In China, the names of herbal medicines are as much a part of the language as aspirin and cough medicine are a part of our own.  In fact, most Americans are already familiar with many of these herbs, as they are naturally prepared foods in our diet.  Examples of food related herbs include: 

                   Foods:                                     Spices:                              Food Plant:
                 -Licorice                                  -Cinnamon                        -Apricot seeds
                 -Sesame seeds                       -Ginger                                -Corn Silk     
                 -Wheat grains                        -Peppermint                     -Tangerine Peel 

Chinese herbal medicine treats health issues ranging from insomnia to fertility to migraines.  Naturally occurring in nature, these fruits, seeds, plants, etc. have proven as highly effective and safe healing instruments for millions of patients,  for thousands of years.  Herbal medicine can be used as either a compliment to other healing modalities or as an individual, self-reliant strategy.     

Today, many formulas for pharmaceutical drugs are based on the isolation of the active ingredient in naturally occurring herbs.  This isolation creates a much more specific and much more powerful agent.  The risk to these highly focused and exponentially heightened concentrations is that they also present with more powerful side effects than the herb itself.  

At The Acupuncture Advantage of Hingham, herbal prescriptions are for "formula's" or "herbal combinations", which are designed specificly to each patients' unique constitutional physiology, as well as the manifesting symptoms.  Minor adjustments are then made as symptoms change and the healing process unfolds.  An advantage to herbal medicine is it's ability to aid the body in its' corrective course.  

A favorite maxim is, "I would rather be approximately right than precisely wrong".  As an herbalist, I look for subtle changes to the patients' condition to further tailor prescriptions.   

In conjunction with a proper individualized diet, herbs pave a great road to better health.  Please contact us if you have questions or seek more information regarding Chinese herbs.