| Licorice is highly prized medicinally in chinese medicine. It is used in almost all of the Chinese patent herbal formulas. Glycyrrhiza may be taken in a variety of ways, including as a tea. It helps to reduce the amount of hydrocortisone broken down by the liver, thereby reducing the workload of the adrenal glands. Licorice is a well-loved candy for children, although most commercial brands no longer contain real licorice. Instead commercial products use anise seed and sugar, which taste similar. It is best to stay with teas or supplements. |
Dr. Michael Heinrich, Joanne Barnes, Simon Gibbons and Elizabeth M. Williamson
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 Pepper contains the alkaloid piperine, which is known to increase the bioavailability of a number of drugs by enhancing absorption, and it may be that this applies much more commonly than has been previously thought.
In chinese medicine, liquorice (Glycyrrhiza glabra) is added to many formulae as a synergistic agent, to enhance acti\ and detoxify, and pun ides a number of instances of synergism not only between its own constituents but also with other herbs. |
Phyllis A. Balch, CNC
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 Cordyceps
Found in the highland regions of China, this mushroom, also known as caterpillar fungus, is one of the most valued medicinal fungi in chinese medicine, and among the most potent. Cordyceps (Cordyceps sinensis, sometimes called simply ceps) is formed when a bladelike growth develops after fungal infestation of dead caterpillar larva. These bladelike growths are then harvested, cleaned, and dried in the sun.
Cordyceps contains water-soluble polysaccharides that work to stimulate the cells of the immune system. |
Dr. Michael Heinrich, Joanne Barnes, Simon Gibbons and Elizabeth M. Williamson
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| Native medicine remained in the background and, after concerns that it would be subsumed into chinese medicine, the compendium of Japanese medicine, Daidoruijoho, was compiled in 808 on the orders of the Emperor Heizei. In 894, official cultural exchange with China was halted, and native medicine was temporarily reinstated. Knowledge gained from China, however, continued to be assimilated, and in 984 the court physician Yasuyori Tamba compiled the Ishinho, which consisted of 30 scrolls detailing the medical knowledge of the Sui and T'ang dynasties. |
| Again, chinese medicine is philosophically based, and as an holistic therapy the concept of balance and harmony is supremely important. The relevant records and documents were discussed earlier (Chapter 2), but additional historical milestones will be included here to show the evolution of TCM into what it is today.
THE DEVELOPMENT OF TCM
Shen Nong, the legendary Chinese Emperor, is credited with the discovery of herbal medicine in around 2800 BCE, and he is also reputed to have defined the opposing yet complementary principles eventually known as yin and yang. |
The Life Extension Editorial Staff
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 Eleuthero or Siberian Qinseng (Eleuiherococcus Senticosus)
Eleuthero or Siberian ginseng has been used for 2000 years as a chinese medicine for invigorating the Qi (vital energy) and promoting overall health. Although research in the former Soviet Union suggested that eleuthero improves arhletic performance, preliminary research in the United States has failed to show significant benefit. It is said to sharpen mental alertness and help cope with stress. |
Dr. Michael Heinrich, Joanne Barnes, Simon Gibbons and Elizabeth M. Williamson
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| Other Asian traditional medicine
Overall, the written records on other Asian medicine are less comprehensive than for chinese medicine. The
Table 2. |
C. P. Khare
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 In chinese medicine, cutch is used for poorly healing ulcers, weeping skin diseases, oral ulcer with bleeding and traumatic injuries.
Active principles and pharmacology
The chief constituents of the heartwood extract, catechin and catechutannic acid, makes it a potent remedy for chronic skin diseases, cough, relaxed conditions of throat, mouth and gums; also for diarrhoea. 25-60 % tannins, 20-30 % mucilage, flavonoids and resins make it a strong astringent and clotting agent.
Use in Western herbal
Pale catechu is an extract made from the leaves and young shoots of Uncaria gambier (Roxb. |
| Taking into account the tranquillizing properties identified in chinese medicine and antihista-minic properties pharmacologically proved in India, Albizia lebbek can safely be used in urticaria, allergic dermatitis, bronchial asthma and topical eosinophilia.
Pods of the plant exhibited antiamoebic property against Entamoeba histolytica. The root was found to possess antifungal property against Helminthosporium sativum. The bark possessed mild antibacterial property against E. coli. Thus, the plant can be used for its antiamoebic, antidiar-rhoeal, antifungal and antibacterial properties. |
Dr. Michael Heinrich, Joanne Barnes, Simon Gibbons and Elizabeth M. Williamson
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| Uses (detailed information on uses according to the criteria of chinese medicine)
• Corrections of previous mistakes.
• Methods of preparing the drug.
• New features.
• Examples of recipes.
