Karin Sorvik's Herbal Advice

Herbal SuperNutrition

If you want to live, you must eat wisely. But eating wisely may not prevent you from becoming sick. Something is missing from the grocery-bought or common, regular foods. Yet if these inadequate or "weak" foods can support life, then “strong” foods must be able to strengthen and protect life.

Herbs contain many nutrients―ginseng for example contains Vitamins B1, B2, C, Calcium, minerals, amino acids, etc.―but they also provide nutrients that are not found in regular food. These unique properties are called Effective Properties or Effective Composition. For example the Effective Properties of ginseng are Panaquilon (C32H56014), Panax Sapogenol (C27H4802), Panaxin (C38H66012), Panacin (C15H24), Ginsenin, and Amylase. We may call them “supernutrition.”
Herbs are strong foods; their nutrients are highly concentrated in natural, easily assimilable form. For example the herb called Atractylodes has high levels of nutrients such as Vitamins A and D (more than 20 times the amount in cod liver oil); Essential Oil, which can calm overactive organ functions; Atractylodes or Atractylons, which can lower blood sugar and relax heart muscles; Vitamins P, B1, and B12; several amino acids; and minerals. The intake of 1/4 ounce of Atractylodes equals 3 complete regular food meals―without extra fat, cholesterol, sugar, etc. It also costs less than a regular meal.

When herbs are made following classic Taoist methods into Taoist herbal combinative remedies, all of an herb’s properties are retained. Not one of these properties like Vitamin B1, Ginsenin, or Magnolol are isolated or extracted from the rest and refined into singular properties with petrochemicals. Taoist remedies are minimally processed the natural way to retain as much as possible these original herbal properties.

In laboratory studies, adrenalin was shot into the human body, resulting in raised blood sugar levels. After ginseng was administered, the blood sugar level returned to normal. This is an example of super-nutritional healing, a very important property found only in herbs. It is almost impossible to obtain such effective compositions in any daily, regular food diet, (which provides only simple nutrients).

An interesting fact about herbs is that they also purify the human body. We all know that the better we eat, the stronger our body becomes. But we neglect to take into account the fact that our bodies also contain parasites, such as germs and worms. As our foods make us stronger, it also makes these parasites stronger. If we like our foods, then the parasites must also like them. An example of this can be the corruption of an orange. If we place an orange on a table for a few weeks at room temperature, the orange will become covered with green-gray microorganisms. If we place a true ginseng root in the same environmental conditions for many years, the root will remain unchanged, because the microorganisms hate its taste and will never consume it. Nutrients from regular foods nourish us as well as the parasites (which take away what is supposed to be ours). In contrast, nutrients from herbs nourish us only. In this way the parasites are naturally eliminated and we are allowed to enjoy the full value of our nutritional intake.

Every day we are poisoning our bodies with polluted air and water; genetically-modified, preserved and chemicalized foods; drugs and alcohol. Some herbs are very effective in removing or neutralizing these toxins, because they improve the function of our internal organs.

To be most effective herbs must be used in their natural, unrefined and unchemicalized state. Most modern drugs have a common problem: negative side-effects. The side-effects occur because of the high concentrations of chemicals in them. If herbs were purified, chemicalized, and refined like many of the foods we have today, they too would lose much of their potential and natural balance. Thus, the most effective way to use herbs is to use the most potent portion of the plant in its natural state.

Fomulas that can be taken as a tonic.
As “strong” food on an ongoing basis.

102 Inmune builder, great for children and adults. It nourishes all the organs.
203 “Beauty tea” for women. It’s a blood building formula. Releases stress and balances the hormones. Eliminates PMS.
204 Comfort tea for premenopausal and menopausal women. Balances the hormones.
206 For children with ADD. Calms the nerves and is a sleep aid.
213 This formula is good for any kind of pain in the body. Arthritis.
301 This is a bone building formula for both men and women. And for men over 50 it balances the hormones.
404 Detox is a tonic to be taken for anyone who had had hepatitis. ABC to quit any addiction.
501 For any kind of prostate problem, keeps it free of infections.
708 Keeps the gums healthy.
701 Immune builder for older adults.
711 Life wheel feeds the glands so. Also good to keeps up the sexual energy.

New Year/Spring Festival

The Taoist practice pays attention to the change of seasons, which helps one stay in harmony with nature. We're now entering the season of the spring, which involves the sun rising, after being positioned underneath the earth during winter. This caused the energy to become more contracted. Now the energy is beginning to rise and is being pulled up towards the sun, as a result increasing daylight.

