I think the key is to know your own body – and know how it tends to react to certain substances, so you can adjust dosages, etc accordingly (or ask the doctor to, in the case of synthetics). And there's the issue of interactions with other foods/drinks/supplements as well…

But you can't make intelligent decisions about those things unless you know exactly what it is you're taking, and what to look for as far as side effects & interactions go.

Honestly, I don't take Chinese herbs unless I know what they are, but I have friends & family who are nuts for that stuff.

Green tea, and chicken broth essence is about as far as I'll go

Fabulously Broke in the City

“Just a girl trying to find a balance between being a Shopaholic and a Saver.“

Keep putting the same amount each month into your IRA to take advantage of dollar-cost averaging. The lower the market the more your dollars will buy. The current economic distress may last 5 years but you will not retire for perhaps another 20 years.

As to the undefined herbal tea, a shot now and then would not be harmful, but long-term use makes you a guinea pig in the determination as to whether any one tea has toxic side effects.

At least with regulated pharmaceuticals, guinea pigs who are harmed equals negative publicity, recall and law suits, a necessary sequence of punitive events to keep ‘em honest. Try proving a Chinese tea is harmful without records of the purchasers to go after the bad guys! Think of trying to prove that a particular restaurant gave you tainted food after bout of the trots and hurling. It takes 10′s, if not 100′s, of poisoned folks and rigorous epidemiological testing to build a solid case.

Again, with TCM:
“It’s all about quantity, proper prescription and preparation. In one dose it’s a poison, in another it’s a medicine.”

The potency of the active ingredient(s) in any plant depends on a multitude of environmental factors. Do you trust your TCM herb grower to have engaged in rigorous quality control as the ‘multi billion dollar legal drug cartel’ must do?

There is always a placebo effect when taking anything you think may help you. That, coupled with the natural history of short illnesses (they go away by themselves after a week or two) deludes the multitudes into expending vast sums on ineffective OTC crap, which includes TCM.

Not that I am biased or anything!

Peace and Gobama!

I trust Traditional Chinese medicine doctors way more than Western conventional doctors.

How long is the list of toxic conventional medicines?

It's all about quantity, proper prescription and preparation. In one dose it's a poison, in another it's a medicine. Oranges and water are toxic in large quantities.

TCM doctors are not generally pawns of a multi billion dollar legal drug cartel and lobby. Yes, herbalism is a business, but it does not command the authority or political clout of Big Pharma.

That being said, I always look up what I am taking from a TCM doctor or pharmacy. The herbs are listed on the package generally, and you can look them up on Wikipedia. In cities with Chinatowns, you can buy your herbs in bulk and put them in your own or paper bags.

I agree with Kelsie about the wrongness of not listing ingredients. Proprietary medicine is wrong. I want to be honoured and paid for my expertise, not my secrets.

Love & RRRevolution, Tracey

I get so angry when I see herbal remedies on the Internet that list their ingredients as “an exclusive blend of herbs proven to ________.” If I don’t know what’s in that “exclusive blend,” I’m not buying! Not just because something might make me sick, but because some herbs can have profoundly bad effects on some people and heal the next person miraculously. If I don’t know what I’m taking, how am I supposed to know which plant(s) did the trick and which plants to avoid in the future?