Chinese Medicinal Teas: Simple, Proven, Folk Formulas for Common Diseases & Promoting Health [Paperback]

Gary Liscum (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0936185767 | ISBN-13: 978-0936185767 | Publication Date: June 1996 | Edition: 1st

Medicinal teas are a great complement to acupuncture and a simple, effective introduction to Chinese herbal medicine. The teas in this book are simple, containing only one, two, or three ingredients. While multi-ingredient decoctions are infamous for their bitter taste, these teas are mostly mild, pleasantly or neutrally flavored, and are quick and easy to prepare. Most contain either green or black tea, white or brown sugar, and one or two Chinese medicinal herbs. The ingredients are steeped in boiling water and then drunk as a healing beverage throughout the day.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Chinese Medicinal Teas describes a variety of herbal teas for treating various conditions. This book is designed for anyone with a knowledge of TCM patterns analysis. For lay readers the authors suggest to match up not only the disease indications, such as headache or vomiting, but also the other symptoms which go along with the TCM pattern for which each tea is suggested.

The reader, after finding which tea fits his/her symptoms, simply follows the directions for making the herbal tea. The authors list the ingredients to use and give directions on how the tea should be made and administered. After each recipe, the authors indicate the function of the tea with relation to the organ [it treats].

For readers interested in buying the ingredients there are addresses of herbal companies in the last section of the book. There is also a small discussion on how to tell whether the tea is working well or not." -- Bastyr University, The Library Letter, Fall 1997

From the Back Cover

In Chinese Medicinal Teas, Zong Xiao-fan and Gary Liscum have created a compendium of simple, easy to make and take Chinese herbal remedies. Unlike Chinese medicinal decoctions with their dozens of exotic ingredients, long cooking time, and notoriously bitter taste, the folk recipes contained in this book mostly use only two, three, or four ingredients which only need to steep in boiling water. Many of these teas contain Camellia Thea or tea leaves, and many are sweetened with white or brown sugar or honey. The majority of ingredients in these teas are common foods or common herbs, while the remainder are easily ordered by mail. These teas can be used as simple home remedies or as daily beverages extending and adding to the effectiveness of other medical therapies. There are teas for both remedial treatment of already occurring disease as well as teas for the prevention of disease and the promotion of health and long life. In addition, there are teas for beautification and to retard the effects of aging. Chinese Medicinal Teas is meant for laypersons interested in experiencing the healing benefits of Chinese herbs and for professional acupuncturists and practitioners of Chinese medicine. It is a useful addition to anyone's library who is interested in Oriental methods of health and healing.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 190 pages
• Publisher: Blue Poppy Press; 1st edition (June 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0936185767
• ISBN-13: 978-0936185767
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 5.8 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,064,002 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great for Home Use & Useful for Practitioners, May 12, 2007

By 

Gary Minns "waterbloo" (London, England) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Chinese Medicinal Teas: Simple, Proven, Folk Formulas for Common Diseases & Promoting Health (Paperback)

This was a book I bought on a whim. I'm a practitioner of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) and I tend to keep clear of anything with "folk" on the front cover. I'm trying to be a serious medic here, so I can do without my chosen profession being clouded with unproven quack remedies! But when the book arrived I quickly had to change my tune.

I would consider this book a small stepping stone on the way to the serious books on TCM formulae (such as Dan Bensky's Chinese Herbal Medicine: Formulas and Strategies). The formulae in Chinese Medicinal Teas: Simple, Proven, Folk Formulas for Common Diseases & Promoting Health are generally simplified versions of more complex TCM patents. Let's face it, if you come down with a cold, who has any Herba Ephedrae (mahuang) in their kitchen cupboard? But you may well have ginger, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg and so on. This book employs a lot of the more commonly available foodstuffs and medicinals.

I like this book because it has a number of very simple formulae, that laymen can utilise, but it also builds on those formulae to get close to a number of the decoctions regularly prescribed by TCM professionals. For that reason it is a useful resource and a good link between the twin pillars of Chinese herbal medicine and Chinese functional foods.

I give it a thumbs up and say it's very good value for money.