A HERBAL REMEDY FOR MIGRAINE

When Uncle Cheong's wife heard that I suffer from migraine, she suggested a herbal recipe using a herb called 'pien pak' in Chinese.  All one needs to do is to boil it in rock sugar for 3 hours and drink.  According to her, after drinking this concoction a few times one would be free of migraine.  

At that time, I had forgotten that I had actually tried out this herbal drink way back in 2010.  I had read about this cure in an article in a magazine on Herbs about the use of the Oriental Arbovitae leaves (Platycladus orientalis aurea) to cure migraine. In Cantonese we refer to this as Pien Pak. In Mandarin it is known as Bai Zi Ren 柏子仁) . In traditional Chinese medicine, this herb is also used to calm the mind; to treat palpitation and poor memory.

Actually preparing the Oriental Arborvitae leaves for consumption is very simple and easy. All one needs to do is to wash one palm size leaf and then put them in a glass of hot water, let it brew for ten to twenty minutes and then it is ready to be drunk. It seems that after drinking the concoction for a few times, one will notice that the migraine attacks will become lesser and lesser.
One thing to remember is that there are several species of the Oriental Arborvitae and not all of them can be used as a cure. The one we are looking for is the ones which are flat in shape. Look at the pictures above and you will have an idea.
Luckily for me, I have it in my garden in Ipoh and also in the college.  I have actually drunk it a few times but it was not really effective for me.