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Chinese Herbal Medicine for Beginners: Over 100 Remedies for Wellness and Balance
The beginner’s guide to healing and harmonizing with Chinese herbal medicine
Chinese herbal medicine is a system of assessing and diagnosing the underlying causes of illnesses that has been refined over thousands of years. Taking a holistic approach, Chinese herbal medicine focuses on the whole person and emphasizes preventing illnesses by maintaining a physical, mental, and spiritual balance. Chinese Herbal Medicine for Beginners makes this vast landscape digestible for beginners and seasoned herbalists alike so you can confidently, and quickly, make soothing remedies of your own.
Discover the principles of Chinese herbal medicine with a helpful primer on the systems that make up our bodies and what illness factors can cause imbalances. Set up your home apothecary with herbal decoctions, infusions, oils, and more using easy steps. Explore profiles on popular herbs, including their most common uses, before taking healing into your own hands with 100+ beginner-friendly recipes for Chinese herbal formulas.
Chinese Herbal Medicine for Beginners includes:
Bundle of energy―Get to the root of Chinese herbal medicine with an overview of our energetic systems: Yin and Yang; Essence, Spirit, Qi, Blood, and Moisture; Fire, Earth, Metal, Water, and Wood.
Herbal glossary―Amazing in-depth profiles cover 35 affordable, accessible herbs―each including the herb’s healing properties, temperature, and treatment category.
Holistic harmony―Fortify your health with 100+ formulas and remedies for a diverse range of disharmonies, like blood deficiencies, back pain, anxiety, diabetes, colds and flus, insomnia, and more!
Brew your way to better health and balance with Chinese Herbal Medicine for Beginners.
Chinese herbal medicine is a system of assessing and diagnosing the underlying causes of illnesses that has been refined over thousands of years. Taking a holistic approach, Chinese herbal medicine focuses on the whole person and emphasizes preventing illnesses by maintaining a physical, mental, and spiritual balance. Chinese Herbal Medicine for Beginners makes this vast landscape digestible for beginners and seasoned herbalists alike so you can confidently, and quickly, make soothing remedies of your own.
Discover the principles of Chinese herbal medicine with a helpful primer on the systems that make up our bodies and what illness factors can cause imbalances. Set up your home apothecary with herbal decoctions, infusions, oils, and more using easy steps. Explore profiles on popular herbs, including their most common uses, before taking healing into your own hands with 100+ beginner-friendly recipes for Chinese herbal formulas.
Chinese Herbal Medicine for Beginners includes:
Bundle of energy―Get to the root of Chinese herbal medicine with an overview of our energetic systems: Yin and Yang; Essence, Spirit, Qi, Blood, and Moisture; Fire, Earth, Metal, Water, and Wood.
Herbal glossary―Amazing in-depth profiles cover 35 affordable, accessible herbs―each including the herb’s healing properties, temperature, and treatment category.
Holistic harmony―Fortify your health with 100+ formulas and remedies for a diverse range of disharmonies, like blood deficiencies, back pain, anxiety, diabetes, colds and flus, insomnia, and more!
Brew your way to better health and balance with Chinese Herbal Medicine for Beginners.
- GenresHealth
212 pages, Paperback
First published March 24, 2020
357 people are currently reading
198 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
May 23, 2020
I admit I find Western medicine off-putting. I dislike being treated as an illness and told that my best course of feeling better is a handful of pills. I prefer to think of symptoms or discomforts as a sign of a breakdown of the whole system. But I grew up in America. This system is all I’ve ever known.
That’s why I was so excited to find Chinese Herbal Medicine for Beginners. I wanted to learn about an alternative. Chinese Herbal Medicine looks at the person as a whole, as a system that needs to stay in balance in order for the person to feel their best and perform at the level that makes them happy. As someone who knows almost nothing about Chinese medicine, I am fascinated.
Chinese herbal medicine sees the person as energy. A healthy balance within the body allows the energy to flow freely and easily, promoting health and well-being, but when the energy gets blocked, that’s when a practitioner of Chinese herbal medicine can help free up the blockage and allow the body’s energy to flow where it needs to. Since a basic understanding of that energy flow is important to treating the whole person, author Carrie Chauhan spends some time teaching us the basics. And then she gets to the nitty-gritty.
She starts with a section listing 35 of the most popular herbs in Chinese medicine, giving information about how they help the body, their Latin names as well as their names in Chinese medicine (Pinyin) names, and any extra information about them that could be helpful—precautions to take while using them or tips for growing them, for example, depending on the herb. She stresses that these need to be used carefully and thoughtfully, but she gives you enough information to make some informed choices about purchasing them, cultivating them, or working with a medical professional to find the right options for you.
The last and largest section of the book is a list of recipes, based on ailments, that even a beginner could try. There are decoctions for colds and the flu, cooking blends to help with cardiovascular health or to boost your immunity, compresses for muscle cramps, an eye soak for irritated eyes (like homemade tea bags for your eyes), and even summer coolers to help get you through the heat and humidity. These formulas and remedies can help with a host of issues, from anxiety to weight loss and lots more in between.
