Chinese herbology facts for kids

Chinese herbs are special plants and natural ingredients used for thousands of years to help people stay healthy. They are a big part of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM). Even though they are called "Chinese" herbs, many of them can grow in other parts of the world if the climate and soil are right. For example, a type of Ginseng called American Ginseng is grown in Wisconsin, United States.

Dried herbs and plant parts for Chinese medicine at a Xi'an market

What are Raw Chinese Herbs?

Raw herbs are the natural parts of plants, like roots, leaves, seeds, flowers, or branches. They are usually just cut, cleaned, and dried. Drying them helps them last longer and makes them lighter to carry.

• Some dried herbs can become soft enough to eat after being boiled.
• Most herbs stay quite rough even after boiling, so they are not usually eaten directly.
• Herbs often have a strong taste. Many taste bitter or earthy. A few can even taste sweet!
• Most raw herbs are not very expensive. However, some rare ones, like Ginseng (Ren Shen), Fritillaria cirrhosa (Chuan Bei Mu), or Cordyceps (Dong Chong Xia Cao), can be quite costly.

How Do People Use Chinese Herbs?

People usually take raw herbs by getting their helpful parts out. The most traditional way is to boil and brew the herbs in water. This makes a dark brown liquid called "herbal tea."

Herbal Tea

Ready-to-drink medicinal liquid with Goji berry, tokay gecko, and ginseng at a market in Xi'an, China

Herbal tea usually doesn't taste great, but it's very effective. Boiling the herbs for about an hour is usually enough. You might drink one or two cups a day. Some people add honey or sugar to make it taste better.

A special thing about herbal tea is that the mix of herbs can be changed just for you. This means an herbal package is often "tailor-made" to fit your specific needs.

Tablet Form

Raw herbs can also be dried and ground into a fine powder. This powder can then be pressed into tablets. This is a convenient way to take herbs without having to boil them.

Capsule Form

You can also put raw herb powder into empty gel capsules. When you swallow capsules, your body needs to work to get the helpful parts out of the powder. With herbal tea, these helpful parts are already in the liquid, so your body can absorb them more easily. Herbal tea has been used for over two thousand years, while tablets and capsules are a newer, more convenient way to take herbs.

How Do Herbs Help Our Bodies?

Herbs have natural ways of helping our organs, blood, and different health conditions.

• Unlike some modern medicines that mainly fix or stop certain problems, herbs can also make your body stronger and healthier overall.
• Because they help strengthen your body, herbs can also be used to prevent you from getting sick in the first place.
• The effects of herbs are usually gentle and natural, with very few unwanted side effects.
• Each herb can have many different effects on the body, not just one main effect.
• Herbs usually work best when used together. One herb alone might be too gentle.
• When different herbs are combined, their effects can work together to create a much stronger and better result. This is called "synergy."
• Knowing how to combine herbs to create the best synergy is a very important skill that makes a good herbalist stand out.

Images for kids

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  This is a Chinese pharmacopoeia, a book that lists medicinal substances and their uses.

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  Dried seahorses like these are used in traditional medicine in China and other places.

See also

In Spanish: Fitoterapia china para niños