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Michele Collins, RH (AHG), MPH and Andres Vergara, L.Ac., M.Ac.
China’s Sichuan province is an area widely known for its spicy foods. More important for herbalists is that Sichuan province is also well regarded for the quality and variety of herbs that are grown there. Over 4300 herb varieties are grown in Sichuan, cultivated on over 1.4 million acres of land. The purchase of Chinese herbal medicine in Sichuan is ranked first in China. Sichuan province borders Tibet and is home to Chengdu, the fourth largest city in China (14 million people), falling only behind Beijing, Shanghai and Chongqing in total population. All of these combined factors make Chengdu and Sichuan province a remarkable place to study Chinese herbal medicine. On the March 12th episode of Holistic Healing with Herbs and Chinese Medicine, we discuss the lessons we learned about the benefits of Chinese herbal medicine.
In 2011, we had an amazing opportunity to live in Chengdu for six months and study Chinese herbal medicine at the Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine (Chéng dū zhōng yī yào Dà xué), a university and teaching hospital (CUTCM). The hospital practitioners there saw an average of 3,500 people and distributed 10,000 bags of herbs daily, many of which were bags of raw herbs that the patient would then take home and cook themselves. The hospital safely and effectively creates and distributes tens of thousands of customized herbal formulas each week, hundreds of thousand each month, and several million each year. This was a truly amazing environment to witness and study the use of Chinese herbal medicine.
We witnessed herbs, minerals, and animal and insect products (all included in the Chinese materia medica) used in high dosages, both independently and in combination with pharmaceutical medications, for a broad range of chronic and acute health issues. Although, we had both practiced Chinese medicine successfully for several years, Andres, as an acupuncturist and herbalist, and Michele, as an herbalist, the time in China was, for us both, an incredible reminder of how effective (and safe) Chinese herbs are for treating many common western diseases. We spent time with doctors in both the inpatient (when possible) and outpatient departments of gastroenterology, gynecology, neurology, endocrinology, osteology, opthamology, pediatrics, nephrology, ENT, acupuncture, tuina, oncology, rheumatology, andrology, cardiology, and the respiratory department. These departments exclusively used herbs, whereas the acupuncture department was a more general clinic. This helps illustrate the fact that herbs are considered to be a therapeutic tool better suited to addressing complex and difficult disorders. We would like to share some of the lessons we learned from this experience in this article.
Similarities and Differences in the Practice of Chinese Medicine in China and the United States
In the United States, acupuncture is likely the first and only exposure many people have to Chinese medicine. Acupuncturists are licensed here, and some, may choose to add Chinese herbs to their list of therapeutic tools. While it is very rare to find someone who practices only herbal medicine in the United States, it is the norm in China. In China, herbal medicine is used to treat and manage serious health issues, both chronic and acute. Acupuncture may also be used as an adjunct therapy, however, herbal medicine would be the primary therapy.
Doctors in China might practice only herbal medicine, as in the case of the doctors we studied with who maintained private clinics outside the hospital or might practice integrated allopathic and herbal medicine, as in the case of the doctors we studied with from the hospital. In addition we spent a significant amount of time studying with private doctors who were unaffiliated with the hospital and treated their patients solely with herbs. These included Dr. Feng, who was invited to Israel because his treatments were so effective, including the successful treatment of multiple sclerosis. We also studied with Dr. Yong Jiang, a well regarded doctor of herbal medicine who had studied extensively one of 40 living masters of Traditional Chinese Medicine, also about whom we partially based a recently published article in the Journal of the American Herbalist Guild. Dr. Jiang is also co-authored the book The Treatment of PTSD with Chinese Medicine. Both of these doctors were notable in their capacity to produce impressive results with a wide range of clients using only herbs.
The doctors working in the hospital where we studied were trained in both allopathic and herbal medicine. They specialized in a specific area of care, such as gynecology, oncology, or endocrinology, although they would have to be prepared to treat a wide variety of conditions with herbs, in addition to their area of specialty. Because of their training, Chinese doctors in the hospital would integrate both allopathic medicine and herbal medicine for each patient, deciding who would receive pharmaceuticals and medical tests and procedures and who would receive herbs. Nearly every patient received herbs, however, not every patient received pharmaceuticals.
It is important to note here that Chinese herbal medicine differs from the western herbal medicine many are accustomed to in the United States, in that herbal formulas, not single herbs or extracted herbal constituents, are used. In Chinese medicine, herbs are always combined in a formula. Formulas are structured to enhance certain effects of the herbs, while minimizing possible side effects. The doctors we observed also often used Chinese herbs to minimize the side effects of pharmaceuticals that any given patient might be taking.
