Herbal formulas provide the basis for treatment in herbal medicine. They are made from the skillful and precise combination of single herbs, each of which plays a unique role in the formula. The primary herbs target a particular ailment or imbalance; the secondary herbs synergistically interact with them to enhance their healing effect, to nourish and strengthen the individual’s overall health, and to offset any unwanted effects. In addition, formulas can be adapted, by adding or subtracting specific herbs, or by adjusting dosages, to match an individual’s special health needs. Again, we encourage you to work with a traditional Oriental Medicine practitioner when you begin using herbal formulas. www.abcnaturalsupply.com

Using Chinese Herbal Formulas: Introduction To 55 Healing Herbal Formulas

Herbal formulas provide the basis for treatment in herbal medicine. They are made from the skillful and precise combination of single herbs, each of which plays a unique role in the formula. The primary herbs target a particular ailment or imbalance; the secondary herbs synergistically interact with them to enhance their healing effect, to nourish and strengthen the individual’s overall health, and to offset any unwanted effects. In addition, formulas can be adapted, by adding or subtracting specific herbs, or by adjusting dosages, to match an individual’s special health needs. Again, we encourage you to work with a traditional Oriental Medicine practitioner when you begin using herbal formulas. Visit www.ABCnatualsupply.com

How Formulas Are Dispensed And Used

Herbal formulas are usually suggested, and frequently dispensed, by the practitioner. Alternatively, the patient may be given a formula by the practitioner and then referred to a herbal pharmacist or supplier. Herbal pharmacists and suppliers, such as www.ABCnatualsupply.com, either provide herbal formulations in standard patent forms, or they weigh, blend, and package the raw herbs or powders for the patient so that the herbs may be made into a tea or broth at home.

Patent Formulas

Many formulas – and almost all those listed on the www.ABCnatualsupply.com website under our section titled: “An Herbal Medicine Chest: 55 Frequently Used Healing Herbal Formulas” – are readily available in what are called Patent forms. These premixed standard herbal formulations are prepared and sold in a variety of forms:

Pills, Tablets, and/or Capsules taken orally at specific times throughout the day.
Powders and/or granules made into a tea or broth by adding boiling water and then drunk a cup at a time throughout the day.
Oils, Liniments, Creams, and Plasters applied externally to skin wounds, rashes, fractures, and inflammations.
Tinctures or Liqueurs (liquid formulations of herbs steeped in wine or another form of alcohol) drunk as fortifying tonics during the day. (The alcohol content may be evaporated before drinking and allowing it to steep for a few minutes).
Herbal Porridges (teas or herbal granular formulations mixed in a base of rice and/or millet) cooked on the stovetop like oatmeal and then eaten as a breakfast cereal (or as a snack throughout the day).

Either your practitioner or the instructions that come with the patent formula itself will provide you with dosage information.

Teas

You may also make your own medicinal teas from the herbal formulas provided in our section titled: “An Herbal Medicine Chest: 55 Healing Herbal Formulas”. The herb quantities, given in grams, will make a one-day’s supply of tea. Prepare only one day’s supply at a time. If your practitioner has not given you prepackaged daily supplies of the formulation, an Herbal Pharmacy can weigh, blend, prepackage, and label the herbs for you. Then store the herbs in a cool dry place until you are ready to use them.

To prepare an herbal tea from raw herbs:

In a large glass, ceramic, or stainless steel pot with lid, add two quarts of pure spring or distilled water and the herbs.
Bring the mixture to a boil, then lower, heat, cover the pot, and simmer for twenty to forty minutes – until herbal mixture is about one half its original volume. If you are using any aromatic herbs in your formula add them to the pot during the last five minutes of cooking.
Remove mixture from heat and strain the liquid through a stainless steel sieve (a tea strainer also works well) into a clean bowl, jar, or pitcher; reserve and set aside liquid.
Place the herb dregs back into the pot and add 1 fresh quart of pure spring or distilled water.
Bring the mixture to a boil again, then lower heat, cover the pot, and simmer for bout twenty minutes, or until liquid is reduced to about three cups (twenty-four ounces)
Remove mixture from heat and again strain through a stainless steel sieve, adding the new liquid to the first reserved batch. You should have about one and a half to two quarts of tea. Discard the herb dregs, or add them to your compost pile. The tea may be stored in your refrigerator.
Drink a large cup of the herbal tea, warm, three times a day on an empty stomach, one half hour before meals. Before a scheduled dose, remove the tea from the refrigerator and let it stand at room temperature for about one half hour. Then briefly warm the tea on the stovetop or by adding a few teaspoons of boiling water. Never microwave an herbal tea.

The fifty-five formulas are among the finest, most famous, and most frequently used in Oriental Medicine’s healing pharmacopoeia. Almost all are available in patent forms, and thus they are readily available from www.ABCnatualsupply.com or your traditional practitioner.

We have listed the formulas numerically in alphabetical order by their most common English or Chinese name.