ecologically cultivated raw medicinals is imperative to the confidence North American farmers need to risk growing these specialty crops.