What is Traditional Chinese Herbal Medicine?

There is a lot of Traditional Medicine in the world and each country has its’ own history and culture. Chinese Medicine has an extensive history of 3,500 years in using natural remedies such as roots, fruit, twigs, leaves, and assorted animal products. In modern day, Chinese Medicine has grown extensively from the primitive form of old, to be adapted to our new world with a lot to give for a wide range of conditions that people suffer from daily. In Australia, it is highly regulated and herbs entering the country must be of a certain standard. Chinese herbs are often in the spotlight for using animal products or having a lack of science to back it up however, as science evolves so does Traditional Chinese Medicine.

The history of Traditional Chinese Medicine is highly debated not only in the greater community but within our own world too. China is a vast country with an extensive history of dynasties, wars, and walls. The recorded history of TCM has been partly lost and has been amended over time as more and more people try to change the transcripts or they get destroyed. The oldest known text is the Huang Di Nei Jing (The Yellow Emperor’s Inner Classic) and is known to be written by many authors over the years. Many stories have come through the grape vine about how Traditional Chinese Medicine was found and how each herb was discovered, my personal favourite wives’ tale is of a man who had a glass stomach. He ventured deep into China, ate all the plants he could find and could see what was happening inside his body through his glass stomach. This story is one of many that is told about Chinese Medicine however, realistically, herbs just like any other medicine, was hit and miss. Seeing thousands of patients with no answers to their ailments, they had plenty of test subjects to find patterns and see what works.

Through their due diligence, we have a very defined medicine that we now call Traditional Chinese Medicine. Many western medicine pharmaceuticals are made from plant derivatives and use aspects of the herbs that TCM has been using for many years. Western medicine is, however, narrower and has taken out the exact substance in these plants, modified it and mass produced it for broad spectrum consumption. This obviously has its benefits of helping many people very easily however, it is often seen as a band aid fix to a much more complicated solution. A great benefit of TCM is that each formula is specifically designed by profession Traditional Chinese Medicine practitioners to suit each patient.

TCM works on a different ideology to western medicine. Each organ has a different function than that of western medicine and they interact differently. Of course, they also believe in the modern science of physiology and how the body works however, when treating a patient, we look at them differently. This is what sets TCM apart from western medicine. Every patient is an individual and there is no one stop cure all formula. Two patients, with the same complaint can come into the clinic and through questioning and investigating we can see that these two patients may be walking a different path to their condition. This, therefore, will result in two different formulas to be made up according to the presentation of the patient and not solely based off their chief complaint. This, however, makes learning Chinese herbal medicine extraordinarily complex and requires years of practice.

Through learning TCM and studying herbal medicine, it becomes quite clear that exotic animal products are not required to treat the vast majority of patients that we will see in our lifetime. It is highly talked about, and often used as ammunition against Traditional Chinese Medicine that we all use exotic products such as bear bile, deer antler, tiger bones and, rhino horns. Now, I will not dispute the fact that yes, they are used in Traditional Chinese Medicine however and just like anything else there are radicals that stray away from the norm. I personally believe that the trade of these products should be shut down and stopped as we have many alternatives to these products that can be humanely sourced and would not have to endanger these precious animals. There are over 500 different medicinals that we can choose from so therefore, any skilled practitioner can find an alternative to these exotic products.

Another highly debated topic is the cultivation of the herbal medicine in China and how safe and pesticide free these herbs are. In Australia, each herb must be of a certain grade and must be certified for sale within Australia. This includes the use of pesticides, heavy metals, and any other substances that may be harmful to the human body. These herbs can not be sustainably grown in Australia due to the richness of the soil and certain climates that must be met to grow these herbs. Many herbs grown in China are specifically grown in certain provinces due to climate and the richness of the soil. This means that almost all our herbs must be imported from China and surrounding countries for the highest efficacy and accuracy. Rest assured, that the products entering Australia are of highest standard and quality.

I hope this has given you a small insight into the world of Traditional Chinese herbal medicine and answered a few questions you might have surrounding this. It has a great history in China and around the world and continue to grow alongside western medicine and I hope for the sake of medicine we can grow together for a holistic and comprehensive treatment of many different ailments without answers. The use of exotic products in TCM should be eradicated and these methods be phased out by practitioners that love and care for not only their patients, but the great mother earth that we all come from. We preach about a natural medicine that should be sustained ethically and humanly so that we can morally give this to our patients.