In my office, I make different teas each week, with variations based on the weather and whatever acute health issues I see arising. The intention is to offer strengthening, preventive treatment during the cold and flu season. The teas also act to strengthen the effect of the acupuncture treatment.
One formula that I am currently using I have named Yu Ping Wen Zhong Tang – Jade Screen Warm the Middle Soup. The Jade Screen is in reference to the formula Jade Windscreen Powder, which was created by the Chinese doctor Zhu Dan-Xi in his text entitled Essential Methods of Dan-Xi, written around 1347 A.D. Zhu Dan-Xi is regarded as one of the most famous doctors of Chinese medicine, and was the last of the Four Great Masters of the Jin-Yuan Dynasties. This simple formula has been used for almost 700 years to strengthen the body and prevent acute illness in cold, windy weather.
Wen Zhong means “warm the middle.” I have used this term and added warming, Spleen (middle) supplementing herbs to make this formula even stronger and more suitable for general balancing and tonification. For anyone who is interested, it has components of other well-known Chinese formulas…Cinnamon Twig Soup, Four Ingredients Soup, Honeysuckle Forsythia Powder, Five Accumulations Powder, and Pinellia and Magnolia Bark Soup.
In the modern West, we use supplements like vitamin C and Zinc, or herbs like echinacea and goldenseal, to try and strengthen the immune system and prevent illness. These substances are all energetically cold, damage the Spleen and Stomach, and cause harm with long-term use. In contrast, Chinese herbal formulas are based on approaches that have been in use for centuries and millennia. They are much more effective and safer than commonly used products from the health food store and internet.
Here is a picture of herbs in this formula. This formula can be ordered through the office via Stems and Branches Herbal Pharmacy.