I’m not saying that using this book will fix everything that’s wrong with you. But if you’re like me and interested in learning more about a wellness system that’s been around for millions of years and offers options that you don’t generally find in Western medicine, then Chinese Herbal Medicine for Beginners is a good place to start.
A copy of Chinese Herbal Medicine for Beginners was provided by Rockridge Press through the Callisto Media Publisher’s Club, with many thanks.
That’s why I was so excited to find Chinese Herbal Medicine for Beginners. I wanted to learn about an alternative. Chinese Herbal Medicine looks at the person as a whole, as a system that needs to stay in balance in order for the person to feel their best and perform at the level that makes them happy. As someone who knows almost nothing about Chinese medicine, I am fascinated.
Chinese herbal medicine sees the person as energy. A healthy balance within the body allows the energy to flow freely and easily, promoting health and well-being, but when the energy gets blocked, that’s when a practitioner of Chinese herbal medicine can help free up the blockage and allow the body’s energy to flow where it needs to. Since a basic understanding of that energy flow is important to treating the whole person, author Carrie Chauhan spends some time teaching us the basics. And then she gets to the nitty-gritty.
She starts with a section listing 35 of the most popular herbs in Chinese medicine, giving information about how they help the body, their Latin names as well as their names in Chinese medicine (Pinyin) names, and any extra information about them that could be helpful—precautions to take while using them or tips for growing them, for example, depending on the herb. She stresses that these need to be used carefully and thoughtfully, but she gives you enough information to make some informed choices about purchasing them, cultivating them, or working with a medical professional to find the right options for you.
The last and largest section of the book is a list of recipes, based on ailments, that even a beginner could try. There are decoctions for colds and the flu, cooking blends to help with cardiovascular health or to boost your immunity, compresses for muscle cramps, an eye soak for irritated eyes (like homemade tea bags for your eyes), and even summer coolers to help get you through the heat and humidity. These formulas and remedies can help with a host of issues, from anxiety to weight loss and lots more in between.
I’m not saying that using this book will fix everything that’s wrong with you. But if you’re like me and interested in learning more about a wellness system that’s been around for millions of years and offers options that you don’t generally find in Western medicine, then Chinese Herbal Medicine for Beginners is a good place to start.
A copy of Chinese Herbal Medicine for Beginners was provided by Rockridge Press through the Callisto Media Publisher’s Club, with many thanks.
May 2, 2020
I'm a student of Western Herbalism who also visits an acupuncturist when I need it. I've read a couple primers on Chinese medicine, both of which were helpful but hard to grasp. This primer serves my needs perfectly, and I am glad I requested a review copy from the publisher.
The first 33 pages offer the reader a brief but rich introduction, part two offers an introduction to 35 chinese herbs with a photo for each, and part three offers over 100 recipes so that the reader can jump right in and try different formulas.
I love that Carrie Chauhan included herbs with their common names as well, and it was neat to learn about herbs that are also used in Western and/or Ayurvedic herbalism: angelica, astragalus, cardamom, cat's claw, cinnamon, chrysanthemum, dates, fennel, fenugreek, goji berries, hawthorn (with different use!), mint, rosebud, reishi, tangerine peel, and turmeric. The remedies are lovely, with the differences of treatment in the Chinese medicine diagnosis (less related to the actual condition and more to the underlying tendency.) For instance, there are separate teas/decoctions to CALM, COOL, SOOTHE Anxiety or to PROMOTE a meditative mind. Anxiety sufferers are not one unilateral group in Chinese medicine. Colds are another example: there are decoctions for colds in general, a cold with a fever, a cold with neck and shoulder stiffness, a cold with a headache, a cold with body aches, a cold with a cough, a cold with a fever and a cough, a cold with a dry cough, and a cold with mucus. We are not one-size-fits-all, and the nuance of this thousands-of-years-old healing system shows that. I'm excited about the fenugreek tea methods and the cinnamon plant milk drink similar to golden milk as an ayurvedic yummy evening drink.
Lots to say! This is a rich, wonderful book full of remedies. I will also enjoy having this as a reference when I am prescribed herbs by my acupuncturist. Thanks, Callisto, for the review copy!
The first 33 pages offer the reader a brief but rich introduction, part two offers an introduction to 35 chinese herbs with a photo for each, and part three offers over 100 recipes so that the reader can jump right in and try different formulas.
