June 12, 2023
Dear Patients and Friends,
Happy late Spring. Summer? It sure feels like things shifted just yesterday.
I wanted to write a little about the specificity of Chinese herbal (TCM) formulas. It's seasonal allergy season and I end up prescribing this type of formula a lot. What I think is interesting is that a regular over the counter antihistamine does one big systemic slow down of the histamine response. Some people find these very effective and tolerable. But some people don't like the overall feeling. One of the reasons I got into this field a long time ago, was that I found chiropractic, shiatsu, and acupuncture and attention to exercise and diet and stress maintenance a more holistic, feel-good solution. in short, I just felt better using these modalities than the pharmaceuticals that were available at the time.
Here are a few of the allergy and sinus formulas I frequently prescribe.
There is a base formula for sinusitus called Xanthium and Magnolia Formula (see Upper Chamber in photo) which is comprised of four herbs.
The angelica dahuricae (bai zhi) in the formula has antibiotic, anit-inflammatory, analgesic, and anti-pyretic (fever lowering) proerties. It's kind of like a decongestant and tylenol wrapped in one.
The xanthium fruit (cang er zi) . This herb is said to open the nose and relieve pain as well. It also has anti-diabetic effects. It should be used with care as it is very drying unless combined with other herbs.
Magnolia flowers (xin yi hua) also has analgesic and antibiotic as well as anti-hypertensive effects. It has an overall effect of decreasing mucous secretions and reducing inflammation.
And lastly we have mint (bo he). Mint also has antibacterial, antiviral, and also diaphoretic (sweat inducing) properties. * Interestingly, traditionally we say that mint, if prescribed to someone who is feeling a little warm, can help relieve mild depression/moodiness. Another interesting idea in TCM is that mint can clear "turbid qi" or funk from the GI tract.
Pardon my geekiness, this is the connection between TCM and pharmacology.
My job as an herbalist is to choose one of the above (there are many more I can choose from) to suit your particular presentation with your particular constitutions.
The green Pe Min Kan Wan for example is the most versatile formula out there in my opinion. It is the closest thing to a general sinus formula I have found. It has three of the herbs described above but adds in ban lan gen (a recently popluar super- immune herb) and patchouli. This formula is a little more appropriate in the warmer, moister months as it is a little drying. The patchouli does this.
The red Bi Yan Pian formula is better for a head cold with a fever or somebody with more yellow discharge or a hotter person in general. This has what we consider "colder" more anti-inflammatory, fever-reducing herbs in it like honeysuckly flower and forsythia fruit. It can be hard on the stomach if you do not have a warmer, robust constitution.
The blue Fragrant Passage is somewhat similar but protects the more sensitive person with the energy-building astragalus and codonopsis (a ginseng cousin) and moistening dang gui (dong quai). These additions also keep the formula from making you overly tired like an old school anti-histamine.
But please forgive, I have gotten more into the details than I expected when I started this email. I do mean to impress upon you the flexibility and specificity of using TCM herbal formulas. They are less studied than regular pharmaceuticals because they are more complex. Each herb itself, since it is a plant, has many various molecules in it including essential oils, vitamins, and other components. And then combining several or more of the herbs makes a big soup of active and inactive components. It's just too hard to isolate and study in the same way a single pharmaceutical substance would be.
And remember, I can break the above formulas down and customize, tailor them even more carefully to what is going on with you and your unique manifestation of symptoms.
Ok, off the soapbox...
I hope you continue to enjoy this milder late Spring / early Summer. And if you need some needles, you know where to find me.
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* "Mentha contains various constituents that are classified as anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, antiviral, immunomodulatory, antitumor, neuroprotective, antifatigue and antioxidant activities. Mounting evidence indicates that PEO (essential oil) may pharmacologically protect gastrointestinal, liver, kidney, skin, respiratory, brain and nervous systems, and exert hypoglycemic and hypolipidemic effects."
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35994817/
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