Comprehensive Guide to Chinese Herbal Medicine

This book makes an assessment of many ailments using TCM (Traditional Chinese Medicine) theory, explains them in terms of organ function, stagnant Qi, meridian blocks, supportive Acupuncture points, and which herbs or herbal formulas should be taken, as well as contributing conditions like "moist damp Qi" (for lung issues). The list of ailments treated are not always physical, but even deals with "manic depressive psychosis". Many combinations of herbs are listed and explained. While I wonder just how exhaustive only 500 pages of regular (not small) type can be compared to the number of ailments that exist, the book is a good example of how various ailments are analyzed in TCM and how it synergizes with Acupuncture and other treatment modalities. It gives a good flavor of how the mind of a practitioner works in approaching healing an illness condition. The book is well written, has a good table of contents and an index, and many charts or lists. One word of caution, though, if you are new to TCM, the herbs listed are often hard to find in a regular herbal store. They are more common to China than here. However, with the advent of the internet, you can probably find them. TCM tends to work with formulas or herbal combinations, rather than single herbal remedies. The formulas are from 3 to 12 herbs. There are valuable comparison notes between TCM and western medicine which are useful. I found the book interesting to read in the sense that how an ailment is looked at is significantly different than western medicine and this other perspective can offer alternative approaches. For instance, I found that treating "moist damp qi" when having a certain lung condition (with warming herbs) was more helpful than trying to match symptoms with a western medical disease picture. Even though I could not find the exact Chinese Herbs mentioned, I was able to find equivalents (having said this, I would recommend visiting a skilled healer for serious conditions).

"A Comprehensive Guide to Chinese Herbal Medicine" may not be the best herbal guide available to the TCM student, but it is definitely the most comprehensive guide available at this affordable of a price!Ze-Lin and Mei-Fang Chen, MDs, have done a very good job at breaking down the key concepts of Chinese Herbal Medicine, herbal information, and methods of treatment for various conditions (in Eastern & Western terms of diagnosis), and at making them relatively understandable to even the non-TCM student/practitioner. Material covered includes:- The Causal Differentiation of Conformations and Their Treatment.- Conformation Differentiation and Treatment According to the Eight Guiding Principles.- The Differentiation of Visceral Conformations and Their Treatment with Herbs and Formulas.- Differentiation and Treatment of Common Conformations.- Differentiation of Conformations and Prescriptions for Common Diseases (Western Diagnoses).- Surgical and Skin Diseases- Gynecological DisordersThis is one of the few Chinese Herbal Medicine books available to the general public that doesn't limit its assessment and treatment information to the five elements, like many other popular books on the subject have done. This is very useful, as Chinese Medicine cannot, and should not, rely solely on one approach or method to treatment. The scope and breadth of material covered, and the low price tag, make this text one of the better books available to the general public on Chinese Herbal Medicine, and a worth while purchase for anyone interested in the subject!