The Pharmacopoeia
In China, the pharmacopoeia is the main tool after dietetics.
Over the past 3,000 years, Chinese medicine has accumulated an immense amount of information about plants and their actions on the body and mind. More than 400 are used fairly commonly in treatments.
It is made up of plants, minerals, mushrooms and animal extracts. As the latter is the subject of major controversy and affects the survival of other living species, the European laboratories I work with only provide substances authorised by European laws.
Around 50 plants commonly used in Traditional Chinese Medicine are familiar to us in Europe, such as radishes, mushrooms, mint, reggalis, Salvia, ginger, cardamom, cinnamom… however others are little or not known.
Benefits of Chinese pharmacopoeia?
The biggest difference between Western and Chinese medicine is on what we focus on.
Where Western medicine mostly fight or correct a symptome, Chinese medicine look for the cause of unbalance.
An image I like is: Western medicine is like a firefighter (générally speaking), he will stop emergencies, fire, strokes, accidents, bacterias, viruses…where chinese medicine is like a plumber. He looks for leaks, overpressures, underpressure, mud, rusty joins…
How Chinese Herbal Medicines Work
Like every basic situation , there are side of the coin.
The herbs will help the body to stay a unhospitable environnement for the outside bacterias, viruses that tries to enter the body. And a good environement for our good symbiotic bacteria that help us live and digest. If the body get out of balance (more acide in some cases), it become a hospitable environment for outside harful bacterias and viruses.
What to expect when taking Chinese herbal medicine?
During your first appointment, I will ask questions about a detailed health history, including past and current illnesses. I’ll also ask you questions about different aspects of your life : how you sleep, what you eat, how you go to the toilet, if you have pains, how are your eyes and ears, in what emotions you are on the days of the consultation.
I’ll also ask you to show me your tongue and I’ll “listen to “your pulse.
Chinese herbs are an important part of Chinese holistic therapy..
My procedure to advise you Chinese herbal medicine?
I offer the client prepared formulas. According to their needs, preparations of medicinal plants at a cost of (10€ for 10 days)
If your conditions need it, I’ll prescribe a suitable and personalised formula that will be ordered to a french laboratory : la Calebasse verte.
For me, pharmacopoeia is the most powerful tool of Chinese medicine.