Turns out my refusal to take Chinese medicine because my fear of it causing real issues wasn’t unfounded. To be fair, almost all western medicine is heptoxic, but at least there’s medical studies to show how much is toxic. Cant tell you how many times a family member suggested some Chinese medicine “doctor”. A lot of my family even took their kids to drink some disgusting brew for their kids to help them grow taller when we were kids. I was the only one that refused to drink it. They all turned out short. I’m the only one that grew.
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So what herbs do have those acids?
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Article says “woody vines of the Aristolochia plant family”, which is the 馬兜鈴 ma dou ling family in Chinese.
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Yeah, read that, but I was wondering if there would be something more specific. I don’t use Chinese medicine, I always make fun of it and the few times I’ve used it it was against my willing and or I regreted it.
But hopefully there’s a list of shit to avoid, the typical remedies for this and that… So people can easily identify those poisons.
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I’m sure Chinese medicine and herbal medicine was very useful in the past. And many of the uses of herbs for certain things are not unfounded. But I just don’t see a reason for it in today’s age with medical trials and studies. Especially since it isn’t like Chinese medicine is cheap. In fact it’s even more expensive for something that you don’t even know if it works.
One of them is 關木通, or just 木通.
FDA’s list. In English
Aristolochic Acid: Listing of Botanical Ingredients of Concern
https://www.fda.gov/Food/RecallsOutbreaksEmergencies/SafetyAlertsAdvisories/ucm095283.htm
Here is the list of Chinese medicines banned in Taiwan.
MOHW site: doc file in Chinese
http://www.mohw.gov.tw/dl-10486-6d584c01-b82c-4e92-8178-db912f23040f.html
Or here.
衛生署註銷含馬兜鈴酸藥品清單
http://flowers.hunternet.com.tw/showthread.php?t=26923
From Wikipedia
馬兜鈴、關木通、天仙藤、青木香、廣防己、漢中防己、細辛、追風藤、尋骨風、淮通、硃砂蓮、三筒管、杜衡、管南香、南木香、藤香、背蛇生、假大薯、蝴蝶暗消、逼血雷、白金果欖、金耳環、烏金草等藥材含馬兜鈴酸。
衛生署中醫藥委員會於11月正式禁用關木通、廣防己、青木香、天仙藤、馬兜鈴等五種含馬兜鈴酸中藥材,並註銷含有馬兜鈴酸中藥製劑的五十張藥證，包括補肺阿膠散、治嗽散、運功散等。
Ingredients of Chinese medicines are somehow studied scientifically by medical field and medicine companies.
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You can go to https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/home and type Traditional Chinese Medicine in the search field and get about 800 results of studies and trials.
Not saying they are false. But submitting a study on there does not mean it’s been checked and regulated in the same scrutiny like pharmaceutical drugs for humans. Many of them are independent studies not observed by any governmental agencies like the FDA or the equivalent of it to the country the study is held.
There is a big difference in attitudes towards herbal medicine between the US and Europe. Herbal medicine has a long tradition e.g. i Germany and is taken quite seriously. “In Germany, the use of herbal medicine is popular. A study conducted by the Institute for Demoscopic Research indicated that nearly two thirds of Germany’s population (65%) use natural medicine (of which herbal remedies form a large part).” In the US herbal therapies are mostly classified as “dietary supplements”.
Liu, Frank Xiaoqing & Salmon, Jack. (2010). Comparison of herbal medicines regulation between China, Germany, and the United States. Integrative Medicine: A Clinician’s Journal. Integrative Medicine: A Clinician’s Journal. 9. 42-49.
http://www.lcis.com.tw/paper_store./paper_store/Herbal-20141210231736468.pdf
Yes, and I mentioned above that herbal medicines or Chinese medicines was useful and the medical uses are not unfounded. Modern medicine has its roots in the uses and study of them. I would not deny that herbal medicine has real useful medicinal properties. But at a certain level there’s a nonsense to it. Using it for major diseases as such when there are real treatments out there. And things like I mentioned selling Chinese medicine that makes you grow taller. There’s a fine line between chewing
There’s a fine line between chewing valerian roots for sleep to selling bullshit pseudoscience snake oil to tell parents it will make your kids grow charging a huge amount. Or even worst, saying some alternative medicine is better than modern science like chemo for cancer.
It isn’t that I don’t think herbal medicine doesn’t have any medical properties. That would be ridiculous. But I grew up with my family members spending a ridiculous amount going to famous Chinese medicine doctors that charge a ridiculous amount for really dumb things.
Yes, some TCM has become a terrible money-making racket for some. It has its place for some things where Western med does not do well, such as allergies, eczemas, etc. but it certainly doesn’t replace surgery or serious illness, like you say. What they do China e.g. in cancer treatments is use chemo therapy but add herbal medicines to lessen the side effects. That’s a good use of what they call integrative medicine. I think you have been burned by the wrong approaches you have seen, but if used wisely and in proportion it has its place.
I’m not sure there is an English version, but here is a search engine for the approved Chinese medicines with Indications and efficacy, and those whose approvals were canceled.
MOHW is advising not to use unapproved Chinese medicines.
Ministry of health and welfare
中醫藥司/許可證查詢
http://dep.mohw.gov.tw/DOCMAP/lp-874-108.html