Anemia, Dang Gui and Huang Qi
The result of insufficient red blood cell counts, anemia affects more than 3 million Americans, making it one of the nation’s most common blood disorders. For many patients, anemia produces minimal, if any, symptoms. But in severe cases, anemia can cause debilitating, even fatal complications.
Thankfully, treatments exist to help with anemia, including Chinese medicinal herbs like Dang Gui and Huang Qi.
How Western Medicine and Chinese Medicine Diagnose Anemia
From a western medicine perspective, anemia can be quantified and diagnosed through simple blood work. Following analysis, if the patient’s blood hemoglobin levels aren’t high enough to exceed a specified threshold, the patient has anemia. This threshold is partly determined by the patient’s age and sex. If an anemia diagnosis is made, western medicine recognizes several forms of the disease, including iron-deficiency, vitamin-deficiency, inflammation-caused anemia and sickle cell anemia.
Western physicians treat anemia through diet, behavioral modifications and medications that can assist with blood cell formation.
Chinese medicine does not use blood work to diagnose anemia. Instead, the patient’s symptoms and overall health presentation are instead used to identify the condition. If problems with the patient’s blood are discovered, anemia may not be the diagnosis. Instead, the patient may be diagnosed with blood deficiency – a condition that refers to poor blood quality or circulation.
How Chinese Herbs Like Dang Gui and Huang Qi Can Help with Anemia
Chinese medicine relies on herbal formulations in many of its treatment regimens, and this is also the case with anemia. Specifically, a pair of beneficial botanicals are used with blood deficiency conditions – Dang Gui and Huang Qi.
Dang Gui (Chinese Angelica root) is a warm herb that tonifies the blood and is particularly useful in anemia resulting from dysmenorrhea, amenorrhea, and other irregular forms of menstruation. In this way, Dang Gui invigorates the blood.
Huang Qi (Astragalus root) is a natural pairing with Huang Qi, as it also improves blood health. This slightly warm herb tonifies the blood, too, while also increasing the availability of Yang Qi energy. As Yang Qi is a primary constituent of healthy blood, Huang Qi acts like a supplement to Dang Gui. Have a conversation with your Houston practitioner today to understand the ways they can be of assistance.