Dr. Chiu – Acupuncture Information

What are “Di Dao” medicinal herbs?

The term “Di Dao” literally means “down to earth,” and is understood as the original source of the best growth. Certain areas of China are known for their special growing conditions. Herbs from these areas are considered to be superior in potency and effectiveness because the quality of the soil, the weather, and the environment are particularly suitable for the growth of that particular species. “Di Dao” medicinal herbs have the best functions.

What causes disease in Traditional Chinese Medicine theory?

The causes of disease in Chinese medicine are categorized into three pathological components:

External Diseases
These are caused by bacteria, viruses, and unusual weather changes invading the surface of the body.

Internal Diseases
These are caused by emotional distress, constitutional weakness, toxins, physical stress, and exhaustion.

Non-external and non-internal diseases
These can be due to improper food intake, irregular diet, traumatic injuries, and insect or animal bites.

What happens during disease in the human body?

The major occurrence is “Yin and Yang” imbalance, or “Qi” irregularity.

How does Acupuncture and Chinese Herbs heal the body?

Generally speaking, they directly regulate the “Yin and Yang” to become balanced, and cause the “Qi” to flow well. The result is healing of the body. Acupuncture is a healing art that involves the stimulation of specific points on the body. It has the effect of normalizing physiological function, modifying the perception of pain, and treating certain diseases or dysfunctions of the body.

What is “Yin and Yang?”

Yin and Yang concepts can be applied to everything, but when applying the theory of Yin and Yang to health issues or body function, we are referring to the following definitions:

Yin usually represents formed matter, passivity, or the static condition. It includes blood, fluids, tissues, and organs.

Yang often represents formless action, vitality, and potentiality. It represents the systemic function of body, active matter, and Qi.

It is essential to understand that all things of this world are not lined up in two isolated rows of Yin or Yang, without interaction and intercommunication. In fact, there is a second rule that must be taken into account: within Yin there is Yang, and within Yang there is Yin.

We are using Yin and Yang as a tool to facilitate the description and analysis. It is essential to note that Yin and Yang are not separate from each other. In fact, everything is both Yin and Yang, only in varying amounts. For example, we can say that water relates more to Yin than to Yang but it is, in fact, both Yin and Yang. The Yin aspect is its passive state or fluidity, whereas the Yang aspect is its activity or the action of water in the process of transforming into vapor.

There are millions of pairs of Yin and Yang existing in our body; every element, every cell, every organ, every system has its pair of Yin and Yang. The total of all of these micro-Yin and Yang are manifested as the macro-Yin and Yang of our health. They intercommunicate, interact, and strike a dynamic balance to achieve a normal well-being.

What is the Nature of Herbs – “Four Qi”?

Traditional Chinese Medicine believes that every herb has a particular nature. The nature is characterized as either cold, hot warm, or cool. Generally speaking, cold and cool are in the realm of Yin; while warm and hot relate to Yang. The ancient scholars called this the “Four Qi,” as Qi also means action or function. The therapeutic effect and reaction of each herb is understood as cold, hot, warm, or cool. Cold herbs are used for hot diseases and vice versa, in order to bring the body back into a neutral or harmonious state of balance.

For example, when a patient is “assaulted by an external evil” (i.e. catching a cold) he or she may have symptoms of fever, headache, oral dryness, red tongue with yellow fur, and a rapid pulse. This set of symptoms is grouped as a pattern in TCM, and is seen as a Heat Entity. Two herbs, Honeysuckle Flower (Chinese: Jin Yin Hua; Latin: Flos Lonicerae) and Forsythia Fruit (Chinese: Lian Qiao; Latin: Fructus Forsythiae) are especially effective for this type of “Heat pattern.” Since these two herbs counteract against the Heat reaction of the body toward the pathological evil, we can therefore conclude that they have a cool nature. In other words, they have the power of relieving “Heat” or “Yang” pattern. As a group, these cold or cooling herbs have the function of clearing heat and relieving toxins.

What is the Nature of Herbs – “Five Tastes”?

The tastes ascribed to the herbs in traditional Chinese medicine are:

They are more important as markers of each herb’s property than of its true taste. Among them, sour, bitter, sweet, spicy, and salty are established as the basic tastes commonly known as the “Five Tastes.” Bland and sweet tastes are similar to each other. Likewise, astringent and sour tastes have common properties. Sour, astringent, bitter, and salty tastes are related to Yin, whereas spicy, sweet, and bland are attributed to Yang.

What are the Four Functions of Orientation Herbs?

Ascending is used to describe the raising of the performance of Qi, which elevates the sinking Qi to the normal level of dynamic balance, and activates the function of the upper segment of the body.

Descending is to lower the Qi or lower the pathologic Qi to the normal level of dynamic balance. In this process, the lower segment of the body is usually activated.

Floating (levitating) signifies the action of dispersion toward the exterior, opening the cutaneous pores, and promoting perspiration. In excites and activates the surface of the body.

Sinking indicates purging and discharging downward. The sinking function moves toward the interior, and is tranquilizing or sedating.

Herbs in a composite formula may restrict or inhibit one another. For example, in a composite formula for lowering Qi when all the herbs have a sinking function except one, the net energy of descending is slightly reduced. This phenomenon illustrates that under certain conditions, the actions of ascending, descending, sinking, and floating can be controlled and modified by the skill of the practitioner. These observations demonstrate the versatility and flexibility that practitioners have when they create their herbal formulas specifically for each patient’s symptoms.

What kinds of herbs belong to “Yin” or “Yang”?

Nature Taste Functional Orientation Weight
Yin Cool, cold Sour, bitter, salty Lowering, sinking Heavy
Yang Warm, hot Pungent, sweet, bland Ascending, descending Light

How do you match an herbal formula?

Each herb has its own characteristic action. When herbs are combined, they interact naturally to attain a certain synergistic effectiveness.

As early as the period of The Yellow Emperor’s Canon of Internal Medicine, 722-211 B.C., principles governing the formulation of herbal prescription have been recorded. This was the era of slavery and feudalism, which is reflected in the following terms that are used to describe the position of herbs in a formula. There are four main focuses of a formula, which are described as: emperor, minister, assistant, and messenger.

Emperor is used to designate the main herb(s) of a formula. It focuses on the chief pattern or primary set of symptoms and is the basic ingredient for dealing with the fundamental problem of the patient.

Minister indicates herbs that occupy a secondary role, assist the emperor and enhance the therapeutic effect of the chief herb.

Assistant herbs have three functions
1) To take care of the associated or secondary symptoms.
2) To restrict and antagonize the potent action of the ruling herbs.
3) The help the body digest the formula. Due to the explosive nature of a disease mechanism, the body may resist the reception of decoction. For example, a patient with extremely high fever and a headache is in the state of “Hot” pattern. Conventionally, a Cold formula is indicated. However, sudden ingestion of Cold herbs could provoke too sudden a reaction and cause vomiting, and the body will resist the cold decoction. Instead, inclusion of a small amount of warm herbs into the cold formula can help the patient to drink the decoction without causing emesis. These herbs function as a “complying” assistant.

Messenger herbs act as guiding herbs and can lead the rest of the herbs in a formula to the diseased site. Messenger herbs can also harmonize the various properties of other herbs.

In the process of formulation, the practitioner should understand the best choices to combine herbs for in some cases, combinations can even promote adverse effects. It is very important to be aware of interaction between the herbs and the changes that occur in certain combinations, which can enhance or weaken the total net effect.

It can be said that an herbal formula is a mirror which reflects the knowledge and wisdom of a physician and the degree of his or her mastery of this art.