After diagnosing a pattern of disharmony and administering
acupuncture treatments, a doctor of TMC often writes an herbal formula from
over a thousand common herbal formulas or from more effective traditional
family formulas. Herbal medicine has a long history in the Orient. The first
Chinese material, the Shen-Nung Herbal Classic, was begun during the Stone Age
and completed in the later part of the 5th century B.C., from which
some important formulas originated.
In this herbal classic, herbs are categorized into three
groups. The first group is called "food herbs" which are eaten as part of one's
diet for general fortification, prevention and maintenance. The other two
groups are called "medicinal herbs" which are dispensed to each patient as an
individual formula based on one's constitution, environment and medical
condition.
Medical herbal therapy works in concert with acupuncture by
providing the nourishing support for the energetic "re-programming" and
"re-balancing" efforts of acupuncture.