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After
diagnosing a pattern of disharmony and administering acupuncture treatments, a
doctor of TCM often writes an herbal formula from over a thousand common herbal
formulas or from more effective traditional family formulas. Herbal medicine has
a long history in the Orient. The first Chinese material, the Shen-Nung Herbal
Classic, was begun during the Stone Age and completed in the later part of the
5th century B.C., from which some important formulas originated.
In this
herbal classic, herbs are categorized into three groups. The first group is
called “food herbs” which are eaten as part of one’s diet for general
fortification, prevention and maintenance. The other two groups are called
“medicinal herbs” which are dispensed to each patient as an individual formula
based on one’s constitution, environment and medical condition.
Medicinal
herbal therapy works in concert with acupuncture by providing the nourishing
support for the energetic “re-programming” and “re-balancing” efforts of
acupuncture. |