In rural China, 60% of the population rely on herbs for primary healthcare; and, in Japan, 80% of the medical doctors have experience with herbal medicine. Herbal medicines are becoming increasingly more familiar to Americans -- in 1997 one-third of all Americans used herbal remedies. And yet, for many others accustomed to the Western medical model, herbal medicine still seems strange and unknown. The United States is now breaking out of the medical, scientific, political, and economic models that put a stranglehold on herbal medicine. This may well be driven by public opinion. The public's response to support the Dietary Supplement Health Education Act of 1994 was the greatest response Washington had ever seen over any single issue since the Vietnam War.

The public may also be reacting to the dangers of synthetic drugs. A recent study estimated that 2.1 million serious injuries and 79,000 to 139,000 deaths each year are due to adverse reactions to drugs. Even the overuse of over-the-counter drugs for common ailments can have serious side effects. In my opinion, there is no need to use a sledgehammer to hit in a nail. Herbal healthcare offers us a safe, subtle, effective alternative. As the world speeds toward the mythic "global village," the knowledge of different systems of herbal traditions is being shared. It is time to consider the wisdom of all the treasure houses of experiential herbal knowlege.  The practitioners of Germany, France, Australia, Japan, and China all use different herbs, relying on different preparations and traditions to guide their use.

It's time to share and combine the treasures. What ancient Chinese herbal master wouldn't have been ecstatic to use the North American herb echinacea in their formulas, if they had known of its existence or the Polynesian herb kava kava? What would Europeans have done with ginseng? By trying to understand the herbal traditions from different parts of the world we can gain a broader dimension for a more targeted use of plants for healing. For example, Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) gives us an "energetic" picture of the herb, while the resurgence of Western scientific interest gives us a deeper understanding of its biochemistry. I believe in uniting these varying dimensions of understanding plants to better use them as healing agents. TCM has the longest recorded written history of any herbal medicine Ñ over twenty-five hundred years of tradition. The truth is, Chinese herbs are no more potent than the ones growing in your backyard, however, they have been better observed, both energetically and biochemically and used in every formula configuration possible. The D'Arcy Naturals exclusive formulas at this site have been developed by using superior herbs from all the traditions, guided into formulas using the wisdom of TCM. Using Traditional Chinese Medicine 's botanical wisdom as a foundation, and adding to that the wisdom of modern scientific research, Ayurvedic, European, North American, and South American herbal traditions, we come to a very powerful perspective and the basis for World Herb Formulas. This website presents a system of herbal healthcare that interacts with nature to create harmony in the body-mind for personal wellness. You can use this easily accessible, herbal healthcare system to gently tap into the body's own healing energy.

Traditional Herbs: Traditional herbs have an enormous experiential base for their use. Over thousands of years of trial and error, different traditional preparations of herbs have evolved. For example, the Chinese herb rehmannia in its raw form,( sheng di huang), helps lower fevers with its cooling effects, whereas rehmannia prepared by cooking in wine, ( shu di huang), is best used for blood loss and blood deficiency. In my selection of herbs for formulation and preparations, I try to remain faithful to the experiential tenets developed by different cultures. 

Organic Herbs: I am a supporter of organic farming and use more expensive, high-grade organic herbs wherever possible. However, many herbs are not yet currently available in organic form.

Selectively Wildcrafted Herbs: Ethically wildcrafted herbs are gathered or harvested by wildcrafters who practice strict land stewardship while striving to uphold ecological balance in their harvests. Entire colonies of herbs are not devastated for short-term gain; endangered species are not harvested. 

Powdered Herbs: Powdered herbs may be organic or wildcrafted, or neither, yet they are the most common herbal supplement category. Powdered herbs can be made into capsules or tablets and are reasonably priced. Powdering may not be ideal for sensitive herbs or flowers, because it may damage active ingredients that break down when exposed to moisture or oxygen. All powdered herbs are tested for a range of contaminants and are given a Certificate of Analysis. Even with today's technology, the exact active ingredients of any particular herb may not be identified. It may be that the exact combination of active ingredients is unknown, or that standardization is impossible. Attempts are made to standardize herbs, yet in so doing we may be throwing the baby out with the bath water, as only selected active ingredients are used as the standard markers. Many herbalists are resisting this pharmacological, reductionist approach and staying faithful to the traditional use of herbs. This traditional use employs the full spectrum of active ingredients, while at the same time, keeping intact the energetic activity of the whole herb. I believe in using full-spectrum powdered herbs or full-spectrum extracted powdered herbs. 

Extracted Powdered Herbs: Modern technology lets us remove the plant cellulose barrier, making the active constituents more easily digestible and much more easily assimilated into the bloodstream. This extraction process keeps the plant ingredients in a full spectrum. The processed extract contains higher concentrations of active constituents and a lower concentration of inactives such as starch. For example, 5 pounds of herb can be processed into 1 pound of concentrated extract powder. This is usually shown as 5:1 ratio. The extracts are prepared either as single herbs or combined in formulas, HPLC tested for heavy metals, and cooked at very high temperatures that sterilize the herbs during processing. I like 5:1 extracted powders, especially for Chinese herbs, sensitive herbs, and flowers, because full-spectrum extracted herbs are completely cleansed by high-temperature processing, without loss of volatile oils, and they are shipped in such a way that they are protected from fumigation at the ports of entry. 

The following production process is used for the Chinese herbal extracts that I recommend. Top quality Taiwanese suppliers have the highest grade Chinese herbs grown on mainland China. These are then shipped to their pharmaceutical grade production plant in Taiwan. At the plant the herbs undergo extensive, complex, scientific procedures: