Stories about Traditional Chinese Medicine
There are many horror stories of Chinese herbs. People dying because of Chinese herbal medications and serious side effects which led to fatal organ damage are seldom heard. It scares the consumers to take herbal medications, yet there are no explanations of what these Chinese herbs are and how they help us. Hopefully, this article will enlighten those faint of heart.
What are Chinese herbs?
Chinese herbs are composed of mostly plant-based materials but there are minerals and animal products. These herbs have been used by the oriental ancestors and they have records of how to use it with specific weight suggestions for certain symptoms. There are records of toxic herbs and cautions of dangerous herbal combinations. Nowadays these herbs are organized more thoroughly, and mass cultivated to meet the required demands of the global herbal market.
How do they work?
Before we try to understand how Chinese herbs work, we have to understand what they are. Plants are organisms of living in a specific environmental condition. They will have natural predators and will develop natural ways to defend their body just like animals. Each plant will develop specific ways of defence mechanism and it will create unique chemicals to protect them. These chemicals when consumed by a human it will create good or bad effects on the body. In Western medicine, they isolate that specific chemical in plant, animal, or minerals to create medications. In essence, Western medicine and Traditional Chinese medicine principle are the same. The difference is that in Chinese medicine, they do not isolate one specific chemical rather they use a specific part of a plant which is abundant in medicinal effects. In Western medicine, they find the chemical composition and synthesize it in the laboratory. For example, Aspiring was originally made from willow tree then scientists further isolated chemical compound for mass production. Another example is retinoids which are another forms of vitamin A.
Some herbs are not dangerous at all rather they are just abundant in nutrients. They provide lots of energy to the organs to vitalize the health.
Chinese herbs work by increasing the medicinal chemicals in the body by consuming the plants. This is the same theory as Western medicine.
Are Chinese herbs safe to consume?
Yes, they are safe to consume but it would depend on the formula created by the practitioner and the quality of herbs. If the herbs themselves were treated heavily by pesticides and herbicides to increase production yield, there can be traces of those pesticides and herbicides. These chemicals can be harmful and dangerous to the human body. Therefore there are regulations to protect consumers however it does not mean all the herbs are heavily regulated.
Also, the practitioner could make a mistake on the herbal dosage which can cause side effects. Therefore safety is heavily related to the practitioner’s knowledge and herb quality.
Are Chinese herbs safe?
Overall Chinese herbs are safe but as the liver is always filtering out what they think is dangerous and harmful to the body so herbal medical properties may cause some damages to the liver. This is not just for Chinese medicine but also the same to Western medicine. It is highly unlikely to cause organ damage through Chinese herbs.
Chinese herbs have more clinical evidence cumulated throughout history than Western medications. The scientific approach of determining chemical components and isolating can occur only when they have a model compound which is from animals, plants, or human proteins. With proper educations and knowledge about the herbs, it can be as potent as western medicine.
