HERBALS FAQ

Q: Who Can Benefit from Chinese Herbal
     Medicine?

A:  Everyone and their pets. Young and old, pregnant women,newborns and children.  An NCCAOM certified Chinesherbal practitioner can safely prescribe herbal medicine forany patient.

Q: What are difference between Chinese Herbal Medicine, homeopathy and Western herbal medicine?

A:  A Chinese herbal formula has many components, sometimesas many as 15 different herbs. The herbs are selected to work synergistically to treat the root (or cause) of a health concern along with other symptoms of a health concern. By combining different herbs together, the effectiveness of theprincipal herb is increased, and the side-effects are reduced. It also makes it possible to treat complicated diseases at the same time. 

Homeopathy works on the principle that in order to treatdisease, you should ingest an extremely minute amount of a substance that cause a similar reaction in the body. The substance is normally a single herb that addresses a patient’s symptoms only.

Western herbal medicine uses herbs either singly or in  groups that treat the same symptom or disease. It is similar toChinese herbal medicine, but treats symptoms more than thecause of disease.

Q: Where do the herbs come from?

A:  We purchase high quality herbs that come from the herbs' natural habitats.  Herbs grown at different locations will have different amount of active chemicals due to the climate, soil, water, altitude, etc.  The herbs grown in their natural habitats will be most potent.  A close analogy would be, if you takeTexas navel orange trees and plant them in California, the oranges would not taste the same.  By the same reason, Texaswould not be an ideal place to grow grapes that are used tomake wine.  As the herbs come to the clinic, we check for theplace of origin.  Before the raw herbs are used to brew theherbal formula, we examine every herb to make sure they are in good conditions.  

​On Taking Chinese Herbals

Q: Can Herbal Medicine be used together with Western Medicine?

A:  Most herbal supplements may be taken by individuals who are also using prescription drugs, without problems. However, it is recommended that herbal extracts be taken on an empty stomach at least 30 min. apart from the prescription drugs.

Q:  Do I have to take the herbal medicine
​      forever?

A: In general, the answer is no. Chinese Herbal Medicinesearches for the root cause of the condition and attempts tochange at this level, rather than treat the or symptoms. If weaddress the root cause then the symptoms are cleared as aresult.

Q:  How to cook Chinese Herbs?

A:  Traditionally, Chinese herbs are used in their raw (or dried) form and simmered in water to make a medicinal tea(formula). The herbs themselves are usually discarded afterwards, except for a few valuable ones, which may be eaten. Alternatively, the raw herbs might be ground into a powder and taken that way, or made into pills. Some herbs can be soaked in alcohol to make a tincture. The traditional teas are still popular in mainland China, and with some Western herbalists. But there are some drawbacks. Almost all herbs must be soaked for quite a while before cooking, and it takes time to simmer the tea. Many herbs should be prepared before simmering by various methods (stir frying in other substances, or charring them, for example). Some herbs are toxic if not properly prepared. Some herbs must be cooked a long time, others must be cooked a short time in a closed pot to avoid losing the active aromatic oils. Medicinal minerals must be ground, and sometimes baked first. Some effective substances will only dissolve out into alcohol, and not into water.