TCM practitioners believe there needs to be a balance in the entire body to regain and maintain good health. The balanced body achieves harmony, which in turn gives strength to fight against stress. For thousands of years, the Chinese have documented more than 7,000 kinds herbs that possess healing benefits. Chinese herbal medicine has existed in the United States as long as there have been Chinese living here. However, rarely have Americans been exposed to TCM since most TCM practitioners dwell primarily in the Chinatowns across the nation.
Herbs are primarily plants, but also can be derived from animals and minerals.
Herbs are either ingested or applied externally to correct physical disorders by balancing body energy and revitalizing cells or tissues. Besides its documentation in historical application, scientists have applied modem technology to identify active compounds for healing properties in many Chinese herbs based on their historic claims. Approximately 65 new herb-derived drugs have been developed over the last few decades. Chinese herbs continue to be understood for their health benefits by the scientific community. In a test performed at Harvard University, scientists found that daidzin in kudzu suppress the craving for alcohol in animal models.