However, herbs can cause problems if not prescribed by a trained and experienced practitioner, and some people are sensitive to them. Going to a health food store and purchasing herbs on your own, if you are not educated in their use, can lead to problems since some herbs can be toxic. Each herb has a particular energetic action, so that individual herb is not as important as the way the herbs are blended. Acupuncturists use various types of information, such as the sound of the voice, the colors on the face, the pulse, the appearance of the tongue, odor, emotion, and the temperature of parts of the body, to tell which herbs would be useful. Herbs can heal what acupuncture alone cannot.
Herbs can be good for prostate problems, candida, high cholesterol, and other ailments.
Western medicine is based on the use of chemical and surgical techniques to eliminate disease and provide a better state of health. Acupuncture and herbs are less invasive to the person than Western medical techniques. They work much more slowly, but allow the body to heal itself. They fix an imbalance in the body by stimulating it to start functioning properly. In Western medicine, prescription drugs take the place of what the body cannot do.