Wheat Seed & Chinese Herbal Medicine

In addition to being one of the staple cereal grains in Chinese food therapy, wheat seed appears in a popular herbal formula in traditional Chinese medicine, or TCM. TCM herbal healing and food therapy are complex practices requiring years of training. For best results, ask a TCM doctor whether wheat seed will help with your healing process. TCM is not a replacement for conventional medical therapies.

Food as Medicine

In TCM, any natural food can be a source of healing if you use it correctly. Food therapy and herbal medicine are two of the five major branches of TCM, along with acupuncture, therapeutic massage and qigong exercise and meditation, according to the website of Westside Herbs & Acupuncture, a TCM clinic in Albuquerque, New Mexico. A TCM practitioner might recommend that you consume more or less wheat, depending on any symptoms you might have, your constitution and the climate, according to the Traditional Chinese Medicine Education Centre of Canada online.

Key Concepts

TCM categorizes healing plants according to an ancient system of understanding how each one affects your qi or vital life energy when you consume it. A plant can have warming or cooling qualities. It might be sweet, sour, bitter, pungent or salty --- qualities that determine which internal organs it supports, and which it supresses. It might carry uprising or downbearing qi --- having an energizing or calming effect. Wheat is cooling, downbearing and sweet --- meaning that it affects the spleen, heart and kidneys --- according to Bob Flaws, fellow and former governor of the National Academy of Acupuncture & Oriental Medicine, and author of "The Book of Jook: Chinese Medicinal Porridges."

Wheat Features

When consumed as a part of your diet, wheat nourishes the heart, calms the spirit, supports the kidneys and quenches thirst, Flaws notes in "The Book of Jook." A TCM practitioner might recommend wheat if you are suffering from insomnia, agitation, night sweats or symptoms of menopause. Wheat is harder to digest than rice or other grains, and it tends to weaken spleen and stomach function when eaten in large amounts.

TCM Herbalism

Unlike western herbalism, where the emphasis tends to be on the effects of individual herbs, TCM herbal medicine relies on combinations of multi-ingredient formulas. A practitioner hand selects certain herb combinations for each patient, according to the website Yin Yang House. Combining wheat with other ingredients allows the herbalist to downplay the negative qualities of wheat and enhance its healing properties.

Wheat Seed Herbal Formula

The most popular Chinese herbal formula containing wheat is called Gan Mai Da Zao Wan, which translates literally as "licorice, triticum & jujube pills." Combining the herb licorice with wheat seeds and red dates, this formula is helpful for cases of depression and fatigue, according to Flaws, writing in "160 Essential Chinese Herbal Patent Medicines." Your TCM practitioner might recommend Gan Mai Da Zao Wan if you suffer from erratic emotions or panic attacks alongside night sweats or feelings of persecution.