Undervalued Herbal Medicine, an Ancient Solutions for Modern Times.

Most people in the United States are more familiar with acupuncture than herbal medicine. However, in China, herbal medicine prescription is a far more massive industry than acupuncture. To illustrate the scale, it was valued at $240 billion in recent years, representing about one-third of China's total annual healthcare spending. This increased to over $400 billion by 2020. Specifically for acupuncture services, there were around 22 million patient visits annually in China, equivalent to a market size of approximately $170-200 million. As you can see, while acupuncture is very popular in China, herbal medicine is far more prevalent. Because people are aware that it works.

This begs the question - why are herbal medicine not more popular in the US?

One reason is that it is extremely difficult to become a highly skilled herbal medicine practitioner. It requires far more in-depth knowledge, clinical experience, and perhaps some talent than acupuncture training alone.

There are some common misunderstandings about herbal medicine. First, some believe it is too mild and cannot treat serious diseases. However, this is incorrect - classical herbal formulas can be very potent for combating chronic conditions like cancer, diabetes, AIDS, liver disease, and autoimmune diseases like ankylosing spondylitis and systemic lupus erythematosus. With the right prescription, herbal medicine can produce powerful effects.

Tu, Youyou is a Chinese chemist who won the 2015 Nobel Prize for her discovery of artemisinin, a breakthrough therapy for malaria. Inspired by the ancient Chinese medicine book: A Handbook of Prescriptions for Emergencies (Written between 300-400 AC) mentioning the antimalarial properties of the plant Artemisia annua (Qinghao), Tu carried out an extensive search and found in that book that a low-temperature extraction process could isolate an effective antimalarial compound from Artemisia, which she named artemisinin. This is a modern example of how powerful a single herb can be.

While Tu, Youyou's discovery of artemisinin from the ancient text was an impressive achievement, it shouldn't be taken as the only evidence that traditional herbal remedies are powerful and valuable. Herbal medicines typically use a synergistic combination of multiple herbs rather than a single isolated compound. Tu's work is just one example of the wisdom contained in ancient medical texts, but it shouldn't be the only basis for validating traditional medicine as a whole. The full value of herbal medicine stands on its own, with or without modern "proof" like artemisinin.

Second, some think herbal medicine works slowly. But it can actually work quite fast - if given the appropriate formula, you may feel your body transforming within hours or days. Even major or life-threatening illnesses can be controlled or resolved within a few months when treated properly with herbal medicine. That's even more true if your body hasn't been seriously damaged by drugs that are too toxic, like chemotherapy drugs. The key is receiving the correct prescription and high quality herbal preparations.

Unlike many modern medicine methods that try to directly eliminate the ever-mutating COVID virus or struggling to deal with the symptoms with expensive Ventilator, ancient Chinese has a fast and effective way to treat COVID by flushing out the infection. Through inducing perspiration and nourishing lung fluids simultaneously, classic herbal formula can rapidly flush out viruses and other pathogens from the body before they take hold, while also restoring vital moisture lost from lung inflammation. No matter how the COVID virus mutates, by flushing out contaminated fluids and replenishing the body with healthy liquids, the viruses will no longer affect you. This rapid flush of the body can cause dryness and heat due to loss of vital body liquid, so Chinese medicine replenishes moisture at the same time. This is done using a classic herbal formula base called Da Qing Long Tang (Major Blue-Green Dragon Decoction), which has been used for centuries to simultaneously flush out infection while nourishing the body.

The third reason is more of a conspiracy theory. Because TCM herbal is potent, quick, affordable. Formulas are all custom prescribed and not easy to get industrialized. Do you think Wall Street Private Equity, insurance companies, and big pharma from around the world will enjoy promoting it? : P