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Healthouse: Oriental Medicine Clinic

Medicinal Herbs

herbs

Herbal medicine is one of the 3 main branches of Oriental Medicine, it includes:

  • Patent herbal medicine (pill form)
  • Patent formulas (powdered form)
  • Herbal tinctures
  • Raw herbs
  • Nutritional therapy (diet & supplements)

Whereas acupuncture works by activating acu-points from the external aspect of the body, herbs work internally by being activated via the digestive system. Herbs help restore balance by nourishing the body or by purging toxins from the body.

Patent herbal medicines
Patent herbal medicines are standardized herbal formulas containing several herbs and other ingredients which are dried, ground, mixed into powder and formed into pills. They are safe and convenient.
Powdered herbal formulas
Powdered herbal formulas are both standardized and custom formulas. They contain several herbs and other ingredients which are dried, ground and mixed into powder. The patient mixes the prescribed amount into hot water and drinks it as a tea. It is possible to customize powder formulas for the individual patient.
Tinctures
Tinctures are made from dried or fresh herbs, in powdered or cut form, soaked in 60-100 proof vodka (or other pure liquor such as grape alcohol or rum) and then strained. Tinctures are generally more powerful and last longer than dried herbs. They are taken as drops or mixed in water or tea.
Raw herbs
Raw herbs are custom formulated prescriptions prepared for each individual patient. Patients receive packets of the mixed raw herbs with instructions on cooking them, then strain them and drink it as a tea. Practitioners who prescribe custom raw herbal medicine to their patients have had years of study and training in the complex actions of individual and mixed herbs on body systems.
Nutritional Therapy
In Oriental Medicine, nutritional therapy is used to prevent and cure illness. Specific foods are recommended or avoided based on their effects on the body's systems. Foods are chosen based on their thermal nature and/or their flavor.
Thermal qualities of foods include:
  • hot
  • warm
  • neutral
  • cool
  • cold
Specific foods, or combinations of foods, are used to balance, warm or cool the body. The five flavors of foods include pungent (acrid), sweet, sour, bitter and salty. The different flavors each have their own important effects on the internal organs. The flavors of different foods, and the effects they have on the internal organs, has been determined through centuries of observation and experience.
  1. Pungent foods effect the lungs and large intestine.
  2. Sweet foods effect the spleen and stomach.
  3. Sour foods effect the liver and gallbladder.
  4. Bitter foods effect the heart and small intestine.
  5. Salty foods effect the kidney and bladder.
Modern Oriental Medicine nutritional therapy may also include the use of natural dietary supplements and vitamins.

Herbal Medicine: Video

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