Food is medicine

The Way of Chinese Herbs / by Michael Tierra. Pocket Books, 1998. 474 p., Glossary, Bibliography and Index.

Although most of the entries are devoted to Chinese herbs and herbalism, The Way of Chinese Herbs is a second tribute, following The Way of Herbs, to the power of food as medicine. A wonderful introduction to the ancient concepts of traditional medicine is presented in the first few chapters: “The Philosophy of Being”, “The Five Elements”, “the Causes of Disease”, and “The Way of Diagnosis”. The ancient herbalists observed the actions of both food and medicinal substances on bodily systems. With thousands of years’ experience monitoring the reaction of foods in human bodies, the approach to choosing the right food (or medicine) for a specific condition is empirically justified.

In The Way of Herbs, we read about the Chinese herbs that include medicinal food, such as jujube dates, longan berries, licorice, citrus peel, apricot seed, chrysanthemum, honeysuckle, bell-flower and peony. Again in this volume, The Way of Chinese Herbs, taste is encountered, as a way to classify the actions of herbs. In the traditional way of using taste, a spicy, sweet, sour, bitter, salty or bland flavor may delight the palate, but taste also has a particular affinity for specific organs and helps perform certain functions such as moving the blood, encouraging nourishment, promoting astringent or cathartic actions. The chapter entitled “Materia Medica” contains descriptions of over two hundred herbs, classified for the actions they have on illnesses and disorders. For example, they are divided into groups such as Herbs that Open and Release the Exterior: “Warm-Pungent Herbs that Release the Exterior” and their opposites “Cool-Pungent Herbs that Release the Exterior” to Herbs that Clear Heat, to Herbs that Tranquilize and Nourish the Heart and Calm the Spirit, and a number of other categories. In other words, there is always a specific reaction caused by ingesting these herbs, and these have a special attraction to certain organs and tissues: the rationale for choosing a particular herb is well-supported. The use of Chinese herbs extends to known formulas for an acute or chronic condition. Each herb is thus listed by its English name with Chinese name in parentheses, followed by pharmaceutical name and common names. The part (of the botanical plant) used, its energy and flavor, its properties, effects, and dosage are given, along with contraindications. To balance the preponderance of unusual medicinals, Tierra follows the Chinese materia medica with the chapter “Chinese and Non-Chinese Herbs Available in the West”. In it he reveals some 80 herbal medicines from well-known garden flowers, way-side “weeds” and herbs from both European and Chinese traditions, each detailed as in the afore-going chapter. These are followed by the chapters, “Some Useful Patent Home Remedies”, “Specific Diseases and Treatments”, and “Integrating Chinese Herbs and Foods into Daily Life”. The chapter on patent medicines is a helpful reference explaining the use of these “over the counter” medicines, which Tierra describes as “convenient, effective and economical”, p. 336. The chapter on diseases begins with allergies and ends with low metabolism (Yang deficiency) and Yin deficiency patterns. The final chapter, on integration, calls for herbalists to use a few herbs when preparing soups or teas: the table, from p. 398 to 409 displays the herb, its effects and properties and notes on suggested amounts for everyday use. Thus the reader takes counsel for using Shitake mushrooms (black mushrooms) to “lower blood pressure, reduce cholesterol; they are helpful for hepatitis, diabetes, anemia, rickets, colds, gallstones, hyperacidity, stomach ulcers, cancer…”, p. 408.

Perhaps the care taken by Tierra to include so many aspects of this medicine leads the reader to figure out that this medicine is indeed complex, and not easily acquired in one volume, yet the scope of it is perceivable and very compelling. It is within the grasp of the reader to learn about the capacity of Chinese medicine, at least to develop a deep respect for its philosophy.

A licensed acupuncturist, herbalist and doctor of Chinese traditional medicine, author Michael Tierra is dedicated to its philosophy and practical application in the West. He leads the reader through a sum of knowledge that would normally take years of study to obtain, and offers it through the popular press in this volume; like Nigel Wiseman, a translator and author of the work with Andrew Ellis, Fundamentals of Chinese Medicine, Tierra’s explanation spans the cultural gap between the professional and the curious reader. He encourages the West’s infatuation with obtaining Asian philosophy from a few words and renders ancient ideas in practical language and form: so it is important to understand the idea of Yin and Yang, the Chinese view of energy and bodily fluids, and the influences of the environment on human health and spirit, etc. After incurring fascination with Chinese medicine and philosophy through other works of translation, such as Ted Kaptchuck’s The Web That Has No Weaver, readers looking for definitive example and instruction, will find this book has made a definite transition from TCM to Chinese medicine from a Western herbalist’s point of view.