The Chinese Herb Astragalus in the Ultimate Immune Boosting Soup

Posted by Cathy on with 2 Comments

by: Jennifer Dubowsky

astragalus, one of the best chinese herbs for health

Astragalus is actually a genus of a plant with over 2000 species. Its Chinese name, Huang qi, means “yellow leader” because this long yellow  root is one of the most important herbs in Traditional Chinese Medicine  (TCM)  and commonly used as  far back as the 1st century AD.

Astragalus  is a great herb for fall as it helps your immune system prevent colds, allergies and the flu.

Its familiarity in the US may be attributed to extensive scientific study that began in the 1970s. Research has confirmed the herb's ability to cause minimal disruption to the body while normalizing body functions, no matter the condition or disease.

Astragalus is deservedly popular because it helps the body in a variety of ways. It stimulates the immune system so it is often used for treating the common cold and upper respiratory infections. Astragalus strengthens the body during periods of immune deficiency and is effective with allergies and in avoidance of the white blood cell deficiencies (leukopenia) that occur during chemotherapy. It also fights bacteria, viruses, and inflammation; it protects the liver, acts as a diuretic, benefits digestive functions, and treats disorders of the skin from burns to carbuncles. It is used in the treatment of hepatitis, chronic colitis, senility, cardiovascular diseases and AIDS and viral conditions because it increases interferon production and enhances NK and T-cell function. Finally, Astragalus can be used to promote the functions of several other herbs, such as Dan Shen (Salvia) and Dang Gui (Angelica sinensis root).

Astragalus is also used by itself, usually as a liquid extract, or a tea, Dosage depends on the application and form. When I was in Graduate school some of my professors would always add Huang Qi/Astragalus into their chicken soup stock.

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by Cathy
Here's a soup recipe I call The Ultimate Immune Booster
  • 6 cups water
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 onion diced
  • 1 bulb garlic (at least 10 cloves)minced
  • One 1 1⁄2 inch piece of fresh ginger root grated
  • 1 1⁄2 cups vegetable soup stock (I prefer homemade chicken broth, make ahead & keep frozen)
  • 5 pieces sliced dried Astragalus Root   (find at an Asian grocery store or look for an online source)
  • 2 cups fresh, sliced shiitake mushrooms
  • 1 large reishi mushroom pinch of cayenne powder

Ginger to Maintain Your Health

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Ginger is a common recommendation in my clinic. Ginger is wonderful for digestive disorders and it is anti-inflammatory. “Drink Ginger tea” is one of the most common suggestions I make.

Don’t underestimate ginger just because it isn’t the fancy favorite of TV Chefs. Ginger root is a common herb used in Traditional Chinese Medicine (the Chinese name is Sheng Jiang). Ginger is also used as a spice for cooking, particularly in Asian food.

Here are some great ideas from an article by Jennifer Dubowsky, L.Ac. originally posted Dec. 2008 about the benefits of ginger.

Ginger’s rhizome (the underground stem) is highly spicy and widely touted to aid digestion. That is why ginger tea is very popular. In addition to a lovely flavor, it is anti inflammatory and eases digestion. Consider drinking ginger tea after meals. Another benefit from ginger is its ability to combat nausea from various causes including morning sickness, motion sickness, chemotherapy,and food contamination. Many people use ginger to treat coughs, influenza, and colds. I also recommend it to my patients to improve fertility and ease PMS symptoms.

It is interesting to note, too, that ginger has been employed in Chinese herbal medicine for thousands of years due to its numerous beneficial properties. Called Sheng-jiang in the Chinese pharmacopoeia, ginger used alone as a single herb is considered to alleviate nausea, dispel pathogens by inducing sweating, expel cold, as well as stop coughing and reduce excess phlegm in the lungs. In Chinese herbal medicine, Sheng-jiang, or fresh ginger, is considered to have very different properties than Gan-jiang, or dried ginger. Gan-jiang is useful for “cold” pain of the stomach and abdomen, diarrhea due to “cold” in the abdomen, cough, and rheumatism, among other uses. Dried ginger has also been shown to inhibit vomiting.

A Japanese study brought ginger into the experimental lab. The study, led by Dr. Hiroshi Ochiai at the Department of Human Science, Faculty of Medicine, Toyama Medical and Pharmaceutical University, Japan, was published in The American Journal of Chinese Medicine, 2006:34(1):157-69, and reported in the Chinese Medical Times, concludes that they were able to inhibit the growth of influenza virus using ginger extract.
For more articles by  Jennifer Dubowsky, a licensed acupuncturist in downtown Chicago, check out:  http://acupuncturechicago.blogspot.com/

A High Price for Deer Antler and for Chinese Medicine

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Chinese herbal medicine

A family trip to Alaska, a lot of time in a van and unexpected lessons on deer antler aka Lu Rong. 

