Herbs for Inflammation
Herbs for Inflammation
Chinese Medicine for Heat
Modern medicine is beginning to understand how inflammation can threaten our health and damage our well being.
But a long time ago, doctors in China already knew this, as 'inflammation' is much the same as the ancient's idea of 'heat'.
Today, inflammation is diagnosed when part of the body becomes reddened, swollen, hot, and possibly painful. It's a common reaction to injury, infection, allergies, and other irritants, and may be an immune response to neutralize or heal these pathogens.
Traditional Chinese medicine has dealt with these inflammatory symptoms for millennia and has reached its own understanding.
We understand that heat, like all energy, is provocative. It makes things go; it makes things warm. Heat makes your heart beat fast, activates your glands, and raises your temperature.
It's a complex issue for the TCM herbalist. We must discern the exact type and nature of the heat in order to choose the best herb or formula. Are we dealing with Excess Heat or Deficiency Heat? Is it Liver Heat, Heart Heat, Lung Heat, or something else? What is provoking it?
A Few Types of Heat
| Type of Heat | Examples |
| Wind Heat | influenza, measles |
| Damp Heat | purulent infections, dysentery |
| Yin Deficient Heat | hot flashes, night sweats |
| Phlegm Fire | schizophrenia |
| Blood Heat | skin eruptions |
| Heart Heat | anxiety, panic attacks |
| Liver Heat | anger, mood swings |
| Stomach Fire | ulcers, heartburn, halitosis |
| Summer Heat | sunstroke, heatstroke |
FLOWERS THAT COOL
Though Heat clearing herbs can be derived from animals, minerals, or all parts of a plant, the flowers and aerial parts of plants usually possess the strongest cooling properties. A few common examples are:
Mint - Clears Wind Heat
Violet - Removes Toxic Heat
Honeysuckle - Clears Heat Cleans Toxin
Chrysanthemum - Clears Wind Heat from the Eyes
Dandelion - Clears Liver Heat, Purges Fire
Kudzu flower - Purges Heat from the Muscles and Surface
Common Formulas for Heat
YIN CHIAO CHIEH TU PIAN (Honeysuckle & Forsythia Clean Toxin) Wind Heat
BAI HU TANG (White Tiger Decoction) Clears heat from the Qi Level
HUANG LIAN JIE DU TANG (Coptis Decoction to Relieve Toxic Heat)
ZHI BAI DI HUANG WAN (Rehmannia 8) for Yin Deficiency with Heat
PU JI XIAO DU YIN (Universal Benefit Formula) Interior Heat & Fire Toxins
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Information on this site is provided for educational purposes and is not meant to substitute for the advice of your own physician or another medical professional. We make no claim as to efficacy or safety of herbs or herbal medicine appearing on this site. Information and statements regarding dietary supplements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration and are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.