Chinese Liquid Herbs

Walk into a Chinese apothecary shop and you will see jars of mysterious-looking roots and powders. Some practitioners of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) still give their patients a bag of these kind of herbs with instructions to make an infusion at home. More often, modern practitioners of TCM provide herbal remedies in convenient pre-mixed liquid form. These modern versions of Chinese herbs derive from healing prescriptions passed down over centuries and often have colorful names reflecting ancient Chinese culture as well as TCM's philosophy of achieving health by balancing the chi of different organ systems.

Relaxed Wanderer

• Many TCM practitioners say this combination of extractions of white peony, bupleurum, dang gui, licorice, reishi mushroom, poria and atractylodes is one of their most frequently prescribed remedies. It is designed to nourish the chi (energy or life force) of the spleen and to soothe and balance liver chi. This herbal combination helps with a host of ailments ranging from depression, irritability and stress to PMS, migraines and many gastrointestinal disorders. A healer who has studied TCM will determine whether you need Relaxed Wanderer after reading your symptoms and seeing whether you an excess or deficiency of either yin (soft, damp, wet energy) or yang (hard, dry energy).

Dragon Gallbladder Nosepool

• This combination of bitter herbs is designed to lower damp heat in the body. A mixture of many Chinese herbs including Long Dan Cao, Zhi Zi and Xing Cao, this prescription can benefit sinus conditions, yeast infections, gallbladder problems, diarrhea and urinary tract infections. Like all Chinese herbal remedies, this would be prescribed by a healer after taking not only your heart pulse but those of other organs and examining your tongue.

Jade Windscreen

• As the name implies, one of the traditional uses of this herbal combination is to protect the patient from bad chi. This mixture of herbs including reishi mushroom, astragalus and schizandra tonifies the immune system, the respiratory system and the gastrointestinal tract. This herbal remedy helps prevent colds and infections, aids against allergies and helps with flatulence and indigestion. An expert in TCM can determine whether this remedy or another would be beneficial for you. This particular combination of herbs can be too drying for those who already have a tendency toward yang energy.