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Safety and Chinese Herbs

Chinese herbology is a vast topic. What you have before you is an attempt to distill this body of knowledge down to the most essential basic concepts for the layperson. Questions are frequently asked about particular ingredients. It might seem that a simple list of herbs and their actions would suffice. However, this would be a very distorted view of the components of a balanced formula. As with other aspects of Oriental medicine, some background information will hopefully lead to a fuller understanding.

A well-designed herbal remedy is much more than a listing of individual ingredients. The synthesis between ingredients is a very large consideration. When separate elements or substances are combined, the whole is a new and higher form. As systems of the body have very definite relationships with each other and cannot be separated, so the relationship between the ingredients in an herbal formulation is of extreme importance. The blend acts differently from the effects of the individual herbs. Formulations are part of the magic.

Oriental medicine seems to thrive on recognizing the relationships between formula ingredients. There is a hierarchy of ingredients in a balanced Chinese herbal formula. Imperial ingredients constitute the major active herbs that bring about the desired effects of the formula. Next in the hierarchy are ministerial ingredients designed to support the imperial actions and to counter or ameliorate any toxic or harsh effects. Helper or servant herbs follow and are designed to smooth the effects of the entire formula.

The result is that Chinese formulas work with a variety of complex systems. This trait often makes them an effective adjunct for hard-to-treat diseases that the magic bullets of Western medicinals often miss completely. This would also explain why OHCO does not make medical claims. The list would be too long. The herbs are the catalysts and it's the body that does the work. Herbs can restore, nourish, or move stagnant energy. When that happens who can predict all the wonderful things that will fall into place.

This website contains discussions of some of the single ingredients that are found in OHCO's formulas. New herb descriptions will be added all the time. The interested reader is introduced to the herb and how it fits into any given formula hierarchy. Misinformation that may exist in relation to several other herbs that are not in our formulas is hopefully dispelled. This educational collection will expand with time.