Herbal Medicine

Herbal prescriptions in Traditional Chinese Medicine are commonly called ‘formulas’ because they are formed by either cooking or preparing multiple herbs together. Single herb prescriptions like commonly seen herbal supplements are rare.  

A basic formula typically contains around 4 herbs, but some can get rather complex and contain over 10 herbs. Herbalists spend a large amount of their education not only learning individual herbs, but also these formulas that have been tried and tested over 100’s of years.

One of the most important texts for TCM herbal medicine, the Shang Han Lun, dates back to around 200 CE. Formula prescriptions from this text are still used extensively to this day for a wide range of conditions.