Fwd: [LearnChineseHerbs] Herbs & Things July 2000

[Guest guest]

This is a very good article.

 

Victoria

 

>Colleen DeLaney <herbdocs

>LearnChineseHerbs-owner

>learnchineseherbs

>[LearnChineseHerbs] Herbs & Things July 2000

>Fri, 14 Jul 2000 19:01:23 -0700

>

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>

>HERBS & THINGS

>

>for Students of Learn Chinese Herbs

> & Other " Budding " Herbalists

>

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>

>MONTH 2000

>IN THIS ISSUE:

>----> The Truth Behind the Aristolochia Scare

>----> Another Case of Mistaken Identity

>----> The Origins of Snake Oil

>

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>

>THE TRUTH BEHIND THE ARISTOLOCHIA SCARE

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>

>I was terribly puzzled to read that the FDA was considering

>banning the Chinese herb, Aristolochia. A recent issue of

>the New England Journal of Medicine had reported several

>cases in Belgium in 1992 where use of the herb in a weight

>loss formula resulted in dozens of people becoming ill, with

>the worst cases experiencing kidney failure.

>

>I wondered WHO in their right mind would put Aristolochia

>in a weight loss formula. Customarily used to drain

>dampness, Guang Fang Ji can be used for edema and

>hot-type arthritic pains, but is considered somewhat toxic

>and is used cautiously and only for short periods of time.

>Other herbs in the same category are far safer as

>short-term diuretics (though NOT as weight-loss products).

>

>The story that unfolds provides a perfect example of how an

>herb can be so misused by doctors completely ignorant of

>herbal medicines as to cause serious harm.

>

>While any doctor would be rightfully outraged were I to start

>giving out advice on prescription drugs, many doctors are

>willing to make pronouncements on the efficacy and safety

>of herbs they have no background or training in, even going

>so far as to combine them with drugs for inappropriate

>treatment plans, as in the Belgian study.

>

>The result? Serious harm to their patients, and now the

>Food and Drug Administration has begun a process which

>may lead to the first-ever ban on medicinal herbs. Citing

>evidence from these controversial studies done in Belgium

>and the United Kingdom, the FDA may soon take away

>practitioners' access to two important herbs in the Chinese

>pharmacopoeia containing aristolchic acid. The FDA is now

>moving to ban the use of these herbs in the U.S.-- not

>because they are inherently dangerous (as you will see), but

>because they were so badly misused.

>

>If I were to recklessly or negligently prescribe or give advice

>on western prescription medicines, I would lose my license.

>Apparently misuse of Chinese herbs by untrained western

>practitioners results only in the loss of the herb itself.

>

>Here are the mistakes made in the Belgium case that is

>leading to the ban of Aristolochia:

>

>First and Foremost: NO ONE who was trained in the use of

>Chinese herbs was consulted in the formulation of the

>weight loss products or employed to supervise the patients'

>results. This led to a series of mistakes, the first and most

>serious mistake involving herb misidentification.

>

>

>FIRST: A TOXIC HERB WAS MISTAKENLY USED

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>In this weight loss formula, a toxic herb was substituted for a

>harmless one. Aristolochia westlandi / Guan Fang Ji, which

>contains Aristolochic acid, was mistakenly substituted for

>Stephania tetranda / Han Fang Ji, which contains NO

>aristolochic acid.

>

>It is believed that the Aristolochic acid in Guang Fang Ji was

>the cause of the renal failure in those patients, though it may

>be that the combination of aristolochic acid with other herbs

>or drugs may have contributed to the toxicity to the kidneys.

>Other studies with animals have confirmed that aristolochic

>acid is nephrotoxic, though it is still unknown if there is a

>toxic dose of aristolochic acid, or if chronic use of low

>concentrations has a cumulative effect.

>

>In other words, an herb can be harmless for short periods of

>time in low doses, as Chinese herbs are customarily used,

>but taken over prolonged periods of time, problems can

>develop. As you will see me write over and over again,

>Chinese herbs are NOT meant to be used for extended

>periods of time. For optimum efficacy, formulas are changed

>as the individual changes.

>

>

>SECOND: UNSAFE, UNTESTED COMBINATIONS OF

>HERBS & DRUGS WERE USED

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>The blend given to the patients in Belgium was not a

>classical formula, proven safe through centuries of use.

>The formula was a made-up and untested concoction of

>western herbs, Chinese herbs, and pharmaceuticals, with

>no understanding of how they might interact with each other.

