How Do You Distinguish Different Chinese Herbs?
Herbal treatments are perhaps the most recognizable of the contemporary practice of traditional Chinese medicine. There are currently about 600 different herbs used almost exclusively in combination with one another to treat physical maladies ranging from hypertension to muscle soreness. Chinese medicine proponents believe that herbal treatments restore the body’s natural chemical balance. Follow these steps to learn more. Understand How Chinese Herbs Are Classified Step 1 Know the two major classification systems of Chinese herbs: temperature and taste properties. Step 2 Understand the principles of herb temperature. There are four different temperatures–hot, warm, cool and cold–that are used to restore balance to the body. For example, a cold or cool herb would be used to treat a fever, which makes the body too hot. Step 3 Learn to distinguish between the five taste properties of Chinese herbs: sour, bitter, sweet, spicy and salty. As with the temperature principles, different-tast
