Do I Take Chinese Herbs?

I am often asked, especially when I suggest Chinese herbs to my patients, whether or not I take Chinese herbs. The answer is yes, often, sometimes daily. The next question is often what I take Chinese herbs for.  The answer is that I take herbs for pretty much any health problem that I have. For instance, as soon as I feel like I might be getting a cold of any sort I immediately start taking yin qiao jie du wan, which, if taken soon enough, will actually stop a cold in in tracks - you won't get sick. If I have any pain that needs addressing my usual go to is shen tong zhu yu tong, sometimes called the great invigorator. These are the same formulas that we give to our patients for the same issues - because they work. So we take the same formulas that we give our patients. If we take them and take them so often, then we must be convinced of their safety and effectiveness. We only use and prescribe  formulas and suppliers that we have found to be the best of the best.
I also take almost daily a tonic formula that I have concocted for myself that consists of several longevity herbs (why not). He shou wu is a famous longevity herb as is ren shen, called ginseng in the West. The Chinese were big on living longer and healthier and using herbs to help them do so.