On a family trip to Alaska, we quickly learned Alaska is too big for road trips. However, we did see the most incredible scenery and enjoyed some off the beaten path family activities.  An ingrained family tradition. As the planner of the trip, I decide the family must pay a visit to a reindeer farm just north of Anchorage. Our teens had their i-pods and they are accustom to my crazy ideas of fun, so off we went on the 5 hour round trip drive.  Admittedly, I had an ulterior motive, I wanted to learn about Lu Rong, deer antlers, from a true source, and this was a golden opportunity I couldn’t miss.

In Chinese Medicine, the deer antler also known as Lu Rong is a prized and highly sought after commodity.  Deer antler has been used for hundreds of years for health and  longevity and is considered a yang tonic in Chinese Herbal Medicine.  Reindeer antlers our one source of antlers  however much more commonly used is the smaller breed of Red Deer.  Today the most expensive deer antler is harvested in New Zealand  but Alaska is also a source and prices range anywhere from $100.00 for a 100 gram bottle of  granules to $500.00,  quality can vary widely. I admit, a small ulterior motive, I was investigating whether  importing deer antler might become part of my herb business.

Chinese medicine antlers

Wow, I had no idea the antlers were so sensitive.  In fact, males who commonly fight each other will not touch one another while their antlers are in velvet, a growth stage named for the velvet like fur on the antlers. There is a tremendous amount of blood flow to the antlers which supports this growth and there is a correlation between the head being the most Yang part of the body, the antlers growing from the top of the head  and deer antlers categorized  as a yang tonic. Eskimos have used deer antler soup for it’s internal warming (yang) properties for as long as anyone can document.

 

We arrived at the reindeer farm which was operated by a family (and some hired help), mainly for the purposes of selling reindeer meat. The tourist business is a summer sideline. We paid a small entrance fee and along with two other families with young children were given instructions before we were allowed to enter the main pen and hand feed the reindeer some supplied food. I knew that deer are very skittish, nervous animals by nature and easily startled, but what else I learned was surprising. The number one rule was no touching the antlers of any animal that is “in velvet”.  The reason was simple. The antlers are extremely sensitive when they are growing and just touching the velvety soft exterior, especially at the tips, could freak out the animal and be dangerous for us. We could pet the deer anywhere else exception being, the antlers.

What else I learned; deer antlers, whether reindeer or red deer are not so easy to harvest.  It would seem harmless to saw them off once they are essentially dead and have no more blood flow.  The antlers die naturally every year and either fall off or are broken when the deer fight.  But, deer antlers are harvested when there is still blood flow to them, best when the tips are still rounded which means they are still growing.  Our guides explained they would never harvest antlers while in velvet because it would be like cutting off one of your fingers.  The antler is truly an limb extension of the animal. If  just touching an antler can make the deer skittish what do you thinking cutting off an antler would do to the deer?  Extremely painful to say the least.

This was the moment I decided no matter how much can be earned from deer antlers I could never be part of that industry. If the antlers were used once they are naturally shed by the animals, that would be different.  But by the time the antlers are naturally falling off they are dead, no blood flow no nerve endings. No medicinal value.

To be fair,  I am told  that many people who raise deer exclusively for their antlers as a Chinese medicinal, use a veterinarian to perform the sawing off operation.  Some say they tranquilize the animals and/or provide Novocain. Once the antlers are cut the deer’s head is wrapped in bandages and something is given to reduce the bleeding at the site. Antlers are always harvested when they are at the height of the growth stage. If you have ever seen slices of deer antler the highest grade are red in the middle, from the blood flow. Regardless, once I spent just a few minutes with these beautiful docile creatures, I knew I didn’t want any part of an industry initiating animal cruelty. Yang tonics are great strong medicine.  Chinese Herbal Medicine has plenty of  plant based yang tonics, no animal products would ever be part of Pacific Herbs.

Stop Painful Menstrual Cramps with Chinese Herbs

Posted by Cathy on with 2 Comments

herbs for pmsLately this is my favorite topic and formula to make in my herb granule pharmacy .. because  the calls I receive go something like this.  “I took it once & I’m off the couch and back to normal”,  “I can’t believe those herbs work”,  “Why didn’t you tell me before”, “I didn’t take a single motrin this month”,  I could go on and on, but you get the idea.  So here’s some information about the herbs in the Pacific Herbs PMS Relief Herb Pack & some interesting information on well conducted research on menstrual pain. 

