Robert S. McCaleb, Evelyn Leigh, and Krista Morien
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 Practitioners of traditional chinese medicine have used hawthorn berries for improving digestion and for treating dyspepsia (indigestion), diarrhea, lack of milk secretion, heart pain, and abdominal distress due to food stagnation.3'4 In both Europe and China, hawthorn berries have been eaten as a food and were made into wines and jellies. Native Americans used their local hawthorn species for food as well as for the treatment of rheumatism and stomach and bladder problems. |
Larry Trivieri, Jr.
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 Common varieties are Oriental ginseng (Panax ginseng), American ginseng (Panax quinquefolius), and Siberian ginseng (Eleutherococcus senticosus). In traditional chinese medicine, ginseng is used as a general tonic to improve stamina during exercise, sharpen mental abilities, and relieve fatigue. Research indicates that ginseng may be able to raise basal metabolic rates as well. Ginseng should not be abused, however, as serious side effects can occur, including headaches, skin problems, and other reactions. |
| See Ayurvedic Medicine, Qigong and Tai Chi, traditional chinese medicine, Yoga.
THE PURPOSE OF
MEDICINE: WAR OR REPAIR?
The thrust of modern conventional medicine can be described by the metaphor of war. Disease is considered an invasion by an enemy and treatment is aimed at developing "magic bullets" in the form of drugs and vaccines to eliminate that enemy. |
Annemarie Colbin
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 It means being genuinely cheerful, having a positive approach to life, seeing the good side of things, being able to laugh at ourselves and our foibles. In traditional chinese medicine, anger is related to imbal-anced energy in the liver; an angry outburst, chronic impatience, crankiness, and similar moods could be the expression of a congested liver. Conversely, the Chinese believe that allowing violent anger to be expressed regularly can injure that same organ.
6. precision in thought and action. |
Daniel B. Mowrey, Ph.D.
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 Journal of traditional chinese medicine, 2(4), 267, 1982
28. Boido, A, Sparatore, F, Biniecka, M. "N-substituted derivatives of rosmaricine." Studi Sassaresi, Sezione 2, (Italian), 53(5-6), 383-393, 1975.
29. Binding, G.J. & Moyle, A. About Kelp. Thorsons Publishers Ltd. Wellingborough, England, 1974.
30. Biard, J.F., Verbist, J.F., Boterff, J., Rages, G. & Lecocq, M.M. "Seaweeds of French Atlantic coast with antibacterial and antifungal compounds." Plant Medica, Supplement , 136-151, 1980.
31. Funayama, S., & Hikino, H. "Hypotensive principle of laminaria and allied seaweeds. |
| Preventive geriatrics: an overview from traditional chinese medicine.'' American Journal of Chinese Medicine, 10(1-4), 32-39, 1982.
3. Cheung, S.C. & Li, N.H. (eds) "Polygonum multiflorum Thumb." In Chinese Medicinal Herbs of Hong Kong, 1980.
4. Kam, J.K. "Mutagenic activity of Ho Shao Wu (Polygonum multiflorum Thunb)". American Journal of Chinese Medicine, 9(3), 213-215, 1981.
5. Atlas of Commonly Used Chinese Traditional Drugs, Revolutionary Committee of the Institute of Materia Medica, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, 1970. |
Richard Lucas
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 CHINESE ANALGESIC PLASTER
This plaster is manufactured in Kwangchow, China, and is prepared according to the dialectic therapeutics of traditional chinese medicine. It is used externally to produce a local analgesic effect for conditions such as muscle inflammation, bruises, sprains, neuralgia, rheumatic arthritis, and similar ailments.
The plaster is available in boxes of ten pieces, and in cans of one roll. It is used by cutting a piece to the desired size and applying it to the affected part. The pain-relieving effects are said to last for 24 hours. |
Bradley J. Willcox, D. Craig Willcox, and Makoto Suzuki
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 Roots from mugwort are used in traditional chinese medicine to treat neuroses, depression, irritability and restlessness, insomnia, and anxiety.
