Traditional Chinese drug therapy

More than 4,000 years old, traditional Chinese medicine continues to be widely practiced in China and in western countries. Traditional Chinese medicine teaches that good health is the result of harmony and balance between five basic elements: earth, water, fire, wood and metal. Also important to health are the two types of energy Yin and Yang, constituting a vital substance that circulates through the body. Drug therapy has been one of the means used in Chinese medicine to keep these elements and the flow of energy in balance. Many of the same herbs used thousands of years ago in China could be the source of new pharmaceuticals in Western medicine.