>

>I frequently hear the criticism from western practitioners that

>Chinese herbs have not been proven through scientific

>means. In my view, part of the scientific method includes

>reliable replication of results. Chinese herbology, with its

>over 5,000 years of replication of results, adds up to the

>longest clinical trial in the existence of medicine.

>

>

> THIRD: EXTREMELY HIGH, UNSAFE DOSES WERE

>USED

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>The Belgian patients were given extraordinarily high doses

>of Fang Ji, something that is never done traditionally, where

>herbs are balanced in relatively small doses for a synergistic

>effect.

>

>

>FOURTH: NO PATIENT SAFEGUARDS WERE IN PLACE

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>These high doses were given over a long period of time with

>no supervision by someone trained in Chinese herbal

>medicine. Chinese herbs are meant to be taken for short

>periods of time, until the patient's condition changes or they

>are healed. Formulas should never be taken for months or

>years without constant medical supervision. The body

>changes everyday, and what was appropriate last week may

>no longer be good for the patient this week.

>

>

>FIFTH: HERBS ARE INAPPROPRIATE FOR WEIGHT

>LOSS

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>The Belgian doctors were using a combination of herbs and

>drugs for weight loss. By now you're all certainly used to my

>endless haranguing against using stimulant herbs for weight

>loss. In most cases, obesity is NOT a disease process to be

>solved with long-term medication, but rather a condition to

>be brought back into balance using the age-old wisdom of

>eating less and exercising more. Using Chinese herbs as a

>quick fix for obesity is a misuse of these herbs that can lead

>to serious harm-- and make no mistake about it, herbs can

>harm as well as heal. This is true of Ma Huang (ephedra)

>and of Aristolochia as well as any other herbs that are

>diuretic, laxative, or stimulant in their effects. Doesn't it

>make inherent sense that if the body is subjected to long

>periods of stimulation of ANY of its excretory functions that

>serious imbalances will result?

>

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>

>AND YET ANOTHER CASE OF MISTAKEN IDENTITY...

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>

>The Belgian case was followed many years later by two

>incidents in Britain. In August, 1999, The Lancet reported

>that two women who were self-prescribing Chinese patent

> formulas for eczema also suffered kidney damage. One

>woman was self-medicating with the same patent for over

>TWO YEARS. The other woman was using the same patent

>formula for SIX YEARS. Both of these women required

>kidney transplants.

>

>Once again, the MAIN PROBLEM in this situation is

>confusion about herb identification-- once again, an herb

>other than the intended -- and harmless-- herb was used.

>

> In the formulas taken by the two British women, Aristolochia

>manshurensis / Mu Tong (containing aristolochic acid) was

>inadvertently substituted for Clematis armandii / Mu Tong.

>While several different species are properly referred to as

>Mu Tong in , A. manshuriensis is not

>commonly used. Due to the toxicity associated with the

>aristolochic acid in A. mansuhriensis, the preferred sources

>of Mu Tong are Clematis armandii or Clematis montana.

>

>

>ONCE AGAIN: CHINESE HERBS ARE NOT MEANT FOR

>LONG-TERM USE

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>The two British patients took herbal formulas containing

>Aristolochia manshuriensis, (containing aristolochic acid)

>for 2 and 6 years, respectively. There is not a conscientious

>practitioner of Chinese herbs anywhere that would keep a

>patient on a single formula for that lengthy a period of time.

>Patients with chronic conditions should never be treated

>without supervision, and should never become dependent

>on Chinese formulas. It is essential that a trained

>professional manage their care. Proper diagnosis,

>frequent monitoring of results, and adjustment of formulas as

>needed is the foundation of safe herbal treatment.

>

>

>FDA POWER-GRAB

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> The FDA has advised the industry that it now considers any

>products labeled " Mu Tong " or " Fang Ji " to be adulterated

>and unsafe for use. Despite the fact there is little evidence

>that either of these herbs is harmful when used by a trained

>professional, the FDA is taking quick action to ban these

>herbs. This will be the first time that medicinal herbs are

>banned in the United States.

>

> Despite the fact that no one has been hurt by these herbs in

>the United States, the FDA is moving very quickly, with no

>public commentary requested. No one in Oriental Medicine

>has been contacted regarding the FDA's concerns about Mu

>Tong and Fang Ji. No professional organizations have

>been contacted.

>

> This ban may set a terrible precedent: Without asking the

>only people trained in Chinese herbs, the FDA may go

>about banning herbs whenever a safety threat is alleged, no

>matter how flimsy the evidence or egregious the misuse of

>the herb. OR even acknowledging or considering the fact

>that the herbs being potentially banned are not he herbs that

>were misidentified and mistakenly used.

