A Top Hospital Opens Up to Chinese Herbs as Medicines

Wall Street Journal ^ | April 21, 2014 | Sumathi Reddy

[driftdiver]

Christina Lunka appeared nervous and excited as she sat in the Chinese herbal therapy center recently opened by the Cleveland Clinic.

The 49-year-old had been to many doctors seeking help for ongoing issues that included joint pain and digestive problems. Now the Kirtland, Ohio, resident was hoping to find relief through herbal remedies.

"Do you have something for inflammation?" Ms. Lunka asked herbalist Galina Roofener during a one-hour consultation.

"Absolutely," responded Ms. Roofener. "This is for pain, for digestion, for inflammation, all of the above," she said, handing Ms. Lunka a bottle with capsules of an herbal combination called Xiao Yao San, which translates as free and easy wanderer. The capsules include about eight different herbs, including licorice, mint leaf and white peony root.

"Please do not expect immediate results," said Ms. Roofener. "The first effects, three weeks. The best therapeutic potential, three months. It will be slow, tedious work."

[driftdiver]

They've been working for 5000 years and western medicine is finally opening its eyes.

[dhs12345]

But please, no goats gonads. :)

Seriously, I just discovered Neem from a friend. It is from India and is used for just about everything. It helped me with my skin condition and even helped me with my digestive issues.

[driftdiver]

Its a better solution for general health issues and certainly doesn’t replace surgery.

The effects are more subtle and take time. I think it does more to treat the actual problem and not just cover up the symptoms.

[DannyTN]

"They've been working for 5000 years and western medicine is finally opening its eyes."

They were working so well, that China had one of the lowest life expectancies. In 1960 a chinamen could expect to live to 43, while Americans lived to 70.

[driftdiver]

yeah I’m sure WWII, the communists, and Mao had nothing to do with that.

[DLfromthedesert]

I am an RN and see all the side effects of pharmaceuticals. I go to a naturopath for my medical issues.

[nascarnation]

Don’t doubt your stats, but you do have to make some adjustments for standard of living. In 1960 the Chinese were a pretty backward society, no?

Currently it’s 74 vs our 80.

[driftdiver]

My wife has been having some serious problems for about 6 years. We’ve tried everything western medicine has to offer. All they could do is try some new drug that would usually have serious side effects.

We tried herbal medicine and acupuncture and have had significant improvement.

Western medicine is really good for some things, but it sucks at treating the cause of many diseases and conditions.

[DannyTN]

True, but don’t you think a lot of that is because China has accepted Western medicine?

There may be some value in some of the Chinese medicines, but they should be scientifically studied. A thousand years of tradition can still be completely wrong.

The one Chinese med I tried didn’t seem to do anything.

[DannyTN]

True, but don’t you think a lot of that is because China has accepted Western medicine?

There may be some value in some of the Chinese medicines, but they should be scientifically studied. A thousand years of tradition can still be completely wrong.

The one Chinese med I tried didn’t seem to do anything.

[nascarnation]

Agree with your post.
Frankly I’m amazed the Chinese can have that life expectancy given the amount of air pollution they have.

[dhs12345]

You are correct. One thing about herbal meds is that they take a long time. And if a person has a serious illness, you need a quick acting med or treatment.

Exactly.

[driftdiver]

Herbs generally take time and won’t always work. When they do the effect can be profound.

[DannyTN]

"Frankly I’m amazed the Chinese can have that life expectancy given the amount of air pollution they have."

Me too, I'm not sure I believe the improvement claimed by China. I'm sure it's risen, but you start looking at some of the individual disease ratios and the state of sanitation and China doesn't look so good.

And we know about the food contamination because we occasionally catch it in our imports.

[Talisker]

True, but don’t you think a lot of that is because China has accepted Western medicine?

Nope. Even in the West, the main force for disease alleviation has been clean water and adequate sanitation, by orders of magnitude.

Western medicine, allopathic medicine, excels in one area: trauma. If your body had been traumatized and is shutting down, there is absolutely nowhere else better to be than in modern ER.

Other than that, though, there are options. Some better, some less better, but effective options nonetheless.

[DannyTN]

Okay, then enjoy your deer penis and your fried worms.

Why Chinese People Eat Snake as Medicine

[Talisker]

Okay, then enjoy your deer penis and your fried worms. Why Chinese People Eat Snake as Medicine

Now that wasn't very nice. I gave you a resoned reponse that acknowledged and praised Western medicine for it's fantastic trauma services and then - what? I suggested that there are alternatives to other things. And that's what has you going off - the very idea that there are alternatives somewhere in the entire world, as the result of thousands of years of human history?

I think you're just a tiny bit brittle on this subject. Not to mention paranoid.

I wonder why. Could it be you're afraid of people finding things out?

Medical Errors the Third Leading Cause of Death

Dr. J. Anthony Morris, former Chief Vaccine Control Officer and Research Virologist, US FDA: ...the flu vaccine, when inhaled by lab animals "tended to enhance cancerous tumors." Pregnant women had been on the preferred list for shots until findings indicated that certain substances in flu vaccine "could pose a serious threat of fetal damage to women who might become pregnant..."

[goodnesswins]

I have a friend whose Hep C was put into remission using Chinese Herbs....she could not go on the “normal” western protocol because of prior heart surgeries, etc. (which is where she GOT the Hep C)

[DannyTN]

"Now that wasn't very nice."

LOL, I know, but that was fun.

I'm all for alternatives, but they should be scientifically tested. If you read the article I linked, a lot of it is based on anecdotal stories. Without proper testing, you don't know if those medicines really help. You don't know that they aren't doing harm either.

[driftdiver]

Have you EVER read the side effects of many modern western medicines?

Death is one of the common listings.