Edible Herbs for Nutrition
A balanced Traditional Chinese Medicine diet includes having food with varied flavours, energies, and organic actions. One must take in the right composition of flavours in the food. Any excess or deficient intake could lead to many other problems in the body. The varied taste, colour and texture of different herbs helps in bringing a qi balance throughout the body. Below are brief functions of some of the edible herbs:
- Sweet herbs: Generally used to tonify qi (air/energy etc) and moderating qi flow
- Sour herbs: Preserve and maintain the flow of qi(astringent)
- Bitter herbs: These clear the heat in the body and unblock the stagnation of qi
- Acrid herbs: Are used to uplift qi, guiding qi from internal to superficial and adapting to the changing environment
- Salty herbs: Purifies, have a softening effect, hardening and descending qi throughout body
The combination of herbs does the work of curing the patient’s illness and boosts the immunity. A patient’s herb is formed by the combination of chief herb, deputy herb and assistant herb which carries out their functions to treat the patient’s abnormality.
Each herb in its required composition play significant roles in treating patient’s abnormalities. Below the roles played by herbs:
- Chief Herb: The herb addressing major concern for patient’s illness, contains more the particular herb in higher composition in comparison to others
- Deputy Herb: Is responsible in assisting the chief herb in its action
- Assistant Herb: Reinforces the effects of chief hers also involved in performing secondary functions
- Guiding Herb: It guides the herb to which organ it has to treat
Bibliography
Shefi, B. S. a. E., Unknown. How Stuff Works. [Online]
Available at: https://health.howstuffworks.com/wellness/natural-medicine/chinese/traditionalchinese-herbal-medicine.htm [Accessed 11 August 2020].
Available at: https://health.howstuffworks.com/wellness/natural-medicine/chinese/traditionalchinese-herbal-medicine.htm [Accessed 11 August 2020].