The Chinese herbal pharmacopia is vast and ancient. In these blogs I’m going to pick one and discuss it. Today’s herb is he shou wu. The herb is named after a legendary Mr. He in the ancient Tang dynasty, who allegedly had a bit much to drink one night, fell asleep in the woods on the way home, and had a dream about a vine pulsating with energy. He found and cultivated the vine, cut and dried it into a powder and consumed it. Over time his strength and vigor increased to the point where at 58 years old he was able to marry and have children. Supposedly he and his progeny not only lived unusually long lives as a result of taking this herb regularly, but their hair retained it’s lush, black color. In fact this herb was called the “immortal herb”.

I use this herb today for people with low energy and dizziness, people with hair loss, and people with migraines which get worse with fatigue. Unlike many other Chinese herbs it can be taken over a long period of time, and also unlike other herbs it is often taken by itself, rather than mixed in a formula with other herbs.