Chinese Herbal Medicine
Chinese herbal medicine in the UK utilises plants materials – leaves, roots, barks etc. In China, herbal medicine also includes the use of minerals and animal products but in the UK these ingredients can not be legally included in an unlicensed herbal remedy.
Based on a personalised traditional Chinese medicine diagnosis, herbs are combined and prescribed to address the underlying internal imbalance in the body which has created illness.
By using the root or bark of a plant in its entirety, rather than extracting and using a particular compound from the plant, the likelihood of side effects is reduced. Dispensed herbs may be given raw to be boiled with water and made into a tea, or as powder, or pills, or as an ointment.