Have you ever wondered why TCM is much more widely recognized and accepted in Asian counties and communities? You may have many questions about this ancient form of healing.
TCM formula can be very effective without understanding the scientific mechanism.
Recent scientific studies have shown that Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) formulas can be effective without a full understanding of the scientific mechanisms behind them. For example, a large multicenter, randomized, double-blind, noninferiority clinical trial recently demonstrated the excellent efficacy of one particular TCM formula. Despite this scientific proof, many people are still left wondering how exactly the formula works in the body: Lost in translation: Evaluating traditional Chinese medicine by western standards. Cynara S. Leon et al., Pediatric Investigation, 2022
Let’s cite a paragraph from there:
“While therapeutic mechanisms are of relevance, treatments may still be effective even if a biological basis is unknown. For example, ………. …, were recognized to be beneficial well before these therapies were introduced or mechanistically understood. Just because we don’t understand how a drug works, it doesn’t mean that it doesn’t work; it just means we don’t understand how…yet.”
Another research on Parkinson’s Disease (PD) also showed: “Patients receiving TCM add-on therapy exhibited significant superiorities in PD symptoms as evidenced by improvements in UPDRS scores. Moreover, TCM adjuvant therapy was generally safe, well tolerated, and could significantly reduce the side effects caused by conventional medicine (western medicine)”.
Reference: Effectiveness of Traditional Chinese Medicine as an Adjunct Therapy for Parkinson’s Disease: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Guoxin Zhang. PLOS ONE | March 10, 2015.
You can see, with TCM herbs, acupuncture, and even some exercises such as Tai Chi – all of which have been practiced for thousands of years – there is evidence to demonstrate their effectiveness, even though their mechanisms are not yet fully understood scientifically.
There are much more evidence and research supporting TCM herbs’ effectiveness but we still don’t fully understand how it works in science.
We can summarize it by saying that TCM is a wholly distinct system from the current scientific system, featuring distinct ways of categorizing illnesses, diagnosing them, viewing the body, and using herbs (or acupunctures).
Much of the TCM system is based on accumulated knowledge and experience gained through thousands of years of practice on human beings. Can you imagine it? There have also been many tragedies caused by the misuse of certain herbs (not matching the symptoms), giving us hard lessons to learn. Though the TCM system is not perfect, its complexity makes it difficult to understand.
And, the TCM theory focuses much more on energy (and “Qi”) balance, which can’t be measured by the machine yet.
However, since scientists can’t comprehend it, they often assert, “It is not scientifically proven,” disregarding numerous facts.
A very good example of alternative medicine is Acupuncture. Scientists still don’t fully understand why or how it works, but there is no denying that it does. If you haven’t already, I highly recommend finding an acupuncturist and trying it out; even if it can’t be fully explained, the body’s signals and feelings will not lie. Despite the lack of scientific understanding, acupuncture is a great way to stimulate the body and activate its natural healing capabilities. In fact, many people’s recoveries are a result of their body’s self-healing capabilities.
Look at those renowned research institutes’ websites, and you’ll often find similar words: “Alternative medicine…with little reliable evidence…such as acupuncture…”
From my understanding as a former researcher, we as human beings still far underestimate our body’s self-healing capabilities. Most TCM herbs DO NOT directly attack the disease, but instead they boost the body’s self-healing mechanism to help it rebalance.
There was a story. A TCM herbal Master had a car accident and was sent to the ICU. He sustained serious injuries to his body and some of his organs were damaged. After being admitted to the hospital, he refused to undergo surgery or take any medication. Instead, he used his own herbal formulas, which he likely changed periodically. After a few months, he made a full recovery.
Another personal story demonstrates the power of herbs to heal. Recently, we helped a friend to almost completely recover from asthma, which she had been suffering from for many years. All it took was two weeks of drinking a personalized herbal tea blend starting on January 16th, 2023. After just two weeks, my friend no longer experienced breathing problems in crowded, smoky areas. It’s incredible what herbs can do, even if some people may not consider it to be scientific. But the body doesn’t lie; it’s clear that herbs can be used to work wonders.
