Chinese Herbal Medicine
Chinese herbal medicine is one of the pillars of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) and has been used successfully to treat many different conditions for over thousands of years. 
The herbs are categorized by: The Four Natures, The Five Flavors, The Meridians and their Function.

• The Four Natures are hot, warm, cool, cold, or neutral.
• The Five Flavors are pungent / astringent, sweet, bitter, sour, and salty.

The therapeutic action of the Flavors are categorized as follows: saltiness "drains downward and softens hard masses, sweetness is supplementing, harmonizing, and moistening, pungent substances are thought to induce sweat and act on qi and blood; sourness tends to be astringent in nature; bitterness drains heat, purges the bowels, and eliminates dampness".[1]

• The Meridians are the pathways of energy throughout the body.
• Function is the specific function or action of the herbs.  An example of this may be heat-clearing herbs for a fever. For a cold condition an herb with a warming function would be beneficial. The categories for these specific functions are: energy tonics, yang tonics, blood tonics, yin tonics, herbs to regulate energy and herbs to regulate blood.

An herbal consultation consists of having the patient answer traditional questions in regards to their health, taking their pulses and looking at their tongue.  The cost of an herbal formula may range from $25.00 to $50.00.

[1] Ergil et al. 2009, p. 61