The evidence. More than 100 studies have been done on mugwort, many of them supporting its folk uses. One recent study supported mugwort's traditional role as a stomach protector, showing that it and similar plants reduced alcohol-induced stomach damage in rats by 47 to 76 percent.40 There are a few small studies to support mugwort's use in treating pruritus (itch) and atopic dermatitis, a type of psoriasis. |
Leo Galland
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 Fungal extracts are widely employed in traditional chinese medicine. Two fungi in particular, the mushrooms known by their Japanese names as shiitake (Lenti-nus edodes) and reishi (Ganoderma lucidum), contain complex sugars (polysaccharides) that increase natural killer cell activity and inhibit tumor growth in animals and in humans. Like Astragalus, shiitake and reishi are used in contemporary Chinese medicine as fu zheng remedies, which means they "support the normal," stimulating health rather than treating sickness. |
Lesley Tierra
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 With the rise of traditional chinese medicine in the West, it would be regrettable indeed that the very worthwhile principles of the macrobiotic diet, based on traditional grain-based diets from around the world, may eventually be overlooked because of what may ultimately be considered as "Ohsawa's fotiy!"
The intent of Ohsawa's macrobiotics was to formulate a complete cosmological system which integrated diet and health with cosmic philosophy. |
Sheldon Saul Hendler and David Rorvik
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 Black pepper has also been used in traditional chinese medicine to treat seizure disorders. A derivative of piperine, antiepilepsi-rine, has also been used in China to treat seizure disorders. Some recent research suggests that piperine may enhance the bioavailability of some drugs and nutritional substances.
ACTIONS AND PHARMACOLOGY
ACTIONS
Piperine may have bioavailability-enhancing activity for some nutritional substances and for some drugs. It has putative anti-inflammatory activity and may have activity in promoting digestive processes. |
Lesley Tierra
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| Therefore, it is helpful to know the special effects of each preparation as well as its advantages and disadvantages in order to select among them.
In traditional chinese medicine fire can be used to treat fire, water to treat water, and earth to treat earth. Thus, tinctures (alcohol is fiery) are especially effective for the blood and circulation, teas (water preparations) have a special effect, on the urinary system and on perspiration (causes sweating), and powders, tablets, capsules and pills (the herb itself or "earth") are especially beneficial for the digestive system (earth element). |
Dr. Julian Whitaker
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| Panax ginseng is used in traditional chinese medicine to enhance stamina and the capacity to cope with fatigue and stress. It is also used as a tonic for its revitalizing properties, especially after a long illness.
The source of Panax ginseng's adaptogenic properties are phytochemicals called ginsenosides. These help balance the hypothalamus, as well as the pituitary and adrendal glands, which are involved in the stress response. Ginsenosides have been shown to prevent free-radical damage and to enhance the immune response. |
Andrew L. Stoll
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 Although there is no clinical study demonstrating that gingerroot will reduce nausea from omega-3s, gingerroot has been used for centuries in traditional chinese medicine to treat gastrointestinal symptoms.
Strategies to reduce the fishy aftertaste with omega-3 supplements are similar to those used to reduce nausea, particularly that of taking smaller amounts of oil in each dose and using the highest-concentration, least-fishy-tasting supplement. |
Gale Maleskey
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 It's also been appreciated for its medicinal properties for thousands of years and employed by many cultures, including India's Ayurvedic medicine, traditional chinese medicine, and Western herbalism. People have used ginger to treat indigestion, nausea, gout, flu, fever, headache, and flatulence.
Good for the Gut
The medicinal part of ginger is the rhizome, an underground stem that most people mistakenly refer to as a root. In Chinese and Ayurvedic medicine, the rhizome has a long-standing reputation as a digestive aid. It is ground up and used in numerous Chinese herbal prescriptions. |
| Has been used in traditional chinese medicine to treat shortness of breath, weakness, colds and flu, night sweats, respiratory diseases, lingering diarrhea, uterine and rectal prolapse, boils, and sores.
