Key West, Florida herbs and nutrition

Dr Michel Gehin
D.O.M. A.P. L.M.T.

1217 White Street
Key West, FL 33040
(305)304-5891

                 HERBS
In China, herbal remedies are used as much as acupuncture to treat energy
imbalances and illness. When considering the appropriate herbal remedy for
a patient, practitioners of TCM apply medical theory-the Five Elements and
Eight Guiding Principles-along with tongue and pulse diagnosis.
Herbs have four basic qualities and properties:
nature, taste, affinity and primary action.

Nature:
A herb's nature is often described as cooling or heating, however it can also
be described as moistening, relaxing and energizing.
For example, the herb peppermint has a cooling energy and is used to lower
the metabolism or reduce gas and bloating.

Taste:
Herbs are categorized by the following five tastes:
sour, bitter, sweet or blend, spicy and salty.
For example, the herbs dandelion and goldenseal are bitter and used for their
drying properties in treating upper respiratory conditions.

Affinity:
This is the relation that a herb has on a particular organ network.

Primary action:
This is the effect of a particular herb, which can be described as dispel
(move), astringe (restrain), purge (expel), or tonify (strengthen).

In creating the herbal formula for a patient, the TCM practitioner considers
the effect or outcome of the remedy, such as aiding digestion, clearing
mucus, or strengthening the immune system. Applying the Eight Guiding
Principles, they also consider the energy of the illness, such as hot/cold,
damp/wind, or some mixture of the principles.
The herbal remedy can be found in three ways:
               Tea decoction.
Powder form solved in boiling water.
           In pill or tablet form.

Herbal remedy can also be apply topically, as a poultice or as a herbal soak
for acute/chronic injuries of joints pain and/ or lack of mobility

NUTRITION
Based on TCM medical theory described above for the herbal remedies.
Also available are detoxification/cleansing and immune system program
booster.

Herbs & Nutrition