Don’t mask the pain with NSAID’s  try an approach that’s worked for centuries, Chinese Herbal Medicine.  An international nonprofit organization, known as the Cochrane Collaboration, studied the effectiveness of Chinese herbal medicine in relieving menstrual pain compared to western drugs.  Their conclusion:  “Chinese herbal medicine for primary dysmenorrhea roughly doubled pain relief and improvement in overall symptoms compared with conventional Western pharmaceuticals.”

Here are a few common Chinese herbs used for painful menstrual cramps, ( All our in our formula plus more)

1. Dong Gui (Chinese Angelica  or Angelica Sinensis) Also known as the “female ginseng,” it is commonly used to regulate the menstrual cycle and relieve menstrual cramps.  It also helps to relieve menopausal symptoms, reduce PMS and anemia and to re-establish a menstrual cycle after cessation of birth control pills.  It is commonly sold as a single herb tea, bagged or loose.  It is considered a king herb or premier herb in Chinese gynecological disease because of its ability to harmonize the blood in Chinese medicine.  Dong Gui is also considered antispasmodic.  The coumarin chemicals present in this herb may help dilate blood vessels and relax the smooth muscles of the uterus, thus relieving menstrual cramping.

2. Chuan Xiong (Chuanxiong  Rhizoma) This herb is also a key medicinal herb for treating pain.  It improves blood circulation and promotes the flow of “qi” or vital energy.  Chinese women, dating back to the Song Dynasty, used to take this Chinese herb in the form of soup.  The soup is called a Four Substance Decoction and includes three other herbs:  angelica, red peony and Chinese foxglove.  The soup and tea are still used today as a blood tonic to relieve PMS, stop menstrual pain and improve overall health, especially after giving birth.

3. Bai Shao (White Peony Root) White Peony Root nourishes the blood and improves circulation.  It is also used for a wide variety of gynecological problems.  The peony root is considered a   liver tonic in Chinese medicine.  By strengthening the liver, it helps to increase the efficiency of protein and fat metabolism, thus inhibiting the excessive synthesis of prostaglandins that may cause an over-active uterus and endometrial pain.

4. Yi Mu Cao (Chinese Motherwort) Leaves from this herb are used to treat menstrual problems.  They have been shown to improve blood circulation and clear blood clots that occur in menstrual disorders and after childbirth.  The leaves also promote diuresis and relieve edema.  Studies on the alkaloid leonurine showed that this substance stimulates the uterus of rabbits, cats, dogs and guinea pigs.2

5. Yan Hu Suo (Corydalis Rhizome) There are two main functions of this Chinese herb:  to strengthen blood circulation and to relieve pain.  In conjunction with chuan xiong it is known to help both body aches and headaches.  Corydalis is related to the opium poppy.  Although only 1% in strength compared to opium, it is a very effective pain reliever.  The active chemical constituent di- tetrahydropalmatine (THP) is a neuroactive alkaloid with analgesic action that relieves cramping pain. Formulas or groups of Chinese herbs are more beneficial than single herb remedies because the herbs work synergistically for conditions such as menstrual cramps.  The Cochran study also stated that:  “The herbal remedies were also significantly better at relieving painful cramps and other symptoms than acupuncture or a hot water bottle, with overall promising finding.  Chinese herbs overall, whether standardized or tailored, yielded better pain relief than conventional pharmaceutical therapies.” Chinese herbal medicine can be a bit intimidating when you don’t know anything about these herbs, and the five herbs above are only a few of the herbs beneficial for menstrual cramps in the Chinese herbal encyclopedias.  Asian pharmacies sell prescriptions of herbal teas and pills daily, and Asian cultures have used herbs successfully for hundreds of years. 

By replacing NSAIDs with Chinese herbs, women receive an additional benefit of avoiding the nasty NSAID3 side effects such as upset stomach, heartburn, ulcers and rashes, and liver damage, to name a few.  Women don’t need to suffer month after month.  You can use Chinese herb supplements to be pain free and PMS symptom free all month long.

Check the research for yourself: Primary source: Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews Source; Zhu X, et al “Chinese herbal medicine for primary dysmenorrhoea” Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews 2007;3: CD005288.

  1. Chinese Medicine Program at the University of Western Sydney.1 (fourth issue for 2007 of The Cochrane Library)

2.  Yin, J. Modern Research and Clinical Application of Chinese  Materia Medica (2) pp 218-219 Beijing: Chinese  Medical Classic Press.

NSAID are Non-Sterodial Anti-Inflammatory Drugs.  Generics and name brands include:  ibuprofen, Advil, Motrin, naproxen sodium, Aleve, aspirin, Bayer, Bufferin, acetaminophen, and Tylenol.