TCM is a time honoured, holistic and natural healing system developed over the last 5000 years. It places great emphasis on illness cure, prevention and rejuvenation. It cures disease by tapping into our bodies’ self-healing power. Acupuncture and herbal medicine therapy are the two main components of TCM. It sometimes calls for Tuina (Chinese massage) and forms of meditative, low impact martial arts; such as Tai Chi and Qi Gong.
The concept of balance in yin and yang is the principal philosophy of TCM.
Yin means darkness. In darkness, life comes to a rest, a motionless state when body quietly rejuvenates with the nourishment it receives. In health science, yin analogs a decrease in physiological and motor functions for the preservation of energy, organ repair, absorption and storage of nutrition. On the other hand, excessive yin is like a pond in the shade, where dampness and coldness prevail. Excessive inactivity leads to decrease in energy production and accumulation of pathological wastes; such as phlegm, mucous, fluid and fat.
Yang means the sun. In the brightness of the sun, people engage in activities, constantly using and producing energy to meet the challenge from both the modern society and natural existing pathogens. In health science, yang analogs an increase in physiological and motor functions, which breaks down the material components of our bodies to fuel these activities. Overabundance of yang is like a fire in the wilderness, which burns down all the lives. Excessive activity would exhaust our bodies’ resources which includes the material components, nourishment and fluid.
Only through the quest for balance in yin and yang can we reach the state of optimal health. It is a state with balance in anabolism (building up) and catabolism (breaking down), a mind with balance in aimlessness and purposefulness and a life with balance in rest and activity.
In the early civilizations, food and medicine were inextricably linked, and many plants were eaten for their health-giving properties. For example, the armies of slaves that laboured to build the Egyptian pyramids took a daily ration of garlic in order to ward off pestilential fevers and infections that were rife at the time. By this time, written Clay models of garlic bulbs were found in an Egyptian tomb dating 3750 BC. In what is believed to be the world’s first industrial dispute, the slaves building the Great Pyramid went on strike when their garlic ration was cut.
Ancient cultures, like Egyptians, were highly skilled with herbs. The ancient text written in 1500 BC contains records of over 700 herbs and their beneficial properties – the first herbals. The papyrus from the city of Thebes, lists many medicinal herbs that are still in use today.
As well as the Egyptians, the ancient Greeks and Romans were practitioners of herbal medicine. As their armies conquered the then known world, military doctors took the plants and their uses with them – and also gained new skills as they travelled. For example, the Roman conquers of Britain brought with them many Mediterranean herbs, including lavender and rosemary.
The earliest written records on the use of the poppy and its extracts, heroin, first appeared during the time of Christ. These records mention the use of heroin as a painkiller and warn of its side effects such as addiction. New forensic evidence points to heroin being used by the Egyptian upper classes during the time of the Pharaohs as a painkiller.
From the Dark ages into the medieval times, herbals were painstakingly hand-copied in British and other monasteries – each of which had its own garden for growing herbs to treat both monks and local people.
The advent in the 15th century of the printing press encouraged the compilation and publication of herbals. Nicholas Culpeper (1616-54) wrote the famous herbal, The English Physician Enlarged (1649), which has been in print ever since. By 1800, a vast amount of traditional lore on the medicinal use of herbs was available from Britain, Europe, Middle East, Asia and the Americas.
Chinese, North American and Indian cultures have always relied heavily on herbal medicine. The Chinese have practiced herbal medicine for 5000 years. To this day Chinese herbs play a vital part in health care, and there are numerous schools of herbal medicine and herbal dispensaries in most hospitals.
However soon after, the growth in popularity and power of scientifically inspired conventional medicine send the profession of herbal medicine into a decline – although it continued to flourish in the countryside.
In 1864 the National Association (later Institute) of Medical Herbalists was founded to train and maintain standards of practice, which remain in existence today. In its early years – and well into the present day – the Institute resisted attempts by orthodox medical pressure groups to have herbal medicine banned.
Public opinion was with the herbalists, helping them to stay in business. Gradually interest in herbalism increased – especially over the past 20 years – as more and more people questioned the use of synthetic drugs and their prolonged and sometimes alarming side effects.
Today, scientists are predicting that herbal remedies will lead a revolution in medical treatment within the next ten years, using ancient recipes with thousands of active compounds instead of pharmaceuticals with a single active element.
In Natal (South Africa), more than 400 species of indigenous plants are sold commercially. Some of these plants are so popular that the demand for them is threatening their very survival. A similar situation exists throughout Asia, Africa and South America.
There are many benefits of herbs. Herbs help cleanse and purify the body, regulate and tone the organs to function normally. Herbs are high in vitamins and minerals and other nutrients that nourish and build the body. Herbs allow the body to have extra energy to heal itself, and finally herbs promote the body’s natural good bacteria. Herbs take up substances from the earth and convert them into vitamins, minerals, carbohydrates, proteins, and fats that our bodies use for nourishment and healing. By using the whole herb, we take in all the natural goodness and vital ingredients they carry. Most herbs contain several active substances, one of which usually dominates and determines its choice as a remedy. Other healing aspects of herbs should not be overlooked because they help the body to assimilate its benefits and buffer any side effects.
In the world stage, African traditional herbs are proven winners, much to the annoyance of conventionalists. Some famous cases;
The growing popularity of African traditional herbs furthers the cause of African Traditional Medicine. Many of these plants are being tested and their claims verified by scientific institutions. No longer can claims be rejected as unscientific or/and unreliable. There is real science behind the administration of African Traditional herbal medicine and its products.
The western scientific community can only verify in laboratory conditions claims made by Traditional Doctors. In turn, the Traditional Doctor can teach Western scientist the properties of medicinal plants, the different species, the synergy between these plants and possible side effects. With respect to African medicinal plants, the Traditional Doctor has more to offer the world than western scientists.