Researching?
Eagleherbs loves that patients and their health providers do their own research. Consumers have brought great formulas to my attention and they have been very helpful for a number of people. We subscribe to a PubMed newsletter which alerts us to new uses of Chinese herbs and formulas.
This business grows because of your consumer research. We believe that anyone should have the right to get herbs. And our purpose is to get people healthier. If it were just about sales then we would turn our office into a warehouse.
So at the risk of turning away people I offer the following points:
People often get excited about single herbs having special properties for serious diseases. These are almost always studies on animals measuring very specific markers. Formulas are groups of herbs that support whatever special properties that herb might have. For example, I use Qing Hao for a number of autoimmune cases but it is only 10% of the final formula. The 90% of the other herbs allows Qing Hao to work better.
I have seen a lot of “new formulas” out there with exciting results. Around the world scientists and doctors get satisfaction and attention from new results. Doing a study on a 1000 year old formula doesn’t get much attention. But if you add a few ingredients and give the formula a new name then you have something new. So when I see new formulas I see almost always they are variations of classic formulas. If they work better than the old then that is great and I am happy it is true.
But I want to further make the following points about self-research.
1) Many of the studies I see are done in labs or on animals and “show promise” for future research.
2) Many research articles are proposals for future human trials. They might have a lot of research but they haven’t been proven yet.
4) The trial may include patients who fit the “pattern” that best suits those herbs. This selection of patients is completely when the ethics and practices of Chinese Medicine.
4) Studies in China with people are often done in hospitals where the patients can be closely monitored. This allows them work with serious diseases and to use herbs that need special attention that aren’t available outside of hospitals, and/or China.
5) There are few “double blind” or placebo studies in China. They see these as unethical. Why give someone something they know doesn’t work? Even if Western medicine as its own “gold standard” of placebo studies I’m in complete agreement with this.
Again:
1) It is best to get a diagnosis either on-line or preferably in person from a Chinese Medicine professional. Chinese medicine works well because of a “pattern diagnosis” using unique diagnostic developed over thousands of years and codified in the last century.
2) Patterns change. Hopefully you will get better with your herbs and what you have taken for a month (or year) would change to new and better formula.
3) Herbs are given even in the best of circumstances to see if they fit the pattern. The first herbs may work very well but if they do not there is no shame in changing to a different formula and approach. Our books are filled with case studies where multiple formulas were given until finding the right formula.
If you have a trusted Chinese Medicine herbalist you can consult locally then that is ideal.
But if not you are always welcome to write to me with as many details as you can about your condition. If you want to pay for a telephone consultation then that is always available as well.
For those of use who have visited Americandragon.com I made this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=chHZWNjQzu0
Be well,
Douglas
Dec 1, 2024