Modern America is chronically overmedicated, report after report says. Traditional doctors prescribe drugs for all sorts of maladies, but one shop in Chicago’s Chinatown is touting its ancient cures as an alternative.

Kent Young Health Products Center Co. in sells over 400 herbs for a variety of ailments, from the common cold, nausea and digestive problems to urinary tract infections, high blood pressure and cancer.

Young is actually Jian Qiang Yang, a licensed acupuncturist and co-owner of the store. A graduate of Zhongshan Medical College in China, he practiced acupuncture and studied herbs there before coming to America in 1994.

Now licensed to practice acupuncture in Illinois, he opened his store at 2400 S. Wentworth in 2000.

Some of his customers buy their own herbs, but others come to be diagnosed by him and receive herbal compounds made especially for them. The Chinese way of diagnosing includes taking a person’s pulse and looking at the color of his or her tongue.

Chinese herbs are usually drunk as teas, but can also be eaten, such as in soups, or used topically. For example, with some herbal compounds, you boil the herbs and soak the affected body part in the liquid, said Yang.

Many Americans take the herbs in pill or powder form because Chinese herbs often taste bitter or sour. But Yang explained that an herb’s flavor is related to its use in the body. For example, he said that people with excess heat in their body should take a bitter herb. Sweet herbs give you more energy. Sour herbs help you sleep better, he said.

The Chinese believe herbs work in the same way as acupuncture, which deals with energy flow, or qi, in the body. For example, Yang said people use the popular herbal remedy ginseng to boost their energy levels because it promotes energy flow.

Yang said that Western medicine uses chemicals which are very strong and can cause side effects. Chinese herbs do not cause as many side effects, he said. They help to strengthen the immune system and promote balance among the different parts of the body.

Yang said Western doctors often advise patients to take herbal medicine. The National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine — part of the National Institutes of Health — reported that in 2007, 17 percent of adults used natural products, including herbs.

Dr. Chun-Su Yuan, director of the University of Chicago Medical Center’s Tang Center for Herbal Medicine Research, said that while Chinese herbs have been used medicinally in China for thousands of years, there is limited use of the herbs in the U.S. About 80 percent of herbs used by Americans are of European origin. Chinese herbal use is concentrated in Chinatowns across the U.S.

Yuan said people should consider using Chinese herbs more “if Chinese (herbal) medicine can show real benefits from controlled clinical studies.” But there is currently limited evidence from such studies.

According to the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine, Chinese herbs have been studied — mostly in China — for its use in many conditions. There is evidence the herbs may help with some conditions, but the methods used in most of the studies were flawed. More research is necessary to draw further conclusions.

Some Chinese herbalists are very experienced and knowledgeable, said Yuan. But in general, the level of knowledge is not the same among herbalists practicing in this country because there is not a standardized exam administered to specialists in Chinese herbs. He advises patients to consult their doctors when considering whether to use an herb.

The National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine advises seeking a medical professional trained in herbs rather than trying to self-treat with herbs. People should not use traditional Chinese medicine, including herbs and acupuncture, as a replacement for conventional medicine. The agency urges consumers to communicate with health care providers about any alternative remedies to ensure coordinated and safe care.

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By david butt from london
Posted: 03/24/2011 9:07 PM

herbalism is a science based on thousands of years of knowledge. Modern medicine is only a new fad that we are expected to accept. Every drug from my G.P. comes with a huge list of side effects. Need anyone say anymore !! I have seen herbalists before and found their treatments very productive. In the E.U. they are trying to ban herbal medicines - disgusting