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Discover the secrets to achieving clinical
results with Chinese (TCM) herbology. Know the attributes of a successful student.
Use this website to learn specific ways to improve quality in herbal practice,
to promote common sense in using herbs and herbal formulas, and
to protect your right to practice as an herbalist.
Chinese (TCM) herbology,
environmental health, nutrition;
On-site and distance-learning programs;
Research and clinical systems development;
Courses and services for improving health.
Rocky Mountain Herbal Institute (RMHI)
Roger W. Wicke, Ph.D., director
PO Box 579; Hot Springs, Montana 59845 USA / 406-741-3811 /
email to: rmhi@rmhiherbal.org
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http://www.rmhiherbal.org/
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- Introduction to Chinese herbology: discover how to use herbs safely to
improve health and how to avoid common mistakes in choosing herbs and formulas.
- Who we are- a small group of professionals committed to helping you learn
and use Chinese herbal methods for improving health.
- Chinese herbal sciences FAQ: how to improve your health using herbs;
how to find a qualified herbalist;
how to prepare yourself for a career in the herbal sciences.
- Directory of educational programs, publications, and services
- NEW courses, articles
- Health Sciences Kiosk.
Discover the causes of over 70% of current chronic illness.
Learn how to avoid serious mistakes in choosing herbs.
If you are an herbalist or student of herbology, discover how to protect your rights and
your profession
during a period of worldwide historical, political, and economic change.
Explore difficult cases and the results of master Chinese herbalists.
- Other resources: links to other websites; register to receive RMHI announcements;
participate in TCMherbal, a moderated discussion forum.
The information on RMHI's website is of an educational and general nature and should not be construed as medical advice. Individuals desiring help for specific health problems should seek advice from qualified professionals.
Introduction to Chinese herbology: how to use herbs safely and avoid common mistakes
Sometimes referred to as traditional Chinese medicine
or TCM, the
traditional Chinese herbal sciences are a distinct, independently recognized body of
knowledge
from acupuncture, with a 2000-year history of continual evolution and refinement.
Because the term "traditional Chinese medicine" includes a variety
of techniques including acupuncture, we refer to the Chinese system of growing, processing,
and clinical usage of herbs as the
Chinese herbal sciences. (We avoid using the term "medicine",
to distinguish our profession from that discipline.)
To understand how Chinese herbal methods differ from allopathic medicine
and western approaches to clinical herbology, consider the following examples:
- A woman complains of chronic menstrual cramping and inquires about possible herbs
to use in this condition.
An herbal reference lists over 100 herbs that might be useful. Without more information
she must either try them at random, or systematically try each herb until she obtains relief,
a potentially time-consuming and expensive proposition. Isn't there a better way?
- A woman has been medically diagnosed with systemic lupus erythematosus,
a chronic, inflammatory autoimmune disorder. She has discovered in the
alternative health literature a wealth of
suggestions, claims, and pronouncements on herbal formulas, supplements,
and dietary recommendations. However, she has been informed by a Chinese (TCM) herbalist
that herbal formulas must be tailored to the individual, and that even people that share a common
medical disorder may vary significantly in general physiological characteristics;
what may be helpful for one individual may not work or may even be harmful for another with the
same medical disorder. After spending thousands of dollars in medical tests for a diagnosis,
she is understandably skeptical of undergoing yet more probing and analysis.
How should she decide what to do?
- A man has been suffering from chronic fatigue, and has heard that Chinese ginseng
is a good "energy booster". This man's friend has been taking ginseng for several weeks and feels
much healthier and energetic than before.
After trying some for several days, he experiences abdominal bloating
and insomnia. Moreover, his fatigue has worsened, and
his doctor has detected elevated blood pressure. What went wrong?
To go beyond herbal hype, explore RMHI's website to find
the answers to the preceding problems, and discover ways to understand the often conflicting
and technical information about herbs. A good place to start, whether you are an individual
seeking help or a health professional wishing to learn more about Chinese herbology, is
"Chinese herbology, correct and incorrect ways of choosing
herbs".
Chinese herbal science
provides a means for maintaining and improving health distinct in methods and philosophy from
the Western medical tradition, which focuses on biological tissue pathology.
Instead, Chinese herbal science integrates the individual's sensations
and perceptions with
the herbalist's perceptions and experience to arrive at common-sense solutions. Rather than
consider only isolated bits of medical data or individual symptoms,
precise clinical rules and principles lead to herbal strategies based on whole-body
criteria.
