About Chinese Herbs:
Shengdihuang and Shudihuang

A Chinese government official in the Ming Dynasty(1368-1644), known as Mayor Lin, was said to have fathered a baby girl at te age of 104. He was believe to take glutinous rehmannia regularly.

Shengdi

The Chinese have a famous riddle "I have visited a new place and returned to an old one simultaneously, what herb am I?" The answer is "I am glutinous rehmannia."

When glutinous rehmannia is used in raw form, it is called "new place" because the Chinese ideograms for raw glutinous rehmannia and "new place" are identical; but when rehmannia is processed by steaming and drying in the sun, it is called "old place" because the Chinese ideograms for processed glutinous rehmannia and "old place" are identical.

The Chinese traditionally process raw glutinous rehmannia by steaming it 10 times and drying it in the sun 9 times, in order to make it shiny and black as if it was painted with black ink. But why do the Chinese bother to go to such great lengths in processing it? There is a good reason underlying their efforts.

Raw glutinous rehmannia can rcduce heat in the blood, where processed glutinous rehmannia can treat blood deficiency. Thus, in Chinese herbalism, the raw and the processed forms of glutinous rehmannia are regarded as two entirely different herbs. They belong to 2 different classes and there's a world of difference between them in terms of their clinical uses.

A report published in the Chinese Medical Journal indicates that raw glutinous rehmannia has been shown to be effective in the treatmcnt of rheumatic and rheumatoid arthritis. Also, glutinous rehmannia and licorice have been shown to be a good combination. A report published in the Medical Technology Reporter indicates that the treatment of bronchial asthma, injections of processed glutinous rehmannia and processed licorice have produced vcry positive results.

Another report, published in the New Pharmacological Journal indicates obvious improvements in cases of contagious hepatitis treated by injections of raw glutinous rehmannia and raw licorice.

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