Herbal Medicine
Through Herbal and Nutrition Consultations, Third Root combines the best practices of traditional Chinese Herbal Medicine and Western Herbal Medicine to address the health concerns of our community. And in addition to selling locally-harvested herbs, we also teach about the plants growing in our very neighborhood that can benefit your health!
Chinese Herbal Medicine
While many people have heard of acupuncture, an equally important part of Chinese medicine is the use of herbs. Chinese herbal medicine developed thousands of years ago. In this tradition, herbs are prescribed in combinations. Instead of taking one herb for your condition, you’ll receive a formula, made up of usually about 6-10 different plants. Many of the formulas we’ll give you are the same prescriptions that have been used for thousands of years, and they’ve been proven both safe and effective.
Formulas are commonly taken in one of three different ways:
- Raw Formula. We provide you with the actual dried herbs and you boil them in water to make a medicinal tea.
- Herbal Granules. Herbal granules are pre-cooked herbs that are sprayed onto a medium. They look a bit like instant coffee, and you stir them into boiling water to make a tea.
- Herbal Pills. Finally, we can provide you with the herb formula in easy-to-swallow pill capsules.
Like acupuncture, herbs enter the body’s energy channels and help keep the qi, or energy, of the body flowing smoothly. They can help strengthen the body’s qi, blood and essence, and they can help drain and release disease-causing factors inside the body.
At Third Root, we strive whenever possible to use organic and sustainably grown herbs. The majority of our herbs come from the Medicinal Herbs Consortium, a coalition of U.S. herbal growers committed to growing high quality herbs in a manner friendly to the Earth, beneficial to local farmers, and good for patients.
Western Herbal Medicine
Did you know that medicines grow around us, in the cracks of sidewalks, in vacant lots, in community gardens, climbing up the walls of apartment buildings? The tradition of Western Herbal Medicine involves the botanical piece of identifying medicinal plants, knowing when to harvest them and which part (for example: flower, berry or root), and how to make medicine. Western Herbal Medicine also involves working with people in need of care, addressing their unique body system, and applying herbal medicines accordingly.
At Third Root, we use locally harvested herbs and provide access to Western Herbal Medicine in a variety of ways:
- We conduct workshops on different components of body systems and the herbs that effect them, as well as medicine making.
- We organize Herb Walks to Prospect Park to teach how to identify the abundance of locally grown herbs available, as well as how to harvest andd prepare them for use in medicines.
- We offer individual consultations where staff herbalists will learn about your health and health history and suggest and/or provide herbal blends specifically designed for you.