The recognition of the need to further develop the usage of a plant, to correct earlier mistakes and include new information is particularly noteworthy. However, the numerous medicopharmaceutical traditions of the Chinese minorities were not included in these works and we therefore have no historical records of their pharmacopoeias. |
C. P. Khare
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| Use in Western herbal
Same as in chinese medicine. Used primarily as an astringent to reduce blood loss and as a remedy for heavy menstrual bleeding, excessive vaginal discharge, diarrhoea and dysentery.
Nicholas Culpeper (1616-1654) wrote of it: "Amaranthus flowers stop all fluxes of blood, whether in man or woman, bleeding either in the nose or wound. The white flower stops the whites in women."
Caution
Nauseating in large doses.
Amaranthus spinosus Linn.
Figure 1 Amaranthus spinosus [ADPS]
Amaranthus polygamus Willd. |
Brian O'Leary
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 Here are some of the many approaches: mind-body medicine, energy medicine, vibrational medicine, homeopathy, alternative medicine, integrative medicine, holistic healing, East-West medicine, ayruvedic medicine, chinese medicine, acupuncture, acupressure, herbal medicine, chiropractic, and spiritual healing. Many pioneering individuals promoting these practices include
Deepak Chopra, Larry Dossey, Bernard Siegel, Andrew Weil, Elmer Green, Norman Sheely, and others too numerous to mention here. |
Michael Tierra
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 In chinese medicine this condition would be considered as "liver attacking spleen-pancreas," which refers to an imbalance of liver and pancreatic enzymes necessary for digestion. Thus it would seem that dandelion root helps to balance these enzymes that simultaneously benefit digestion, assimilation and elimination.
Even the most serious cases of hepatitis have rapidly been cured, sometimes within a week, with dandelion root tea taken in cupful doses four to six times daily and a light, easily digested diet of vegetable broths and rice and mung bean porridge. |
Alan Keith Tillotson, Ph.D., A.H.G., D.Ay.
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 Research Highlights
• The book chinese medicine Secret Recipes reported on a clinical trial at one of the TCM hospitals in Shangha that claimed a success rate greater than 99% using the following formula for uveitis: tien chi root 100 grams, dang gui root 15, red peony root 12, cnidium rhizome (chuan xiong or Ligusticum wallichii) 10, persica seed 6, carthamus flower 8, salvia root 20, conch shell 30, and tortoise shell 15 (Hu et al., 1991). The equivalent dose to that used in the study, if you use commercially available dried decoction powders, would be about 9-12 grams per day. |
| Two examples are Traditional Chinese Medicine's use of licorice root to "harmonize" formulas and Ayurveda's combining of three fruits (triphala) to create a balanced tonic effect. In fact, because each of the individual tonic fruits in triphala work a bit more on Vata, Pitta, and Kapha, this is an excellent example of a well-constructed formula.
The areas of antagonism, additivity, synergy, and dosage are exciting ones for the future of herbal medicine. |
| Our discussion of Traditional chinese medicine (TCM) will explore some of the concepts regarding causative factors, which are clinically very useful and are simple enough to begin to apply right away.
• Our discussion of Western medicine will examine blood testing, a practice of great value in understanding your health.
• Our discussion of Ayurveda will show you how these ancient truths are still relevant and valuable to modern medicine. I will go out on a limb here and reveal some evidence that may shock you into seeing the world in a different light. |
Earl Mindell, R.Ph., Ph.D.
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 According to traditional chinese medicine, there are two opposing forces in the universe: yin, which is negative, and yang, which is positive. Everything (including all herbs) and everybody is characterized as either yin or yang. Yin types tend to be cool, calm, and quiet. Yang types are hot, stimulating, and energetic. A healthy body is one that strikes a balance between the opposing forces of yin and yang. Disease occurs when there is imbalance in the body, and it can be cured only when the balance is restored. |
Neal Barnard, M.D.
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 She mentioned the change to an expert in chinese medicine, who asked her if she drank sodas. She said that, in fact, she had been drinking sodas as a pick-me-up in the morning for the past couple of months. He advised her to avoid them.
This advice seemed rather anemic to me and did not resonate with anything I had ever heard of. Nonetheless, within a week or two of avoiding sodas, her hair returned to normal. The problem recurred if she had sodas or other sugary foods for several days in a row. The rapid effect suggests that the problem was not in the hair shaft but in the scalp. |
J. E. Williams, O.M.D.
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 All three schools of medicine (Western, Chinese, and naturopathic) acknowledge the same symptoms; however, each system has a different perspective concerning the cause.
In chinese medicine, it is the changing seasons and the colder winds that cause an imbalance in the person's energy state, leading to the activation of defensive mechanisms that attempt to expel the pathogenic influence from the surface of the body. |
Gabriel Cousens, M.D.