The Chinese New Year, which celebrates the sprouting of seeds underneath the ground, officially marks the change in the positioning of the sun and in the quality of energy. Just as the seeds are beginning to sprout, it is an ideal time for beginning to implement a strategy for the coming year.

In our own bodies, more energy is now rising to the liver, as it is a time of expressing our emotions outwards and the energy now has a rising and penetrating quality. We can see this in nature with a maple tree, which now can be tapped for syrup, as the energy is being pushed upwards from the ground.

Traditionally the spring time has been a time of fasting and purification. Some dietary changes that are often recommended to accommodate this season are eating more simply, with a greater proportion of cooked, green, leafy vegetables. See Dr. Chang’s Tao of Balanced Diet for more information. We can begin to clean out any dense or cold energy, or any excess salt or meat that been used to keep the body warm during the winter season.

We can aid in this process with two classical herbal formulas. Detoxifying tea and Vital tea are excellent for this time of year because they relate to the liver. They can help rebuild the liver, can aid in food absorption, and can improve the vitality of blood. One of the key ingredients in both formulas is a famous Chinese herb called bupleurum which has the quality of being pungent, bitter, and cool. It disperses wind and heat and soothes the liver, removing dense energy that may have accumulated during the winter. It also regulates the rising energy of spring to help prevent an excess of this energy.

Allergy alert

This is allergy time. It is the time of the year for many to find the environment to be an constant annoyance, whether it is mold, pollen, pollution, for me in my are area where there is are a lot of pine trees, the pollen seems to come like smoke. The formulas that are most useful for the spring time are AD Travel Tea 101 and AD Resistant Tea 102. They work to open up the sinus and as with AD 109 Breathing Tea to open up and strengthen the lungs. If there is a weakness and the weakness has now turned into Asthma. It is more serious and the AD 109 Breathing tea will be stronger. These formulas are working on the five element theory. See Eight Pillars of Taoism. In the end each organ receives something for nourishment.

Can Dr. Chang's Forgotten Foods cure you?

Yes... ....I mean no, not really... ... sorry I just can't say. I have been seeing people for 25 years and doing consultations in Herbology. I get the picture. Chinese herbal formulas can only help strengthen the body. What is a cure? I looked it up and did some research I found some great information.

The AMA has the legal rights to the words “cure”. Any Doctor with the AMA can cure. I am using as reference cancer which has become so big. Any one else using the word is in serious trouble. When the AMA comes after you for pretending “to have cured some one you can go to jail”. The other interesting thing is they have defined what it is the length of time a cure is: any one who has a treatment with their medicine for example: chemo, radiation or surgery, that is alive after 5 years regardless of quality of life is now considered cured. If you die on the next day you are still cured. This can make them look really good on paper.

Anyway, Taoism promotes the life within and is not one thing that we look into. It becomes more life style and attitude, a spiritual approach. In reality it is made up of eight branches. Check out Taoway on the site. There are many branches. Look into them and see if that sounds more like curing.

The one way to fight all disease is to have a healthy immune system

There seems to be a lot of herb bashing lately. I got a rash of emails from people saying, are “Chinese herbs safe’ or “aren’t all herbs from China filled with DDT?” Another wrote, “Aren’t all herbs from China filled with heavy metals?” First of all, let me briefly explain that Dr. Chang’s formulas are of the highest quality and are organically grown. China has not mechanized its farming, that is, the field workers use the same methods as they did for thousands of years. They do not have tractors everything is done by hand. It is much easier to find pure fields in China then it is in the U.S.A., where they have always uses pesticides and chemicals. We have been so conditioned by the media that we don’t think. In addition “Dr. Chang’s herbal formulas” have been imported to the USA for 40 years without a problem. The big guns in Washington - the drug corporations – are purposely creating trepidation in order to get the public to fear holistic methods as untested. Anything that may take away from the drug corporations profit must then be evil, even if it is better for the body and mind. The corporations are saying, “We need to protect our citizens from plants.” The Harvard Medical research and the American Cancer institute has determined that ¾ of all cancers are caused by diet and life style. Yet the only new drug is a new Chemo for cancer and the killing of the body goes on. I find it incredible that they has not been attempted to look into other forms of treatment. The amount of money invested in chemo has done nothing to bring about the people getting healthy after having these cancer treatments if you look at the statistics. If you did nothing you would have a better cure rate. In the end there is only one way to fight all disease it is to have a healthy immune system. This has to be worked on every day. I find Dr. Chang’s The Tao of Balanced Diet: Secrets of a Thin and Healthy Body to be a great start and then add the herbal formulas as needed.