Herbs / Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) isn’t for everybody, but increasingly, it’s for anyone who wants an alternative method to boosting good health. Over the last two decades, the traditional medicinal practice of using things like sea-horse skeletons, turtle shells, shark cartilage, deer antlers and other animal parts has been challenged by organizations who wish to protect animals like the Asiatic black bear since their bile has been a popular ingredient in TCM for more than 3,000 years. But, while Americans spend billions of dollars every year on antibiotics, prescriptions and over-the-counter, petroleum-powered cures, some locals have continued patronizing Chinatown’s herbal stores for their primary health care solutions.

In a personal effort of penny-pinching, and as a part-time protest to traditional Western habits, a Chinatown excursion begins.

First stop–a small herbal shop near Hotel Street. One might find it surprising that a perpetually friendly individual might have such a difficult time finding answers during an herbal excursion like this one, but navigating overcrowded isles of Chinese-labeled licorice root (which are often used as anti-depressants) squeezed in between boxes of black tea leaves (used for diabetes) isn’t as easy as it looks.

Shelves of green tea with post-it-note-sized signs promoting incredible benefits (fighting cancer, preventing cancer, all but curing cancer) and brightly colored bags of ginseng candies and other autoimmune stimulants appear to be best sellers. But it’s the jars jam-packed with bones and bird’s nests, powders and pills, herbs and animal parts that pungently peaks one’s interests. No need to explain the obvious, but anyone who’s seen a recipe for snake skin and deer penis soup steeped in bear bile is bound to ask some questions.

After letdowns from more than a few less-than-cheery salespeople, the journey continues around the corner to an acupuncture clinic and herbal medicine shop located on King Street. Inside, a woman assists a customer who complains of back-pain and fatigue. Immediately, Joann Huang, herbal assistant at Viet Hoa, Inc., fills a bag full of leaves, berries, roots and herbs. “This one’s for you feel better,” she says, holding up a handful of gogi berries, also known as wolfberries and used to help fight off diseases in the liver. “These for you fatigue,” she says, holding up some dried vines of what looks like Cat’s Claw, known to promote a healthier immune system while fighting fatigue. “And this for back pain,” she says, handing the customer a special, English-language brochure on the benefits of acupuncture. “Only 45 dollar. Make you feel better.”

An herbal trail-mix ensued and the customer seemed confident and comfortable in fighting her ailments with a combination of natural herbs and an acupuncture appointment.

Down the street, an herbalist fills bags and boxes with all kinds of interesting things ranging from wild oregano (known for its powerful antiseptic properties) to lotus seeds (which offer a cooling effect on the kidney and spleen) and cinnamon bark (which is used as a digestive aid). She encourages many of her customers to boil the roots, berries and leaves in a cocktail of herb-infused chicken stock. “Make chicken soup, make pretend these carrots,” she says.

Tonic soups like this recipe have been used in TCM for centuries. Dried berries, wild yam, black dates, roots, fungus, flowers and herbs are often boiled in combination with chicken, pork or vegetables in an order to boost the immune system.

Although critics of Chinese medicine suggest it’s not practical for most serious health conditions or trauma cases, most do not see TCM and Western medicine as being in conflict. However, animal organizations committed to ending TCM’s practice of what they consider animal cruelty argue that the use of parts such as tigers’ bones and bear bile threaten the already endangered species and strengthen a black market of poachers who hunt and sell the restricted animals.

In Chinatown, however, one would be hard-pressed to find rhinoceros horns (historically used to treat fever, convulsions and delirium), bear bile (used to treat headaches and liver ailments) or a bottle of tiger wine (used to treat arthritis and other joint ailments), but things like dried sea-horse skeletons (used largely for impotence), snake skins (used to treat skin disorders, eye infections and sore throat) and turtle shells (used for colds and poor appetite) still exist in the windows of many downtown herbal shops.

Whether one’s looking for an alternative to Western medicine or a little help to boost one’s immunity, there’s no doubt that Chinatown is full of ancient health secrets. Stocking up on bags of ginseng, jujube and licorice root may not be a bad idea. It costs less than a single trip to a walk-in clinic and may add an interesting flavor to mom’s original chicken-soup recipe. The choice is herbally yours, but the cure might really be in the cupboard.