A friend who was an experienced TCM practitioner in China had saved countless people from dying in ICUs with the use of pure herbs. He was often invited to hospitals to use herbs to help people in need. It’s incredible, isn’t it? All those dying people are “announced to die with no way to rescue” by hospital. So, you can see the true power of herbal medicine and the real practice in Asian country.
There are numerous recorded stories in the history of people who have used herbal medicine and been fully cured. Yes, cured! You might not have heard this word used in the professional field for a long time. Why? Because pharmaceutical companies cannot have drugs that actually cure diseases, so they found a way to prevent anyone from using this word. How ingenious! If you don’t believe, go check some ancient TCM books.
Do you know why current drug development struggles to achieve a cure for diseases? This is because it relies on the approach of targeting a single active point, such as blocking one factor from binding to its receptor. Making a single change is not enough to address a complex disease. In contrast, herbs have been shown in recent studies to have hundreds and even thousands of targeted active points in the body (reference: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3625555/).
We wish more and more people can experience relief from their arthritis joint pain with our powerful herbal tea. Now it’s up to you to give it a try.
Let’s talk a bit about science now.
Nowadays, everyone is being brainwashed to think that only drugs developed by pharmaceutical companies are considered to be “science”. Anything else, such as alternative medicine, herbal remedies, meditation, acupuncture, etc., is not seen as scientific. Even if someone is completely healed, they’ll still say it is merely personal experience, or a placebo effect, as there is no ‘proven scientific evidence’. This ignores the fact that science can’t explain it. People are still being brainwashed to believe that they should always go to a doctor who is trained in science for help. However, if anything happens, the legal advice is to go to a doctor for professional scientific help.
Wait a minute! If the science is so powerful, then why can’t it cure many diseases?
Science has its limitations! Let’s pose some questions to science and see what answers we can uncover.
- Some diseases, such as spasms, according to TCM system, are believed to be caused by a lack of water in the body’s microenvironment. Can current science provide a way to check if the water is properly distributed in every organ, muscle, and cell?
- Some diseases, according to the TCM system, are caused by a “blood low energy” problem. Can current science analyze each blood cell and determine its functional/energy level, rather than assuming it to be at 50% or 25%?
There are still more questions that science has yet to answer!
We DO respect science. Just hate to ignore the fact and experience and give all the hope to science. Many things are still not well understood by science yet in our body. Do we have spirit in our bodies? Can science prove it? Science keeps developing and evolving in recent 100 years.
Is statistics science?
We deeply respect science, but we don’t think it should be the only source of hope. Many things about the human body still remain a mystery to science. Additionally, many “scientific results,” such as those produced in drug development, rely heavily on statistics, like medical statistics from phase I, II, and III trials. But it’s important to remember that statistics is not an exact science! Quite the surprise, isn’t it?
We’d like to cite a summary conclusion from a profound research paper published in 1978 by the Journal of the Royal Statistical Society. Series A (General) Vol. 141, No. 3 (1978), page. 385. (link: Is Statistics a Science? on JSTOR):
A distinction is drawn between science and technology. The former has been studied by Karl Popper and his ideas are widely accepted; the latter has had less attention. The inter-relations of the two are considered and it is pointed out that neither can be said to underlie or dominate the other though practitioners of each are often intolerant of the alternative approach. Statistics may have a more important role to play in technology than in science; it may itself best be considered as a technology rather than as a science. These ideas are discussed in the context of the teaching and practice of statistics in general and medical statistics in particular.
So, now you see, science still has limited knowledge of many ancient, effective herbal remedies.
Luckily, now we have another system (TCM system) that can provide another dimension to see and understand the diseases, the function of our body, the interaction of body and diseases, etc.