Understanding Chinese Herbal Medicine

By Author: Jamie Hanson
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The history of Chinese herbal medicine is thousands of years old, and dates back to the time of the legendary Chinese Emperor Shen Nong, born in 2737 BC. He is considered to be the father of Chinese medicine.It was he who discovered the healing properties from over 252 herbs and others being animals, stones and furs, out of his 365 medicenes, by testing them on himself. The first Chinese manual on pharmacology, the Shennong Bencao Jing (Shennong Emperor's Classic of Materia Medica), the earliest known written version of Classic Herbal, was published in the third century BC.

This oriental herbal medicines, classifies 365 species of roots, grass, woods, furs, animals and stones into three categories of herbal medicine. The superior" category, used for multiple diseases and preventing imbalance in the body. The second category comprises of tonics and boosters and the third category for the treatment of specific illness only.

Chinese herbal medicines are used in many acute and chronic ailments, including anxiety and depression, respiratory problems, hypertension and digestive disorders. Some of the herbal medicenes ...
... such as ginseng, ginger, dong quai and Ginkgo biloba are available all over the world.

The use of Chinese herbal medicine in the Western world has increased in recent years as more and more people are turning to safe treatments without harmful side effects. Traditional Chinese herbal medicine has finally gained the respect and recognition it deserves in the Western world.

In the Chinese philosophy of herbal treatment, the focus is on treating the patient as a whole which include his mind spirit and body. A skilled practitioner of Chinese herbal medicine will choose appropriate herbal formulas to strengthen, nourish and bring the patient back into a healthy form. Many of the modern day drugs have been developed from these herbs for the treatments for asthma and hay fever, hepatitis and a number of anti-cancer agents.There are several herbal drugs to rejuvinate the energy, purify the blood, reduce stress and regulate menstruation such as Bupleurum Sedative Pills and Women's Precious Pills.

Most Chinese herbs are usually used to help build and strengthen the body. The most commonly used herbs are Ginseng , wolfberry , Dong Quai, astragalus , atractylodes, cinnamon and cinnamon bark, coptis, ginger, hoelen, licorice, peony, rehmannia, rhubarb, and salvia.

Chinese herbsare combined with several other Chinese herbs to create specific Chinese medicine formula that safely and effectively revive balance and harmony in the body. You can know more about Chinese herbs and medicine at www.holisticchineseherbs.com