Chinese Herbal Medicine FAQs
Modern medicines in pill form are Chemical (i.e., toxic) drugs with extremely powerful effects. That’s why every drug is in a very small pill form. Just a minute amount is enough to last for hours. If one also took these chemical drugs in LIQUID form, one may not think Chinese herbal medicines is that bad.
There are a few ways to take the herbal broth. One way is to inhale a couple times, hold the breath, and try to drink the entire cup of medicine all at once. Immediately RINSE the mouth out with water and take a teaspoon of honey or orange marmalade. Another way is to use a straw, the kind that can bend at an angle and place it towards the back of the mouth. These are only two ways; you can experiment with ways that will work for you. Medicine that is taken in its pure form without artificial flavors is the most potent.
“Sweet things eaten prove in digestion sour. Bitter medicines are sweet to the body.”
In designing DRUGS for diseases, pharmaceutical companies mainly go by these guidelines:
- Does the drug stop the disease?
- What is the degree of damage caused by the drug’s side effects?
Western medicine notices that the well-being of the patient is second. Western medicine suppresses the symptoms of the disease while doing nothing to remove the underlying cause. The drugs do not treat the patient, but the disease itself. For example, two people with diabetes may exhibit slightly different symptoms. Western medicine would just diagnose the disease as diabetes and give insulin to each and every patient with diabetes.
Here are the guidelines Chinese medicine abides by when designing HERBAL remedies:
- If a healthy person takes the herbs, there should be no side effects.
- Does it benefit the patient?
In Chinese medicine, if an herbal remedy has any detrimental effects to a healthy person, it is immediately discarded. Chinese medicine also realizes every person is a special individual with unique disease symptoms. The herbal remedies prescribed for a patient is very personalized according to their own specific symptoms. Chinese medicine looks for the cause and cure for the disease. For example, two people with diabetes may exhibit slightly different symptoms. Therefore, they would each receive different herbal remedies.