Origin: Medicinal species grows only in Asia.
Cautions and possible side effects: Generally regarded as safe. a routine cold or flu can storm the weakened defenses and turn into a deadly infection.
The effectiveness of astragalus and the fu-zheng treatment was put to the test in a study of cancer patients undertaken at the M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston in the early 1980s. |
| Arming the Body
Astragalus has been used for centuries in fu-zheng therapy, an herbal treatment used by practitioners of traditional chinese medicine to promote or bolster the immune system. In trying to strengthen their patients' natural defense mechanisms, doctors of oriental medicine have even begun to use fu-zheng therapy to help treat cancer patients. They use astragalus to boost immune function during and after radiation or chemotherapy treatments.
When cancer invades your body, your immune system naturally weakens. |
Stephanie Beling
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 Medical anthropologist John Heinerman, in his Encyclopedia of Fruits, Vegetables, and Herbs, lists ten foods and two herbs that have been shown to be effective against diabetes—from blueberries, rich in the phytochemical called myrillin, to garlic and onions, so rich in infection-fighting substances called organosulfurs that they are seemingly omnipotent healing foods.* traditional chinese medicine also prescribes mushrooms, carrots, wheat bran, corn, and a tea made from dried guava leaves—in addition to garlic and onions—as diabetes fighters. |
| For thousands of years, for example, boiled rice preparations have been a treatment for infant diarrhea, while traditional chinese medicine prescribes rice for digestive disorders.
What newer research has made clear is the supranutritive phytochemical value of whole grains. Specifically, they are rich in the phenols, lignans, coumarins, phytosterols, and protease inhibitors.The phenols inhibit the enzymes that can mutate critical genes and cause cancer. The lignans are antioxidants, and they also appear to suppress cell mutation. |
Lesley Tierra
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| Other Energies
There are other qualities which affect the application of herbs. In traditional chinese medicine, all universal phenomena are delineated as Yin or Yang. These are broad terms which encompass specific characteristics, and they include hot and cold energies. In terms of herbs, Yang is defined as warm, energizing and circulating; Yin is defined as cool and moistening. An herb which is warming, gives energy and/or circulates, is Yang. An herb which is cooling and moistens any body fluids is Yin.
The Yin-Yang system encompasses other qualities besides hot-cold energies. |
Berkeley Holistic Health Center and Shepherd Bliss
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| Nor does traditional chinese medicine recognize the bacteria Streptococcus pneumoniae as a pathological cause of pneumonia, yet often it effectively treats the disease.
Chinese medicine also uses terminology that is strange to the Western ear. For example, the Chinese refer to certain diseases as being caused by "Dampness," "Heat," or "Spleen." Modern Western medicine does not recognize Dampness, yet can treat what Chinese medicine describes as Dampness of the Spleen. The perceptiveness of the two traditions reflect two different worlds, but both can heal the same body. |
Christian Ratsch
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 Similar uses of betel nuts can be found in traditional chinese medicine and in Cambodia. Malay magicians and poisoners use a mixture of betel nuts and opium (see Papaver somniferum) to poison and rob their victims.
In Iran, areca nuts are mixed with sugar and coriander and administered to induce labor (Hooper 1937, 86*).
Constituents
The seeds contain various alkaloids (0.3 to 0.6%) of a relatively simple chemical structure: 0.1 to 0.5% arecoline (primary alkaloid), as well as arecaine, arecaidine, arecolidine, guvacoline, iso-guvacine, and guvacine. |
| Uses as Medicine
The following species of aconites (chuan wu ton) are used in traditional chinese medicine and in Japanese kampo medicine (as cited in Wee and Keng 1992,16f.*; Schneebeli-Graf 1992, 55*): Aconitum carmichaelii Debeaux (chuan wu tou or bushi); also: var. wilsonii (Stapf ex Moltet) Munz (tsao wu tou) Aconitum chinense Sieb. et Zucc. Aconitum hemsleyanum E. Pritz Aconitum transsectum Diels Aconitum vulparia Rchb. ex Spreng. [syn. Aconitum lycoctonum auct. non. L.]
