More importantly one needs to evaluate based upon their own clarity of mind how the practitioner answers questions, concerns, fears, etc. The depth of knowledge and experience with food and herbal therapies within Chinese Medicine is vast. There are over 400,000 plant species in the world and each part of the plant has a different function not to mention where it was grown, when it was harvested, how it was prepared or pre-prepared and what it is mixed with and in what proportion. The mineral and animal kingdoms with their bio-energetic properties should also be considered as therapeutic. It is true that China catalogued their use of approximately 12,000 of these categorized substances while primarily using about 600. This puts forth combinations/variations into the millions of possibilities. 

Lastly and most importantly, see practitioners that apply principles such as 'least invasive' and 'first doing no harm' while at the same time 'getting objective results'. The practitioner should be interested in how the patient is progressing before appointments are scheduled ad infinitum. Also, the therapy should make sense and questions should be answered in understandable layman’s terms. These and other common sense evaluations will tell one if they are visiting a 'good TCM Doctor'. 

* The following words within this article are defined to help the reader's comprehension of Eastern concepts.

Moxabustion: A method of treatment and prevention of disorders by applying heat to acupoints by burning moxa. The effect of such stimulation of the acupoint, is to eliminate Cold and Dampness and to remove obstructions in the channels. Moxa is a preparation of multiple herbs (commonly primarily artemesia also called wormwood) into a cigar shaped elongated stick which is lighted to provide herbal smoke and heat to the intended target.

Damp-heat: Mostly related to a dampness such as a mucus condition and at the same time an infection (such as a yellow or green mucus) as opposed to only clear mucus.

Heat: One of the six pathogenic factors. Heat Pathogens: Heat and Fire are Yang pathogenic factors. They are of the same nature but different in intensity. Fire is the most severe and Mild Heat is the least intense. Fire also refers to the normal Yang of the body and should not be confused with Pernicious or Pathogenic Fire. Pathogenic Heat is of two types: (1) External Heat, defined as disharmonies caused mainly by exposure to extremes of environmental Heat and marked by symptoms such as high fever, intolerance to Wind, headache, thirst, irritability, delirium and a rapid pulse, with an usually sudden onset of the symptoms and (2) Internal Heat, defined as disharmonies of both Yin and Yang of various organs and manifested by a gradual onset, thirst, irritability, scanty urine, a Rapid and Full pulse and a red tongue with yellow coating.

Nei Jing: An historical Chinese medicine book called Huang Di Nei Jing or 'Yellow Emperor's Classic'. Nei Jing - Internal Classic TCM Basic Theory Book containing 13 Herbal formulas. It was written around 100BC and consisted of two books. 

Editors Note: This information is for informational purposes only and should not be construed as an endorsement by HIV ReSources, the editors or the publisher.