Delbert J. Newman and Hwa S. Lee-Newman, O.M.D., L.Ac. each a Certified Herbalist, studied in China and the United States before entering practice the late 1980's. The Newman's opened Sierra Shan Acupuncture and Herbal Center in Three Rivers, California five years ago, having moved from Northridge, California, where they owned and operated a successful practice for nine years. Their practice integrates Chinese Herbal Medicine with acupuncture and massage for preventative care and basic medical treatment. Herbal medicine and the dietary treatments customized for the individual at Sierra Shan can help to deal with complex disorders of long standing.

Chinese herbal medicine is the main modality or treatment within Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM). The written history of TCM stretches back more than 2500 years and has undoubtedly been practiced much longer than that. Chinese herbal medicine is quickly establishing itself in the West as one of the most popular and effective alternative therapies.

Chinese herbal medicine, when practiced as part of TCM, is based on an individualized pattern diagnosis as well as a disease diagnosis. This means the TCM patient receives a custom written herbal prescription designed to treat both the symptom or disease and also his/her individual pattern which includes his/her emotional temperament and bodily constitution. TCM formulas include from six to eighteen herbs in a carefully written prescription to deal with a person’s main symptom as well as their entire pattern.

The majority of ingredients used in Chinese herbal medicine are from plants: leaves, flowers, twigs, stems, roots, tubers, rhizomes, and barks among others. Less frequently used are ingredients from animal and mineral sources. Chinese herbal medicine has adopted and incorporated into their materia medica herbs from all over the world, although only about fifteen percent of the standard repertoire of 500 ingredients originated from outside China. What makes these “Chinese” herbs is that they are prescribed according to Chinese medical theory and a TCM pattern diagnosis.