Some first steps in learning to use herbs in TCM

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When I go into specific herbs in posts, I sometimes go into some of the

finer points of preferring one herb over a similar one. This can be

confusing to people new to herbalism.

 

One good first step to start with in learning to use herbs in TCM is to

consider the thermal energy of the herb and the condition of the individual

taking the herb. In general, herbs with warming energy (Hot or Warm) are

used to treat Cold conditions and people who are too Cold. Herbs with

cooling energy (Cold or Cool) are used to treat Hot conditions and people

who are too Hot. Herbs with Neutral thermal energy won't aggravation either

Hot or Cold conditions.

 

In general, the herbs with milder thermal energy (Cool or Warm) are used

with chronic conditions or people who are too weak to tolerate herbs with

more extreme thermal energy. In general, the herbs with Hot or Cold energy

are used to treat acute conditions in people who basically are healthy

overall and have reserves of strenght and endurance. There are exceptions,

especially when you learn to mix formulas. One or two herbs with Hot or Cold

energy may be included as long as the overall thermal energy of the formula

averages out to closer to Warm or Cool than to Hot or Cold.

 

A good second step in learning to use herbs is to consider if the herb is

tonifying (adding/ building up Qi, Blood, Yin, or Yang) or dispersing

(taking away, getting rid of) in nature. Tonifying herbs are used to treat

Deficiency conditions. The person is having problems because there's not

enough Qi, proper Blood, Yin, and/or Yang, and these need to be added.

Herbs which are dispersing in nature are used to get rid of an Excess - like

a Pernicious Evil (Cold, Heat, Dampness, Wind, Fire). For example, Rml

(Ramulus - twig of) Cinnamomi, aka cinnamon twigs, aka Gui Zhi, is

classified as an herb that Relieves Wind Chill. It " warms and disperses

Cold in the Exterior, the meridians, and muscles. " (Wicke, vol. 2, p. 29).

 

Knowing if an herb is tonifying or dispersing in nature and if a condition

calls for tonifying or dispersing can be critical. Many of the dispersing

herbs - like Hb Ephedrae (Ma Huang) which is very strongly dispersing - can

deplete the body of Qi. This is not a good herb to use in people who

already are Qi Deficient. It disperses what little Qi they have. A much

safer herb to use when both Deficiency and Exterior Wind Chill are present

is Rml Cinnamomi. In fact, cinnamon twigs are recommended in cases of

Exterior Deficiency Cold. (Yes, there is such a thing. Most cases of

Exterior Cold are Exterior Excess Cold, but there is such a thing as

Exterior Deficiency Cold. This is Exterior Cold which is affecting the

person because there's an underlying Qi and/or Blood Deficiency that makes

the person vulnerable to cold. In cases of Exterior Excess Cold the person

is being affected primarily because it's too cold.)

 

A general rule is that one takes care of Excess before Deficiency. In many

cases if one tried to treat the Deficiency first, it would make the Excess

worse. This is why tonic herbs and formulas usually are stopped when a

person is coming down with a cold or the flu. The tonic herbs can strengthen

the Evil more than the person. In real life you'll run into a lot of

situations where it's best to tonify and disperse at the same time. There

are some rules for how to go about this, but they're beyond the scope of a

post for those just beginning to learn to use herbs.

 

Going hand-in-hand with considering the thermal properties of herbs and

rather they are tonifying or dispersing in nature is to review the posts on

the 8 Principal Patterns, in particular Heat/ Cold and Excess/ Deficiency,

and Yang/ Yin. The other pair of the 8 Principal Patterns is

Exterior/Interior.

 

Note: The properties and uses of cinnamon twigs are different from those of

cinnamon bark. You'll run across this with some herbs. One part of the

plant will have properties different from another. This is why

pharmaceutical names of herbs have those prefixes like Rml (Ramulus - twig),

Cx (Cortex - bark), Hb (Herba - herb, above ground part), Rx (Radix - root)

before the name of the herb. So there won't be any mistakes as to what part

of the plant has the properties that are needed. In the case of Rml

Cinnamomi and Cx Cinnamomi, their properties are at least similar. The

twigs have Warm energy and are used to Relieve External Wind Chill; the bark

is Hot and is used to Warm the Interior. But some parts of other plants can

have opposite properties. For example, Hb Ephedrae (the light green

evergreen-like needles - Ma Huang) and Rx Ephedrae (the roots - Ma Huang

Gen) have almost opposite properties. Hb Ephedrae causes sweating, and is

called for in conditions where the person needs to sweat. In contrast, Rx

Ephedrae is Astringent. It stops a person from sweating. Getting these two

mixed up is a major, major mistake that can make a person a whole lot sicker

and even kill. Imagine giving Hb Ephedrae to a person who is severely Qi

Deficient (sweating disperses Qi) or who has lost a lot of Blood and/or is

severely Yin Deficient and desperately needs to conserve body fluids. Or,

imagine giving Rx Ephedrae which shuts down sweating to a person who is in

the stage of the common cold or flu where s/he needs to sweat in order to

keep Heat from getting trapped in the Interior and transforming into the

Fire of pneumonia. Or to a person with some Dampness problems. Yep, getting

these two mixed up can be a major, major mistake.

 

Victoria

 

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