Traditional Eastern Herbal Medicine consists of 5,767 substances derived from plant, animal, and mineral sources. Over the past 3000 years, an incredibly rich and powerful system has medicine has been created. During this time, classical herbal formulas that are effective for many health concerns have been developed. Herbal formulas can be taken in a variety of forms such as herbal teas, liquid extracts, tablets, capsules, granules, lotions, creams, salves, or poultices.

 

What is a Herbal Formula?

 

Individual substances are rarely prescribed alone in Traditional Chinese Medicine. Each medicinal herb is carefully chosen and dosed for its own specific functions. Then, each herb is combined together to create a balanced and functioning formula for each person's entire health condition. The combination of substances in a formula creates a new therapeutic agent that can treat much more effectively and completely than a single substance.

 

Safety of Herbal Medicine

 

The most appealing advantage of herbal medicine is the low risk of adverse reaction or side effects. Herbal medicine uses all the constituents of the plant. The herb is completely balanced and therefore has minimal side effects. The most commonly reported adverse reaction is minor gastrointestinal upset. However, modifying the herbal formula or adding herbs to strengthen the digestive system can relieve the side effects.