When talking about traditional medicine, Chinese is probably in the top of the list. The practice of Chinese’s traditional medicine is including Chinese herbs for health, massage, acupuncture up to exercises. Even now, modern medicine is using Chinese’s traditional practice of medicine as references and herbs used to be used by Chinese traditionally are packed as modern medicine because their medical properties have been scientifically proven. If you want to know about which Chinese herbs that beneficial for human health, the list below is the top choices you should know about.
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Ginseng
Ginseng comes from genus Panax with botanical name Panax ginseng. This herbal plant is the top Chinese herbs for health and very valuable because you need a long time to grow this plant. There are a lot of varieties of roots that similar to ginseng but the most valuable one is only the one comes from genus Panax.
Ginseng has been used as part of Chinese medicine for thousand years due to its amazing medical properties. Even now those health benefits have been proven scientifically. The most well known health benefits of ginseng for men is as energy booster and traditional solution to deal with erectile dysfunction and some common health conditions like high blood pressure and hepatitis.
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Lotus Seed
Lotus is one of the famous and important flowers in Chinese traditional medicines. However, though there are a lot of health benefits of lotus flower but the seeds have the most important role in promoting several health benefits. Lotus seeds were derived from lotus flower which is the source of some essential minerals like calcium, manganese, iron and potassium. Furthermore, lotus seed is low in calories which make it delicious snacks for those who are currently in weight loss program.
Surprisingly, aside from the strange look, the lotus seed benefits to digestive system especially treating diarrhea due to its rich of dietary fiber. Furthermore, lotus seeds also promote healthy kidney by improving urination because of the astringent formula found in lotus seeds.
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Astragalus
Astragalus is one of the most important herbal plants used by Chinese healers for over centuries. Though of course, its popularity is not going the competition for ginseng but still astragalus is one of the excellent sources of antioxidants. Astragalus root is the gem of this herb plant though this plant is actually part of legume family.
There are some important organic compounds found in astragalus like flavonoid and saponin. Those compounds are well known as powerful antioxidants, that’s why astragalus is excellent immunity booster and accelerating healing process for those who are currently in recovery stage. Some studies even stated one of the health benefits of astragalus root could help preventing the development of tumor.
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Gingko Biloba
Besides ginseng and astragalus root, gingko biloba is another root that commonly found in Chinese traditional medicine cabinet. Gingko biloba is also well known as gingko tree from genus Gingko. Today, there is only one species of gingko biloba that native to China; it is from division Ginkgophyta.
The main health benefits of gingo biloba extract is to promote healthy memory because it contains some properties that could help fighting degenerative conditions like dementia by maintaining the tissue of blood circulation in the brain. Some antioxidants found in gingko biloba are also excellent in promoting optimal cells regeneration.
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Licorice Root
Some people must have been familiar with the health benefits of licorice tea because licorice tea is one of the popular healthy beverages. Similar to astragalus, licorice is also part of legume family.
Licorice root contains some excellent medical properties that make this root one of the essential herbal plant in Chinese traditional medicines. Licorice root has been used to treat respiratory problems due to its expectorant properties. Furthermore, some studies also showed that since licorice root contains phytochemical compounds, one of the health benefits of eating licorice also could help in stress relief and even depression treatment.
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Chinese Cinnamon
There are two types of well known cinnamon; first is Ceylon cinnamon and cassia cinnamon. The other name of cassia cinnamon is Chinese cinnamon because unlike Ceylon cinnamon which is native to Sri Lanka, Chinese cinnamon is native to Southern China.
Instead of herbal remedy, today Chinese cinnamon is better known as spices and commonly found in the kitchen. That’s why the benefits of cinnamon is actually an excellent home remedy to treat some light conditions like sore throat, light flu and even headache. It is because cinnamon contains therapeutic properties that have calming effect. However, the gem of Chinese cinnamon is its anti-bacterial and anti-fungal properties. While the combination of benefits of honey and cinnamon for weight loss are the reasons why you should always keep cinnamon in your kitchen board.
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Goji Berry
Goji berry is better known as Chinese wolfberry among the locals and has been used as traditional Chinese herbal remedy for thousand years. Goji berry which has botanical name Lycium chinense is native to China and comes from Solanaceae family, so it has close relation to eggplants and tomatoes.
As herbs, goji berry is commonly found in the form of dried fruits like raisin, however goji berry also served as tea. Some of you might have been familiar with some of health benefits of goji berry tea but they are nothing compared to the benefits of dried fruits as herbs. For over centuries, goji berry has been well known for its ability to treat pneumonia and diabetes. Goji berry contains anti-inflammatory properties to help treating conditions caused by inflammation.
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Reishi Mushrooms
Do you know that Chinese are very fond of mushroom and among the long list of mushrooms for herbal remedy; reishi mushroom is probably in the top of the list. There are two well known varieties of reishi mushrooms; they are black and red reishi. Just like ginseng, these two mushrooms are very valuable.
Those who have problems with insomnia, reishi mushroom have been proven to be the excellent natural remedy because they contain some calming effects to help you having a really good night sleep. Among the health benefits of mushroom, most people decided to add reishi mushroom to their diet because it could improve men’s vitality and help female overcome their sexual dysfunction problem.
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Ciwujia
Ciwujia has botanical name Eleutherococcus senticosus; it means ciwujia is another name of Siberian ginseng. Well, though it has no relation with the well known ginseng from genus Panax but still the health benefits of Siberian ginseng root are still worthy to know.
Among Chinese, ciwujia has been well known as herbal remedy that contains some powerful anti-inflammatory properties as well as antioxidants properties. That’s why ciwujia is well known as anti-aging root that could make you look younger than your age. Recent studies about ciwujia also stated that the root contains anti-depressant properties that could be used to treat depression.
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Green Tea
Some people might be thinking that green tea made from Camellia sinensis is from Japan because right now most people prefer to refer it as matcha which derived from Japanese word. However, the fact is green tea is native to China and has been parts of traditional Chinese herbal medicine since ancient times.
When talking about the health benefits of green tea, the list could be endless but surely you have known that green tea is excellent weight loss solution and as rich of vitamin C and antioxidants, green tea is excellent anti-aging by promoting healthy skin cells regenerations as well as fighting free radicals and prevent the development of cancerous cells.
Those top ten of Chinese herbs for health are the most popular ones. All of you might have been familiar with those herbs or even consume them regularly without knowing that their health benefits already have been recognized by Chinese since thousand years ago. You could say that Chinese’s’ ancestors were pretty amazing because even with all the limitation of knowledge they could find solutions to deal with some health conditions that even approved by modern medicinal practices today.