Herbs in Chinese Medicine: Gou Qi Zi

Series Summary

Traditional Chinese medicine herbology involves the art of combining various herbs and ingredients tailored to the patient's needs. The practice of Chinese alternative healing through the use of herbs is centuries old, and is still practiced today. Many Westerners have gained interest in the methods of Chinese herbology as part of an alternative healing regiment, and it's possible to buy and use many of the traditional elements in shops across the country.

In this free video series a registered herbalist Robert Linde will talk to you about various herbs used in traditional Chinese medicine. You'll learn how several different herbs like Ginseng, Dan Gui, Bitter Melon and even Gecko can serve as alternative healing methods. Robert is also a licensed acupuncturist, which helps with his knowledge of the chi and energy flow. Learn about several herbs used in this alternative medicine practice and begin to rejuvenate yourself today.

Video Transcript

"I want to take a moment to talk about the uses of some of our Chinese herbs, especially the ones that can be safely used on your own. This particular herb is known as Gou Qi Zi, also known as Goji berry sometimes and it's the Chinese wolf berry, a little more commonly used name. This particular herb is often times used to nourish the blood, but in particular, it has a special use for the eyes, and so, we use this one when people have eye problems. My own mother, for instance, has dry macular degeneration and I've been able to reverse that with accupunture, some other Chinese herbs and some western nutraceuticals, but in particular, I have her eat about two tablespoons of the Gou Qi Zi every day. So she adds it into her cereal or sometimes she just likes to snack on a few of them. So they're an enjoyable, safe thing to eat, don't eat them to excess, but we can take those just as we would any fruit that we think has got benefit for us. So, enjoy some Gou Qi Zi. You can tonify your blood and benefit your eyes just by snacking on a little bit of this wolf berry."