Chinese herbal science continually strives to improve how herbal formulas are chosen and developed,
so that these formulas will harmonize important physiological functions without side effects.
Chinese herbology is one of the most sophisticated clinical systems in the world for
analyzing patterns of symptoms and other clinical indicators with repeatability and consistency.
The modern Chinese herbal sciences include a range of subject areas including clinical herbology
and research, pharmacognosy, botany, agronomy and plant taxonomy.
China, Japan, and other Asian countries
actively support research and development of these fields, for the ultimate benefit of TCM herbalists
and their clients worldwide.
The Rocky Mountain Herbal Institute comprises a small group of independent teachers, herbalists, and researchers committed to constructive action in solving personal and community health care problems.
For over a decade we have taught courses to both professionals and the general public, published textbooks on Chinese herbology, offered herbal health care to the public, and conducted research projects.
(More about RMHI, instructors, and staff...)
We support your right to uncensored health information and information about herbs, guaranteed by the First Amendment of the Bill of Rights.
To use herbs for improving health and to teach others how to do this requires no license, only knowledge and dedication.
The articles and pages in RMHI's website
answer many frequently asked questions about Chinese herbology:
how to improve your health using herbs;
how to find a qualified herbalist;
how to prepare yourself for a career in the herbal sciences;
continuing education for health professionals.
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RMHI directory of educational programs, publications, and services
Here are links to RMHI pages about courses and services we offer,
plus advice for beginning herbalists and individuals wanting to improve their health.
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- BOOKS and PUBLICATIONS in traditional Chinese herbal sciences:
- RMHI publications information and how to order.
Basic course textbooks on Chinese herbology (case-study-centered learning, health assessment, materia medica, herbal formulation); essays on protecting herbalists' rights.
- Harmonious Sunshine Cultural Center publications by C.S. Cheung, M.D. An extensive series of publications and journals suitable for:
students of Chinese herbology, TCM herbalists preparing to take professional exams, and experienced practitioners wanting to improve their skills in handling difficult cases.
NEW courses, articles
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The Rocky Mountain Herbal Institute's
Health Sciences Kiosk
Following are links to RMHI essays, reference information, quizzes, clinical case studies, and reading lists on herbal health care and other health topics.
Introductory topics are listed first, followed by progressively more advanced material of interest to the professional herbalist.
- Chinese herbology, correct and incorrect ways of choosing herbs.
Choosing herbs can often be a haphazard endeavor without some way to organize and make sense of the huge amount of information available to us.
Find out how the traditional Chinese herbal sciences help us to choose herbs more precisely, without side effects.
- Test your knowledge of common and popular herbs. A short quiz with answers, illustrating how traditional Chinese herbal (TCM) methods help us choose herbs correctly. After taking this quiz and checking the answers, you may be surprised how herbs may sometimes be misused.
- Basic food information, a checklist for healthy eating.
Beside the three scourges of tobacco, alcohol, and excessive sugar, discover many of the
lesser-known evils of modern society that together may account for over 70% of all
chronic illness in America.
- Environmental hazards to eliminate or minimize. Checklist of common household and workplace chemical and electromagnetic hazards.
- Improving your health: a reading list.
- Recommended readings in traditional Chinese herbology, for the professional herbalist and serious student.
- Chinese herbology education,
questions you should ask about curriculum quality before enrolling.
- Chinese herbology, clinical case outcomes.
Results of using Chinese herbal formulas in various health conditions.
(Translated by C.S. Cheung, M.D., Harmonious Sunshine Cultural Center publications.)
- American herbalists' realpolitik. Articles on the practice and politics of herbal health care in America. Learn how to protect your rights as an herbalist and ensure the integrity of herbology as a body of traditional knowledge shared by all the world's peoples. Topics: world history of herbal usage, education, regulation, issues in law and ethics.
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Other resources
Our favorite herbal and health links
(herbal sciences, health topics,
book distributors of herbal textbooks, herb products, research resources, etc.)
REGISTER to receive the latest information on courses, application packet, etc.
TCMherbal Forum, a moderated forum for
discussing
- Chinese herbs and herbal formulas
- TCM interpretation of clinical uses for other herbs and foods
- TCM health history assessment
- TCM insights into environmental health issues