>

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>

>REFER A FRIEND!

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>

>Enjoying your free copy of Herbs & Things? Forward a copy

>to your friends who also would like to learn more about the

>wonderful and fascinating world of Chinese herbs.

>To : Send a blank e-mail to

>learnchineseherbs- or visit us at

>http://www.herbdocs.com

>

>

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>

>THE ORIGINS OF SNAKE OIL

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>

>In his very clear, well-researched and authoritative book,

> " Fats that Heal, Fats that Kill " , Udo Erasmus, Ph.D., has a

>chapter on Snake Oil and Patent Medicines. Chinese water

>snake oil is the world's richest known source of

>eicosapentanoeic acid, ( EPA) at 20%, salmon oil comes

>second at 18%, with rattlesnake oil down the line a bit at

>8.5%. Apart from its nutritional value, EPA can be absorbed

>through the skin, and Chinese workers on the

>transcontinental railways in USA in used a mixture of snake

>oil and camphor to rub on joints sore with bursitis, arthritis,

>etc. They passed it on to white fellow workers and it became

>so popular that manufacturers and salesmen of patent

>medicines mounted a successful scam campaign of smear

>and innuendo to discredit snake oil, with the success we can

>all see in the byword it is today.

>

>According to Erasmus, in 1989 Dr.Richard Kunin, a

>Californian M.D. oriented towards nutrition got some snake

>oil from San Francisco's Chinatown and found it contained

>75% unidentified carrier material, camphor, and 25% snake

>oil from Chinese water snakes, containing 20% EPA, an

>important w3 derivative, plus various other valuable oils.

>

>Apparently Dr. Kunin submitted a report of his findings on

>the ingredients of snake oil to the New England Journal of

>Medicine. They didn't publish it.

>

>I wonder why?

>

>Contributed by: Adrian Stewart

>

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>WANT TO KNOW MORE ABOUT CHINESE HERBS?

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>

>Learn Chinese Herbs is a self-paced home-study course.

>When you receive your two volumes of materials (plus

>bonus materials!) you have everything you need to come to

>an understanding of how Chinese herbalists are able to

>diagnose and treat people in such a unique way.

>

>The course is self-directed, meaning there are no deadlines

>and no pressure. Some people blast through it in a couple

>of months, while others, given their busy schedules, take it

>in much more slowly, over a much longer period.

>

>Quizzes and assignments are provided so you can test your

>growing knowledge, but there are no grades assigned, and I

>don't stand over your shoulder with a big stick demanding to

>know when you'll be finished! However, I am available by

>email to answer any and all of your questions as they arise.

>

>Basically, there are two ways to take the course:

>

>One, you can peruse it strictly for your own curiosity, taking

>what appeals to you and ignoring the rest (including the

>quizzes and assignments). There is nothing wrong with

>this kind of casual study. I sometimes think we let old,

>traditional ideas about schooling and grades keep us from

>exploring knowledge for its own sake.

>

>Too, you can study this course seriously as a prelude to

>more formal study in herbs or Traditional .

>If you would like to receive a Certificate of Completion, there

>are certain steps laid out in the course to achieve this goal,

>including writing up diagnosis, assessments, and treatment

>plans for three individuals and a final written exam.

>

>The Certificate of Completion holds no legal weight, as there

>is no legal licensure or certification of herbalists in the U.S.

>However, you can add this to your list of serious educational

>accomplishments to apply towards certification when it does

>come into effect, as it invariably will.

>

>Chinese herbology is based on understanding the body type

>and energetics of the person being treated, and matching

>that person's body type EXACTLY with herbs that are

>energetically balancing for that individual.

>

>In our course, Learn Chinese Herbs, we explain the

>Chinese system of asking key questions and examining a

>person's face, tongue, and pulse to understand that

>person's unique pattern of disharmony. Just as each person

>has an energetic pattern, each herb and herb formula has

>an energetic pattern designed to balance disharmony and

>restore healthy functioning.

>

>Check our web site at http://www.herbdocs.com if you would

>like more information about the course, or if you would like

>to enroll in Learn Chinese Herbs. Credit Card and divided

>payments are available.

>

>*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*

>

>Colleen DeLaney is a Licensed Acupuncturist and Medical

>Herbologist in private practice with her husband, John

>Struthers, L.Ac.

>

>Detailed instruction on Chinese herbal diagnosis and

>treatment is available through their course, Learn Chinese

>Herbs. For information on ordering the course, contact us at

>herbdocs

>or

>Check out our web site at

>http://www.herbdocs.com

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