If you've spent months searching online, unsure whether to try herbal medicine

If you're curious about herbal medicine, measure your body before the medicine

Key points in 30 seconds

1. Our herbal medicine starts from testing, not from the herbs. We first record your current condition and baseline numbers with blood, body composition and brainwave (EEG) tests, plus abdominal, pulse and tongue diagnosis.
2. Even if it seems needed at the first visit, we don't recommend it on day one. If we judge it necessary, we explain why using test results and examination findings, and you make the decision.
3. It's not a medicine you take for life. We start with a set period, and decide with follow-up testing whether to continue or stop.
4. Even if the goal is sleep, the first prescription may target your gut. We build the conditions your body needs to recover in order.
5. We don't stop the conventional medicine you're taking. Designing a prescription that can go alongside it is our job.

What we often hear

• "My body isn't what it used to be, so I'm thinking of trying a tonic, but everything I find online is scary."
• "Some places talk about it like a cure-all, others call it a scam. I don't know what to believe."
• "I heard it's bad for the liver. Can I take it with the medicine I'm on now?"
• "It's not cheap. How can I tell whether it's working or not?"
• "Honestly, I'm a bit distrustful of it."

This hesitation is reasonable. It means you don't want to decide what goes into your body without evidence. We feel the same way, so instead of the benefits of herbal medicine, this post lays out the principles we follow when we use herbal medicine.

Why we test before preparing medicine

Before prescribing, we do blood tests, a body composition test and a brainwave test. With abdominal diagnosis we check tension in the abdomen and spots that hurt when pressed, and with pulse and tongue diagnosis we look at your overall condition. There are three reasons.

First, to record a starting point. You need numbers from before treatment to compare changes after treatment in numbers. To say "this indicator moved this much" instead of "I think I feel better," you need a baseline.

Second, to check whether your body is in a state to take it. We look at your basic condition, including liver and kidney values, and check every medication and supplement you take. If your condition isn't suited to herbal medicine, we don't prescribe it.

Third, to design the prescription. The same "I'm tired" can show quite different pictures in testing and abdominal diagnosis. We decide the combination of herbs based on your body's condition, not on the name of the symptom.

We don't recommend it on day one

Even if herbal medicine seems needed at the first visit, we usually don't bring it up first. Treatment works properly when there's trust, and trust builds up over several visits.

If, as treatment goes on, we judge it to be necessary, we explain why using your test numbers and examination findings. You make the decision.

We don't say "you'll feel much better as soon as you take it"

Because it isn't true. Here's a comparison we often use in the clinic.

Dirty hands can be washed clean with soap in one go. But your body's condition is more like something that comes clean little by little, rinsed with water many times over. Herbal medicine is a treatment that helps with that rinsing. Rather than changing things all at once, it works by setting a direction and building up over time.

We tell you about these expectations plainly before prescribing.

We set an end date before we start

We start herbal medicine for a set period, and at the agreed point we decide through retesting and re-examination whether to continue or stop.

The goal isn't a state where the medicine props your body up, but a body that runs well without medicine. We don't recommend taking it with no planned end date.

Sleep is the problem, so why look at digestion first?

Even if the goal is sleep, the first step in the prescription may be your gut. In a body where digestion and bowel movements have broken down, neither sleep nor recovery works properly.

So rather than aiming straight at the symptom, we often build the conditions your body needs to recover, in order. You might ask, "I have insomnia, so why digestive medicine?" We explain the reason for the order each time we prescribe. How we look at sleep and digestion together is laid out in our insomnia treatment guide and digestive treatment guide.

"Good" and "needed" are not the same

Herbs like deer antler velvet are known as tonics that are good for everyone. What we weigh isn't "is it good?" but "does this body need it right now?"

We recommend it only to people whose testing and examination confirm a need, and we tell you why. For people who don't need it, a simpler prescription is the right fit, and sometimes acupuncture and lifestyle changes without herbal medicine are the right fit.

How we check for safety

Before you take it, we check with blood tests, including liver and kidney values, whether you're in a state to take it.

We check every medication you take and design the prescription around them. Reducing or changing conventional medicine is something to discuss with the hospital that prescribed it, and you should not stop your conventional medicine because you're starting herbal medicine.

While you're taking it, if you need to take it for a long time, we repeat the blood test at a set point. We tell you at the start to stop taking it and let us know if your stomach feels uncomfortable or you notice any unusual reaction.

If you're pregnant or breastfeeding, or being treated for another condition, please tell us first. We'll decide whether to prescribe, and what to include, based on that. What to check before taking it and the signs that mean you should stop right away are written up in detail in the post on what to check before taking a tonic.

Care follows this order

First, we read your body. We record your current condition and baseline numbers with blood, body composition and brainwave tests, plus abdominal, pulse and tongue diagnosis, and check the medications you take.

Second, we prescribe in order and set a period. We explain why this combination and why this order, and at the start we agree together on how long you'll take it and when we'll check next.

Third, we compare with retesting. At the set point, we repeat the same tests and compare with the starting point. If the numbers and changes in your body show the right direction, we continue. If not, we don't repeat the same prescription; we go back to the original plan.

Frequently asked questions

Q. I heard herbal medicine is bad for the liver?
That concern is exactly why we test first. We check your liver values before you start, and check again partway through if you take it for a long time. Instead of telling you it's "completely safe," we use it while checking. If you have liver disease or high liver values, we look at that condition together first.

Q. What's the difference between a tonic and herbal medicine for treatment?
Rather than that distinction, we look at "what does this body need right now?" If the conditions for recovery, like digestion, sleep and circulation, have broken down, a prescription that builds those conditions comes first. If the body is very depleted and needs replenishing, strengthening becomes the focus. Testing and examination tell us which it is.

Q. Can't you just make it for me without testing?
We believe herbal medicine prescribed just by looking at someone's face is the reason herbal medicine came to be distrusted. Without a record of the starting point, you can't check the effect in numbers, and without knowing your body's condition, we can't look after your safety.

What changes

Instead of "I took a course of tonic," knowing your body's starting numbers and where they are now. Having the day you finish the medicine written on the calendar from the start. And instead of searching "what should I take," knowing what your body actually needs.

That's what we're aiming for.

The prescription, how long you take it, and how quickly things change differ from person to person depending on your condition, your goals and any other conditions you have.

Today's takeaway

If you're considering herbal medicine, measure your body before the medicine. Even if the result is "you don't need it right now," finding that out is not a wasted trip.

If you do take herbal medicine, set the end date and the date to measure again first. That's how you can check the effect in numbers.

The order in which we prescribe herbal medicine is laid out in our treatment guide.

For questions or appointments, message us in English through the messenger at the bottom right of the page, or call +82-53-716-1175.