Herbs for Fertility

Herbs for fertility in Chinese herbal medicine both nourish and tone the reproductive system. The beauty and power of Chinese herbal medicine lies in its ability to address individual imbalances. The diagnosis of infertility is broad and the solution is seldom one single herb or a collection of "fertility herbs." The first step is finding figuring out your particular imbalance. You can learn more about diagnosis according your menstrual cycle by going to Herbs and the Menstrual Cycle.

Learning about your fertility from a Chinese medicine perspective can be confusing. If you don't understand a word or phrase, please visit my quick and easy TCM and Fertility Dictionary to look it up before reading on.

The practice of Chinese herbal medicine is complex and takes many years of study to develop proficiency. The complete Chinese herbal compendiums include the actions and indications of 2000-3000 animal, mineral and plant products for use in Chinese herbal medicine. In common practice between 300-500 herbs may be found in a Chinese apothecary.

In order to be a board certified Chinese herbalist in the U.S., acupuncturists must pass the NCCAOM herbal boards. This exam covers 470 single herbs and 254 formulas in detail. One must have a thorough knowledge of the actions, indications, properties, dosages and interactions of both the single herbs and the formulas. If you are looking to work with an acupuncturist, it's a good idea to see that they've passed the herbal boards in their respective country.

In the practice of Western herbalism, herbs like vitex, raspberry leaf and red clover may be taken singly. However, Chinese herbs are seldom taken individually. Herbal formulas that resemble an elegant recipe are prescribed specifically for the patient's condition. Most Chinese herbalists would never prescribe Dang Gui (often written Dong Quai herb) or any Chinese herb on it's own. The power of Chinese herbalism lies in it's subtle complexity that allows a formula to be tweaked to address a person's specific imbalance, which is particularly helpful when using herbs that increase fertility.

The authors, Dan Bensky and Randall Barolet, of Chinese Herbal Medicine, Formulas and Strategies write in their preface; "Studying Chinese herbal medicine is an arduous task that is similar to learning a language. The first step, familiarizing yourself with the medicinal substances, corresponds to accumulating a sufficient vocabulary. But words (single herbs) alone are not enough. Before you can speak a language, you must understand the rules of syntax and grammar. And before you can "talk" to the body with Chinese herbal medicine, you must understand the formulas and the strategies that underlie them. This is the syntax and grammar of Chinese herbal medicine. Just as individual words are rarely used outside of their context in a sentence, it is rare in Chinese herbal medicine to prescribe individual substances outside of their context in a formula."

In order to consolidate the knowledge of the numerous compounds used in Chinese medicine, ancient herbalists organized the individual herbs and the traditional formulas into categories. Today, we commonly divide the single herbs into 32 distinct categories and the traditional formulas into 18 broad groupings. When using herbs for fertility, only a portion of these categories are utilized. Herbal formulas that increase fertility in women and men commonly come from the following categories:

• Tonify Qi
• Tonify Yin
• Tonify Yang
• Tonify Blood
• Clear Heat
• Drain Damp
• Regulate Qi
• Invigorate Blood
• Transform Phlegm
• Stabilize and Bind
• Warm the Interior and Expel Cold
• Nourish the Heart and Calm the Spirit

In traditional Chinese medicine, formulas must have performed successfully for a few generations before being included in official herbal texts. Much of the herbal medicine utilized in treating fertility has been used for over 500 years in China and throughout Asia.

I understand that men and women come to the internet looking for herbs for fertility. I wrote this overview of Chinese herbal medicine, to give you some understanding of the complexity of Chinese herbal medicine. Taking individual Chinese herbs for fertility like angelica (Dang Gui), dioscorea root (Shan Yao) or epimedium (Yin Yang Huo) on their own is not a good idea. These herbs work best when taken in an elegant formula prescribed for a specific condition.

During my last year of acupuncture school, I started to build my own herbal apothecary. I flew from Maui to Honolulu every week for school and would stop in Chinatown on my way to school. Every Friday morning, I'd have my own little class with Dr. Lai, one of the oldest and friendliest herbalists in Chinatown, where he would explain useful herbal practices for everyday complaints. After my little class, I'd buy 5-10 bags of herbs and add them to my collection when I got home.

One of the best lessons I learned from Dr. Lai and my other herbal instructors was the multifaceted properties of herbs, which often depend on dosage and the synergistic effect of the other herbs in the formula. When it comes to herbs for fertility, this is especially important, as we want the herbal formula to address specific aspects of fertility at certain times in the menstrual cycle.