Only the dried rhizomes are used; they lose their potent toxicity during the drying process. |
| Lin Yutang
Weisheit des lachelnden Lebens [Wisdom of the Smiling Life] (i960)
Medicinal Use
Before tea began its triumphant march through the world as an agent of pleasure, it was used primarily for medicinal purposes. In traditional chinese medicine, the "foam of liquid jade" is regarded as an excellent panacea. It was first mentioned as a medicine in a Chinese herbal from the sixth century and was recommended particularly for people who slept too much (Leung 1995, 241 f.*). |
Schuyler W. Lininger, Jr. DC
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 Vitex should be taken for at least four cycles to determine efficacy.
In traditional chinese medicine, dong quai (p. 417) (Angelica sinensis) is often referred to as the "female ginseng." Dong quai helps promote normal hormone balance and is particularly useful for women experiencing premenstrual cramping and pain.4S Many women take 2-3 grams of dong quai capsules or tablets per day.
The medicinal use of false unicorn (p. |
| Vitex should be taken for at least four cycles to determine efficacy.
In traditional chinese medicine, Dong quai (p. 417), or Angelica sinensis, is often referred to as the "female ginseng." Dong quai helps promote normal hormone balance and is particularly useful for women experiencing premenstrual cramping and pain.32 Many doctors of natural medicine recommend 2 to 3 grams of dong quai capsules or tablets per day. Nonetheless, research has yet to link dong quai to a reduction in symptoms of fibrocystic disease. Are There Any Side Effects or Interactions? |
| The Chinese name buang qi translates as "yellow leader," referring to the yellow color of the root and its status as one of the most important tonic herbs. traditional chinese medicine used this herb for night sweats, deficiency of chi (for example: fatigue, weakness, and loss of appetite), and diarrhea.2
Active Constituents
Astragalus contains numerous components, including flavonoids, polysaccharides, triterpene glycosides (such as astragalosides I to VII), amino acids, and trace minerals.3 Preliminary test tube studies show that astragalus may help restore some immune (p. |
Gary Null
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 Jennifer Brett explains that traditional chinese medicine views cystitis as the end result of an accumulation of damp and heat in the bladder: "Often there is a weak flow of chi (energy) in the kidney and the spleen meridians. Weakness of spleen energy leads to the formation of damp in the body, which, in turn causes a stagnation of energy. As in nature, whenever anything builds up, there is friction. A stagnation of chi eventually leads to the development of heat, what we in the West interpret as cystitis.
"Spleen chi is easily injured through dietary indiscretion. |
Kenny Ausubel
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 Only about seventy formal clinical trials have been held on alternative practices, most of them relating to traditional chinese medicine.9)
Recognizing the problem, Gar Hildenbrand set about becoming an epidemiologist, a tedious and painstaking profession that fastidiously documents case histories to identify correct diagnoses, courses of treatment, and other factors that may influence the progress of disease or recovery. He compares epidemiology to prospecting. His work has since focused on documenting the Gerson therapy and designing credible testing methodologies. |
Gary Null
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| This root is a staple of traditional chinese medicine and can be found easily at herbal markets. It is best prepared in a decoction, simmering the root for 10 to 15 minutes, then straining while still hot.
AVENA has been a folk remedy for several hundred years as a general nerve tonic, for nervous exhaustion and certain kinds of mental disease, in the form of the fresh, undried oat plant—Avena sativa—harvested at the milky stage (a seed will give off a drop of milky juice when squeezed). |
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