HERBAL MEDICINE
The magic of Chinese Herbal Medicine is that it not only works but there are also several thousands of years of empirical data showing us just how powerful nature can be.
How does Chinese Herbal Medicine work?
The magic of Chinese herbal medicine is that it not only works but there are also several thousands of years of empirical data proving that it does. In addition, the herbs and herbal formulas work synergistically with the body rather than against it. Modern medicine is amazing, don't get me wrong. However, Western medicine places its emphasis on treating disease after an illness, whereas Chinese herbal medicine can do both, treat the disease and strengthen the body, promoting health, wellness, and longevity.
Now, is there a time and place for Western medications? Absolutely. Could some conditions that we have come to rely on heavily with strong medications be dealt with first with Chinese herbal medicine? Maybe so. Can Western and Eastern medication often be used together? Yes. This is why working with a trained Chinese herbalist is not only the safest choice, it also takes all the guesswork out of trying to figure out how to pick and choose from over 300 different herbal medicines.
What makes Chinese herbal medicines unique and awesome?
Chinese herbal medicines treat the underlying causes of illness rather than individual symptoms. When the individual herbs, there are hundreds, are combined just right, they can do amazing things. Most recently Chinese herbal medicine took center stage in many parts of the world during Covid. Many peer-reviewed medical journals showed the clinical effectiveness of Chinese herbal medicine against SARs-Cov-2 or the virus that leads to Covid. In fact, in Sichuan province, a city in China, its people were treated with a Chinese herbal formula called, Qing fei pai du tang.
The results were considerable. After 9 days of treatment with Qingfei Paidu decoction, the total effective rate was 92.09%, the recovery rate was 41.13%, and the significant efficacy rate was 26.92% (Wang et al., 2020). Pretty amazing, right? This was just one of the Chinese herbal formulas many countries around the world were and continue using to fight Covid.
Chinese herbal medicine, like many other herbal and natural medicines we have at our disposal work harmoniously with the body. What do I mean by that? For instance, there are several very powerful antibacterial herbs we routinely use when creating certain formulas. The beauty of using herbs as opposed to Western antibiotics is; number one, the body does not build resistance to the efficacy of the herbs, number two; the bad bacteria doesn't become resistant to the herbs, number 3, side effects from the herbal medicines are often very mild and stop once the patient stops taking the formula.
Is Chinese herbal medicine going to work every time? No, but does Western medicine work every time either? What we do know is that the Chinese herbal system is the most fully developed, researched, and utilized herbal system in the world.
Does anyone else know how amazing this stuff is?
Well, an estimated three-quarters of the world’s population, especially those in developing countries, rely on herbal medicine. Many drugs that we are familiar with in the West began as herbal medicine. More and more people around the world are turning to herbal medicine to supplement and replace certain drugs and symptoms.
Studies have shown that as much as 40% of all American adults use herbal products, which equates to tens of billions each year, and that figure is growing.
Herbal medicine treats a wide range of health conditions, including:
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Mental-emotional conditions
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Insomnia
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Anxiety
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Depression
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Autoimmune diseases
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Gynecological
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Viral and Bacteria diseases
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Gastrointestinal
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Crohn's
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IBS
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Leaky gut
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Allergies
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Pain
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Migraines
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This list could go on forever, you get the idea…
Herbs are magic, right?
I think one of the coolest things that I have seen as a practitioner is constantly being blown away at how, Doctors, thousands of years ago knew that certain herbs and herbal formulas could effectively treat the conditions of that time period. Today, with advanced molecular medicine at our disposal, we are able to now see why these herbs that have been passed down through the millennia were and remain so successful. The amount of antiviral, or antibacterial constituents found within some plants kept untold numbers of people alive during viral outbreaks and plagues throughout history in China.
The longevity herbs and mushrooms coveted by the Daoist priests are now used to combat cancer and build immunity. The simple configuration of a few select herbs can calm anxiety and lift spirits. This isn't magic, it’s science. 3,000 years of empirical science to be exact. The magic is we still have the books and formulas from which to learn, create, and study from.
Some old man gave me a bag of leaves and sticks to cook. He also sold me a Mogwai that I couldn’t feed after midnight.
When I say herbs to my patients that is often the reaction. Sitting over a boiling cauldron of water adding bark and lizard tails, then drinking out of a wooden bowl, two times a day. Science and technology to the rescue! As a Chinese Master herbalist, I could give you a bag of sticks, leaves, and berries to put into a boiling cauldron on your stove. The issue that comes up is patient compliance. Namely, would a patient go through the process of cooking loose herbs like this, several times a week, while juggling everything else in their life?
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This is why I choose to use concentrated herbal powders that are found heavily in other parts of East Asia. The beauty is that all of those, sticks, bark, and berries are cooked at a state-of-the-art herbal pharmaceutical manufacturing facility. Then dehydrated, concentrated, packaged, and shipped. The only thing that my patients need to do is measure out the correct dose and add hot water. Thousands of years of toiling to find the right herbs, the right formula, and heating up your cauldron, boiled down, to a few seconds of work. See, easy. Patient compliance goes through the roof and my patients get better and you still get to keep the Mogwai.
Dr. B's Wellness Clinic
727-202-0227
6435 Central Ave.
St. Pete, FL 33710
Mon - Fri: 10 am - 6 pm
​​Saturday: 10 am - 6 pm
​Sunday: Closed