Posted by Hombre on December 13, 2010, at 5:11:11
In reply to Re: try ginger root » linkadge, posted by Melanie-00 on December 12, 2010, at 21:48:34
You can add a little fresh ginger, Chinese red dates and licorice root to nearly any herbal combination to improve digestion/absorption and to harmonize the formula. Licorice root helps smooth over the harshness of some herbs and helps deliver them to their intended targets. It is a mild adaptogen in and of itself. It also detoxifies. Red dates/jujubes help tonify digestion and build energy.
A very basic formula for low energy, which is sometimes the root cause behind anxiety, is 9g ginseng or 18g codonopsis, 9g white atractylodes, 9g poria, and 6g licorice root. All of these herbs act to calm and gently strengthen the whole body. Poria in particular is indicated to calm the spirit, and ginseng as well.
All of these herbs can be ordered online from various herb sellers for just a few dollars per ounce. You just add them to water and cook them down to make fresh medicine. Or you could purchase a formula called Si Jun Zi Wan/Four Gentlemen Pills. You can put honey on the licorice and bake it in the oven until brown for more tonifying effects. Ginseng can be taken out afterward and eaten.
It is not always useful to consider each herb on its own when combined. Herbs have so many different constituents, and they do not act like a single chemical. Herbs can work together to create a synergy, often creating a 1+1=3 effect. Well known herbal formulas are considered entities unto themselves, with predictable actions and mild to no side effects.
poster:Hombre
thread:972710
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/alter/20101202/msgs/973390.html