I love that Carrie Chauhan included herbs with their common names as well, and it was neat to learn about herbs that are also used in Western and/or Ayurvedic herbalism: angelica, astragalus, cardamom, cat's claw, cinnamon, chrysanthemum, dates, fennel, fenugreek, goji berries, hawthorn (with different use!), mint, rosebud, reishi, tangerine peel, and turmeric. The remedies are lovely, with the differences of treatment in the Chinese medicine diagnosis (less related to the actual condition and more to the underlying tendency.) For instance, there are separate teas/decoctions to CALM, COOL, SOOTHE Anxiety or to PROMOTE a meditative mind. Anxiety sufferers are not one unilateral group in Chinese medicine. Colds are another example: there are decoctions for colds in general, a cold with a fever, a cold with neck and shoulder stiffness, a cold with a headache, a cold with body aches, a cold with a cough, a cold with a fever and a cough, a cold with a dry cough, and a cold with mucus. We are not one-size-fits-all, and the nuance of this thousands-of-years-old healing system shows that. I'm excited about the fenugreek tea methods and the cinnamon plant milk drink similar to golden milk as an ayurvedic yummy evening drink.
Lots to say! This is a rich, wonderful book full of remedies. I will also enjoy having this as a reference when I am prescribed herbs by my acupuncturist. Thanks, Callisto, for the review copy!
March 26, 2020
Whether you’re new to the idea of herbal medicine or have been using it for a while, this is a great book to have in your library. As the author states, the focus is on preventing illness by maintaining balance. It breaks things down into easy-to understand ingredients and steps.
What I liked: the easy to follow instructions, the English/Chinese names of the ingredients. I especially liked the author’s comment about not using animal parts for anything. It’s all done with plants. I liked that the author included clear explanations about what is a decoction, infusion, soak, compress, and more. She also included resources where you can purchase items you would need.
What I didn’t like: Nothing. I thought this a very well thought-out, easily read and understood book on the basics.
Recommendation: a definite need for anyone looking to learn more about herbal medicine. Highly recommended.
I received this book from the publisher.
What I liked: the easy to follow instructions, the English/Chinese names of the ingredients. I especially liked the author’s comment about not using animal parts for anything. It’s all done with plants. I liked that the author included clear explanations about what is a decoction, infusion, soak, compress, and more. She also included resources where you can purchase items you would need.
What I didn’t like: Nothing. I thought this a very well thought-out, easily read and understood book on the basics.
Recommendation: a definite need for anyone looking to learn more about herbal medicine. Highly recommended.
I received this book from the publisher.
May 16, 2020
This book was absolutely fascinating to me. I’m not familiar with Chinese Herbal Medicine at all, but I am somewhat familiar with Western Herbal Medicine as well as Folk Medicine. I can definitely see the similarities between the two.
Things I loved about how this book was set up:
*The author simplified Chinese Herbal Medicine to make it more accessible to beginners and provided alternative formula preparations.
*The herbs are alphabetized by common name!!! I can’t tell you how annoying it is to try to find something in a book that doesn’t seem to have a clear organization pattern.
*The formulas are organized by ailment, making it easy to find what you’re looking for.
I received a copy of this book for free from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
Things I loved about how this book was set up:
*The author simplified Chinese Herbal Medicine to make it more accessible to beginners and provided alternative formula preparations.
*The herbs are alphabetized by common name!!! I can’t tell you how annoying it is to try to find something in a book that doesn’t seem to have a clear organization pattern.
*The formulas are organized by ailment, making it easy to find what you’re looking for.
I received a copy of this book for free from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
July 18, 2020
This book starts out by discussing the background and principles of Chinese medicine and how it relates to the human body.
Then it discusses herbs and what parts of the plant should be used and various equipment needed. After the first few chapters the recipes begin and there are 110 remedies for a variety of ailments.
Most of the recipes are tincture or tea like remedies and it is a great place to start if your looking for herbal solutions to your ailments.
I received this book from Callisto Publishing and Rockridge Press for an honest review.
Then it discusses herbs and what parts of the plant should be used and various equipment needed. After the first few chapters the recipes begin and there are 110 remedies for a variety of ailments.
Most of the recipes are tincture or tea like remedies and it is a great place to start if your looking for herbal solutions to your ailments.
I received this book from Callisto Publishing and Rockridge Press for an honest review.
January 14, 2021
I love the alphabetized herbs with their pinyin names and Latin binomials. I took off one star because I wish the author would have included more info on where to buy the herbs. The sources listed did not have all the herbs I wanted and some were very expensive for the one formula I wanted to try.
March 17, 2020
I received a complimentary copy.
Aside from the ingredients not being very easy to get stocked, I mean a few are but some I had never heard of. The information and ways to help heal the body is pretty interesting to read about. Lots of good wellness tips and it will not overwhelm the reader.
Aside from the ingredients not being very easy to get stocked, I mean a few are but some I had never heard of. The information and ways to help heal the body is pretty interesting to read about. Lots of good wellness tips and it will not overwhelm the reader.
June 13, 2025
This was exactly what I was looking for, for what it was - a primer on Chinese herbs. In ND school we learned Western herbs only, though we did learn Chinese medicine philosophy, which helps with interpretation of why each herb is chosen for a given condition.
March 28, 2020
Love this book! A great overview of Chinese herbs and medicines. Easy-to-read and very informative!
March 17, 2021
Great easy read. Looking forward to trying some of the concoctions.
September 7, 2025
thos book was easy to read , and full of alot of useful formulas to help restore and maintain health .
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews