How do Chinese herbal medicines differ from western herbs or pharmaceuticals?
Western Herbal Medicine tends to use one or two herbs to treat just a specific symptom. Chinese Herbal formula contain as many as 20 different herbs. Chinese herbs are selected to work synergistically to treat the whole person. In Chinese Medicine, we assess a person’s entire constitution (the health of their whole body) and treat the root (or cause) of a health concern along with a branch (or the symptoms) of that health concern. It is in this way that we are able to treat a person’s whole body and mind, rather than just a symptom.Western pharmaceuticals typically address one symptom or condition as a whole. They do not address the root cause of the problem or multiple symptoms concurrently. More often than not, the synthetic drugs you may take will cause side effects or adverse reactions. These side effects or adverse reactions are then treated with more drugs. And if your primary symptoms were unsuccessfully treated, a higher dosage or another synthetic drug is typically prescribed.
