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updated 2001-03-04 |
Introduction to Chinese herbologyHow to use herbs safely and avoid common mistakes Sometimes referred to as traditional Chinese medicine or TCM, the traditional Chinese herbal sciences are a distinct, independently recognized body of knowledge from acupuncture, with a 2000-year history of continual evolution and refinement. Because the term "traditional Chinese medicine" includes a variety of techniques including acupuncture, we refer to the Chinese system of growing, processing, and clinical usage of herbs as the Chinese herbal sciences.
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To understand how Chinese herbal methods differ from allopathic medicine and western approaches to clinical herbology, consider the following examples:
To go beyond herbal hype, explore RMHI's website to find the answers to the preceding problems, and discover ways to understand the often conflicting and technical information about herbs. The following is an article we originally wrote for the general public to explain some of the pitfalls in choosing herbs (i.e., side effects), and it discusses the scientific and conceptual differences between allopathic medicine and TCM herbology: Chinese herbal science provides a means for maintaining and improving health distinct in methods and philosophy from the Western medical tradition, which focuses on biological tissue pathology. Instead, Chinese herbal science integrates the individual's sensations and perceptions with the herbalist's perceptions and experience to arrive at common-sense solutions. Rather than consider only isolated bits of medical data or individual symptoms, precise clinical rules and principles lead to herbal strategies based on whole-body criteria. Chinese herbal science continually strives to improve how herbal formulas are chosen and developed, so that these formulas will harmonize important physiological functions without side effects. Chinese herbology is one of the most sophisticated clinical systems in the world for analyzing patterns of symptoms and other clinical indicators with repeatability and consistency. The modern Chinese herbal sciences include a range of subject areas including clinical herbology and research, pharmacognosy, botany, agronomy and plant taxonomy. China, Japan, and other Asian countries actively support research and development of these fields, for the ultimate benefit of TCM herbalists and their clients worldwide.
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