Another major difference is the volume of patients that Chinese doctors see in their practices. Doctors would see a patient every 3-10 minutes in outpatient, averaging as many 40-50 patients in a four hour morning clinic session. Literally, we would watch doctors feel the pulse with one hand and write the herbal prescription with the other hand, in a small room with as many as 20-25 other patients, students, or family members packed in at same time, with a line of waiting patients out the door. In the United States, we typically spend one hour to 1.5 hours with one client.
Lessons Learned
Our time in China reiterated and reinforced many important lessons for us both about the utility and practicality of Chinese herbal medicine. It reaffirmed our confidence and trust to see herbal medicine used on such a wide scale. This confidence was supported by our observation of many return clients who were significantly better with each batch of herbs that they received. Below are some key lessons, along with examples from both our clinical practice. Please note that the following examples were patients that were also under the care of their allopathic doctors and often came to us with diagnoses from these doctors.
Chinese medicine classics contain many herbal formulas that can effectively treat common western health issues, like kidney issues, lymph issues, respiratory issues, flu and the common cold, post-nasal drip, digestive issues, eye problems, dermatological problems, chronic fatigue, various pain disorders including fibromyalgia, as well as women’s health issues like endometriosis. Recently Andres used a modified version of an herbal formula for tonifying the kidneys authored 1800 years ago. He used this formula to treat a woman in her late 80s whose goal was to stay off of kidney dialysis. Her kidney function was at 16% and her doctor told her if her kidney function decreased to 15% she would have to be put on dialysis. Using this formula her kidney function increased to 26%. This shows one of many modern uses of the formulas in these texts which date back thousands of years.
Andres also used some of the knowledge of the classical formulas that he learned from the private herbal doctors in China to write a formula for an 11 year old girl with severe psoriasis down her entire arm. With an internal herbal formula along with some topical treatment this affliction was improved to the point that her mother now describes her daughter’s skin as being as soft as that of a baby. In addition he used herbs for a client with an essential tremor who can now write and drink from glasses with minimal tremors where previous to his taking herbs this was completely impossible. Yet another example is that of his using herbs with acupuncture to successfully treat panic attacks and anxiety. Finally herbs can also be an important treatment along with acupuncture in the treatment of pain. He has successfully used herbs with acupuncture to deal with a wide variety of pains including back pain, neck pain, shoulder pain, headache and migraine pain, hip pain, abdominal pain, frozen shoulder, knee pain, ankle pain, hand pain, leg pain, buttocks pain, elbow pain. Herbs increase the effectiveness of pain treatments and can often treat pain effectively by themselves, as can acupuncture alone. It is also possible to increase efficacy of pain treatments when using herbs in combination with acupuncture. These are just a few examples that show the wide range of effectiveness of Chinese herbs.
Michele recently used a modified version of an 800 year old formula to treat chronic fatigue. The female patient who has had chronic fatigue for several years has seen excellent results in that she has improved energy and stamina, does not get sick as frequently, and when she does get sick she is able to rapidly recover. She also used another modified 800 year old formula to treat a woman who is a serious runner with asthma, post-nasal drip, and sinus issues who believed she would have to stop running previous to her herbal intervention. Now she is symptom free, off herbs and has an improved running time and increased distance thanks to her herbal formula. In a last example, Michele used another classical formula, many hundreds of years old, to treat a 17 year old with severe menstrual pain, insomnia, and anxiety who is now symptom free and off of herbs. This illustrates that herbs can effectively resolve long standing and serious health issues that affect quality of life. Please note that these clients were also under the care of allopathic doctors and often came to us with a western diagnosis from a doctor. We always advocate that our clients also continue under the care of a doctor.
In conclusion both our observations in China and our personal experiences prescribing herbs illustrate that herbs are often useful for the treatment of difficult and complex diseases. The formulas that were created thousands of years today are still very relevant today for modern diseases. Chinese medicine has the distinct benefit of being grounded in thousands of years of empirical and recorded history. Today there is a growing body of scientific research showing the effectiveness of Chinese herbs and acupuncture to treat a variety of health conditions. We summarize the results of recent research in several blog posts, including one about the use of Chinese medicine to treat pain (click here), as well as a post focused on summarizing key recent research (click here),
The Chinese research literature documents the successful use of herbs to treat a wide and broad range of health conditions. Recent western examples from Australia and the U.S. address the effectiveness of herbs in treating women’s health issues and pain management. Chinese herbs can be used safely and effectively to treat a wide range of diseases, as well as in conjunction with allopathic treatments to enhance the results and to safely mitigate the side effects of allopathic pharmaceutical treatments. Although not widely known in the United States, Chinese herbal medicine offers an alternative that can greatly enhance quality of life.
