Chinese herbal medicine has been practised for over 5,000 years. Practitioners believe that our health is determined by the state of our qi (chee) or vital energy and xue (blood), which must flow freely at the correct strength in the body for good health.

Whereas Western doctors start with a symptom, then look for a specific cause, Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) regards the symptom as part of a pattern of disharmony. Chinese herbalism is one element of TCM which covers a wide range of therapies including acupuncture, qigong and dietary regimes.

Although acupuncture is better known in the West, herbal medicine is seen as much more important in China and it is one of the fastest-growing complementary therapies in the UK.

Herbs are said to have one of five flavours: pungent, sour, sweet, butter or salty. Five qi attributes: hot, cold, warm, cool or neutral and four directions: ascending, floating, descending or sinking. The combination of these properties gives a herb a particular attribute or inclination.

In Chinese medicine it is the manipulation of these inclinations that brings about balance. Hence a condition being described as hot has to be cooled, a cold one warmed, a dry one moistened and an excessive one purged.

For example substances with descending or sinking inclinations such as seeds and roots have the effect of checking an overactive qi and are useful when dealing with nausea and dizziness.

The Dangers

Dangers can arise as a result of untrained or poorly trained practitioners or adulterated, poor quality herbs.

A tragic incident involving Chinese herbal medicine took place in Belgium clinic in 1992. The people who ran it had changed the slimming formulation to include two Chinese herbs along with a mixture of pharmaceuticals and other herbs.

One of the Chinese herbs they thought they had ordered was Stephania tetranda, or han fang ji. Instead they received a powder which contained aristolochia fanchi, or guang fang ji - a toxic acid.

The result was that 70 women suffered kidney failure. It was a direct result of the misuse of Chinese herbs by people with no training in the discipline that led to the tragedy.

Many of the hundreds of highly-trained herbalists in the UK are well-qualified doctors. The Register of Chinese Herbal Medicine, PO Box 400, Wembley, Middlesex, HA9 9NZ maintains a register of practitioners who have trained with reputable colleges.