Fwd: Adverse Events Involving Certain Chinese Herbal Medicines and the Response of t

June 6, 2000

This is a very good article. It goes into detail why Western MDs and DOs

and chiropractors need to learn TCM if they are going to use Chinese herbs.

One thing the article goes into detail on is the use of Aristolochia in

weight loss programs in Belgium. I don't believe the herb is used in TCM

for weight loss.

The article also goes into detail on several common mistakes that doctors

without a background in TCM can make when prescribing Chinese herbs.

One of these is mixing them with prescription drugs, as was done in Belgium,

without being aware of contraindications and the possibility of overdose.

An example of this in Western herbalism is doctors prescribing St. Johns

Wort for depression along with a full dose of antidepressants. It's too

much. A person can get hyper and run into problems.

Another mistake is not paying attention to dosages. Even when you pay

attention to dosages, some patients will need smaller dosages than others.

I believe that people of Oriental ancestery can tolerate higher dosages of

some of these herbs than other people. And PWCs (People With CFIDS)

frequently require much smaller dosages regardless of their race.

Another mistake is to use an isolated ingredient. As the article points

out, when Aristolochia is used in China, the whole herb is used. Very often

it appears that there is something in the whole herb which guards against

side effects. The so-called inert or " useless " ingredients in the whole

herb aren't as inert or useless as some believe.

Another problem is people not being aware of how to prepare the herb. For

example, pinellia (used to dissove Phlegm) is either pre-treated with ginger

or cooked with ginger to cut down on its toxicity.

Also, using the wrong part of the plant can create problems. The leaf-like

twigs of ephedra and the root of ephedra have almost opposite effects.

Herba Ephedrae (Ma Huang - leaf-like twigs of the plant) and Radix Ephedrae

(Ma Huang Gen - the root) are not the same herb even though they come from

the same plant. Ma Huang is used to relieve Wind Chill. It's dispersing in

nature. It makes you sweat. Ma Huang Gen, the root, is Astringent in

nature. If someone needs an Astringent herb in order to keep fluids in,

confusing Ma Huang with Ma Huang Gen could create a lot of problems. The

person who already is Fluid Deficient would lose even more because Ma Huang

increases sweating.

But some of the biggest mistakes come from healers just plain not knowing

some of the most basic groundrules of TCM. Take the issue of Hot vs. Cold.

If a person is severely Yang Deficient (also known as Deficiency Cold,

giving this person an herb with Cold energy will make the person a lot

sicker and in some cases could even kill someone. Likewise, adding Hot

energy to someone who already is too Hot is going to create problems.

I also want to point out that it is rare for TCM healers to use just one

herb at a time. Treatments in TCM are highly individualized. For example,

if a TCM healer was treating someone who was both Yang Deficient and Blood

Deficient, the healer would include at least one herb for each, at least one

Yang tonic herb and at least one Blood tonic herb. Other herbs may be

included to help specific symptoms. If the person was really Cold, the

healer might include some herbs whose sole purpose was to Warm Internally.

You'll note in the section of the article on what happened in Belgium that

none of the treatments were individualized. It was one formula for everyone.

Victoria

>http://www.healingpeople.com/ht/EN/articles/1999/12/10/135.tmpl?

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June 7, 2000

Thanks for sending this-A Very Good Article.

Dottie

-

Judy Fitzgerald

Chinese Traditional Medicine

Tuesday, June 06, 2000 10:59 PM

[Chinese Traditional Medicine] Fwd: Adverse Events Involving Certain Chinese Herbal Medicines and the Response of t

This is a very good article. It goes into detail why Western MDs and DOs and chiropractors need to learn TCM if they are going to use Chinese herbs.One thing the article goes into detail on is the use of Aristolochia in weight loss programs in Belgium. I don't believe the herb is used in TCM for weight loss.The article also goes into detail on several common mistakes that doctors without a background in TCM can make when prescribing Chinese herbs.One of these is mixing them with prescription drugs, as was done in Belgium, without being aware of contraindications and the possibility of overdose. An example of this in Western herbalism is doctors prescribing St. Johns Wort for depression along with a full dose of antidepressants. It's too much. A person can get hyper and run into problems.Another mistake is not paying attention to dosages. Even when you pay attention to dosages, some patients will need smaller dosages than others. I believe that people of Oriental ancestery can tolerate higher dosages of some of these herbs than other people. And PWCs (People With CFIDS) frequently require much smaller dosages regardless of their race.Another mistake is to use an isolated ingredient. As the article points out, when Aristolochia is used in China, the whole herb is used. Very often it appears that there is something in the whole herb which guards against side effects. The so-called inert or "useless" ingredients in the whole herb aren't as inert or useless as some believe.Another problem is people not being aware of how to prepare the herb. For example, pinellia (used to dissove Phlegm) is either pre-treated with ginger or cooked with ginger to cut down on its toxicity.Also, using the wrong part of the plant can create problems. The leaf-like twigs of ephedra and the root of ephedra have almost opposite effects. Herba Ephedrae (Ma Huang - leaf-like twigs of the plant) and Radix Ephedrae (Ma Huang Gen - the root) are not the same herb even though they come from the same plant. Ma Huang is used to relieve Wind Chill. It's dispersing in nature. It makes you sweat. Ma Huang Gen, the root, is Astringent in nature. If someone needs an Astringent herb in order to keep fluids in, confusing Ma Huang with Ma Huang Gen could create a lot of problems. The person who already is Fluid Deficient would lose even more because Ma Huang increases sweating.But some of the biggest mistakes come from healers just plain not knowing some of the most basic groundrules of TCM. Take the issue of Hot vs. Cold. If a person is severely Yang Deficient (also known as Deficiency Cold, giving this person an herb with Cold energy will make the person a lot sicker and in some cases could even kill someone. Likewise, adding Hot energy to someone who already is too Hot is going to create problems.I also want to point out that it is rare for TCM healers to use just one herb at a time. Treatments in TCM are highly individualized. For example, if a TCM healer was treating someone who was both Yang Deficient and Blood Deficient, the healer would include at least one herb for each, at least one Yang tonic herb and at least one Blood tonic herb. Other herbs may be included to help specific symptoms. If the person was really Cold, the healer might include some herbs whose sole purpose was to Warm Internally.You'll note in the section of the article on what happened in Belgium that none of the treatments were individualized. It was one formula for everyone.Victoria>http://www.healingpeople.com/ht/EN/articles/1999/12/10/135.tmpl?______________________Get Your Private, Free E-mail from MSN Hotmail at http://www.hotmail.com

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