Handmade or factory made - see the difference . . .

Pictured here are four xiao yao san formulas - Three are popular, factory-made brands. Starting at your left, we have a liquid concentrate added to water. The middle two are dissolved pills in water. Curiously, though one of those two claims to be a 5/1-concentration ratio and the other a 10/1 (twice as potent), they both appear nearly the same. None of the first three display rich colors and, as is easily deduced, none possess a rich taste or fragrance either. Only the fourth, a handmade tea, retains a rich color, taste, and fragrance to indicate its freshness and higher capability. Click here to see Seven top factory-made herbal products tested. To perform your own test, click here How to test an herbal product in three minutes for instructions.

. . . which is a reliable indicator of potency. Recall that each of the five flavors in traditional Chinese medicine performs specific functions. To what degree can you taste those functions in a comparative test of brands? If you cannot taste acrid in a formula like er chen tang, then it obviously is not there and that brand of er chen tang will not work. A predominantly sweet tasting er chen tang could harm a patient–especially if the dose is increased to try to compensate for a weak, bargain product. Why? Because as factory-processing selectively degrades other flavors, sweet survives. In the end, a patient with a phlegm condition receives a higher dose of a counterproductive sweet flavor. Flavors are as revealing in herbal products as they are in fruit and vegetables. Flavor is a palpable measure of potency, and in TCM the right flavor matters. In short, if it doesn’t taste like much – it won’t do much, and if a formula tastes like candy, prescribing candy instead could result in the same clinical outcome.

. . . which is a reliable indicator of potency. Color helps us to find the best produce in the market. A light yellow orange juice would raise suspicions - a dull taste would confirm them. Be it vegetable soup, or herbal “soup”, a rich color is revealing. When accompanied by a rich flavor and fragrance that is true to the ingredients, high potency is defined. Clearly, these tangible characteristics, stating the power behind the most effective TCM and optimal clinical results, are found in fresh handmade herbal teas. Red flag: dark colored herbs like Rehmannia, listed on the label, but light colored pills, powder, or liquid, in the bottle.

. . . which is a reliable indicator of potency. Some of the most important and commonly used herbs in Traditional Chinese medical tradition are quite aromatic, i.e. fragrant, and capable of rapidly causing a response from the body. Inhaling some aromatic herbs can help relieve a headache. Other aromatic herbs can cause one. That demonstrates how influential the smell of an herb can be. In the bloodstream, aromatic herbs can perform with even more significant action. What about herbs that were fragrant when harvested – but not fragrant in the herbal product you buy? Then, obviously, they will no longer have the desired effect in or on the body and should be replaced. Do the pills that you prescribe smell strong or not smell at all?