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Text Box: Herbal medicine has become a popular choice for many people seeking relief from common ailments like colds and flu, depression, anxiety, headaches, menstrual cramps, and menopausal symptoms, among other conditions. In any bookstore, self-help books offering herbal advice are easy to find. Less familiar to most Americans is the branch of herbal medicine that developed within the domain of Chinese medicine. In use for thousands of years in China, the extraordinary power of Chinese herbology lies not solely in the uniqueness of the substances themselves – some we can find in our own backyards – but in how they are used. Chinese herbs are administered in formulas of anywhere from two to 20 individual herbs, in combinations that are carefully designed to ensure that the synergy of the formula is much more effective than the sum of its parts. In a typical formula, certain herbs will be geared to dealing with the main health issue while others increase the potency of those herbs. Still others may direct the action of the formula to a particular part of the body, or offset potential side effects from other ingredients. A formula for treating a cough, for example, might have a component focusing on drying phlegm, another to loosen the phlegm to allow it to be expelled more easily, another guiding the herbs in the formula to the throat, and another still to strengthen the energy of the lungs, which can be depleted from chronic coughing. Chinese herbs are like very focused prescription medicines, not one-size-fits-all over-the-counter cures. Two patients with seemingly identical health complaints may require very different formulas. With such broadly conceived formulas, and a standard pharmacopoeia of hundreds of herbs, Chinese herbal medicine can be astonishingly effective in treating a variety of conditions. The key to safe and effective treatment with Chinese herbs is consultation with a practitioner well trained in their use. A practitioner of Chinese medicine understands potential side effects of herbs and how to prevent them, when to avoid a particular herb altogether, and when there are safety issues regarding possible interactions between herbs and prescription drugs.

Introduction to

Chinese Herbal Medicine