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 The healthy practice of eating with the seasons is well-known in chinese medicine also. In the Ayurvedic system, the change of seasons is a time of significant dosha imbalance. The peak energy change times are the equinoxes on March 21 or 22 and September 21 or 22, and the solstices on June 21 or 22 and December 21 or 22. During these transition times when the natural energies are in the extremes, it is beneficial to eat lightly and be particularly careful to follow a balanced, harmonious lifestyle.
Fall is usually a time of cooling temperatures and increased wind. |
Michael Tierra
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| Herbs growing in high, dry desert regions tend to be of more benefit to the spleen and pancreas because they would help the traditional function of the spleen-pancreas according to chinese medicine, to transform moisture in the body.
4. Herbs growing in fertile, nitrogenous soil would be of more benefit for the digestion and assimilation. Also herbs whose job is to fix nitrogen in the soil, including the leguminous plants such as clover and alfalfa, would help in our metabolism of proteins and cell formation.
5. |
| I decided that this particular "Baja" chaparral was especially good for diseases involving the liver because of the traditional relationship in chinese medicine between the wind and the liver.
Other considerations I have noted for various reasons are as follows:
1. Herbs growing on the north side of a mountain are more tonifying and strengthening because of the increased power and stamina they must develop in order to survive in a more difficult growing area.
2. Herbs growing in lowlands or near water are more beneficial for urinary diseases.
3. |
| Also recognizing the need for accrediting herbalists in chinese medicine, the NCCAOM (National Certification Commission for Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine) several years ago created a national examination and licensing for those demonstrating expertise in Chinese herbalism. While recognition from such organizations is vital and necessary at this time for all types of herbalists, it is not without controversy. These are only some of the issues facing herbalists at this time. |
Michael Tierra, L.Ac, O.M.D.
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 Since then, 1 have been a clinical practitioner and devoted lifetime student of traditional chinese medicine.
Many of my Western herbalist colleagues, knowing that I had learned a great deal about Western herbs and Native American plants in my early studies, have asked me why I have focused so much of my attention on an ethnic healing system that is so culturally distant from my own and relies on plants and other materials from animals and minerals from distant shores. |
Michael Tierra
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| It is generally used in chinese medicine to soften any hard lumps or tumors. It is rich in polysaccharides, which have known anticancer properties. It also is able to inhibit the growth hormone of tumors. |
the Editors of FC&A Medical Publishing
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 According to folklore, guava has been used in chinese medicine to treat diabetes for a very long time. And now, a recent study proves that it could lower blood sugar. The effect wasn't as potent as chlorpropamide and metformin, drugs commonly used to lower blood sugar. Nevertheless, it may be a natural way to help treat or prevent diabetes.
Pantry pointers
Ever seen a guava? This exotic fruit has a thin, light yellow or slightly greenish skin. When buying guava, look for ones that "give" to gentle pressure. But keep in mind that ripe guava bruises easily, so handle with care. |
Alan Keith Tillotson, Ph.D., A.H.G., D.Ay.
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| Traditional chinese medicine offers some insights into the treatment of prostate problems. In simple terms, a TCM doctor would write a prescription based on the concept that there is both heat (inflammation) and dampness (swelling) in the prostate, restricting the flow of urine. There may also be a deficiency condition weakening the kidneys. A BPH formula can be constructed from the following lists of herbs. With 4:1 concentrated granules, the dose would be 6 to 9 grams per day. |
Jean Carper
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 Early chinese medicine recommended tea leaves (Camellia sinensis), from which the anti-asthmatic drug theophylline was derived in 1888. Ancient Greek and Roman physicians called for pungent foods like garlic, pepper, cinnamon and vinegar to treat asthma. The famous medieval philosopher-physician Moses Mai-monides wrote an entire book, Treatise on Asthma, in which he recommended freshwater fish, fennel, parsley, mint, watercress, fenugreek, radishes, figs, quinces, raisins, wine and barley porridge to treat asthma. |
Michael Tierra, L.Ac, O.M.D.
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| The codification of the knowledge and wisdom of traditional chinese medicine (TCM) evolved from the socialist and naturalist philosophies of Confucianism and Taoism as a tempering reaction to a prolonged period of feudal strife called the Warring States (481-221 b.c.).
There are several philosophies that are central to the practice of TCM. The philosophy of yin-yang dates back to somewhere between 1000 and 700 b.c. and represents opposite but complementary forces that exist throughout the universe. |
| In life-threatening cases or conditions that show no favorable response to natural therapies, the inexperienced person should refer patients, whenever possible, to a qualified traditional chinese medicine practitioner or a Western medical doctor for further guidance. In all appropriate cases, treatment should first involve the simplest, most noninvasive natural approach, dealing with diet, herbs, lifestyle and so forth.
In TCM, the diagnostic process involves assessing the patient on several levels.
Observation
Observing several aspects can provide a great deal of useful information.
1. |
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