RE: Chinese Pseudoscience: Deadly Ingredients in Fraudulent Products
It is admitted that TCM has risks for health. However, the point is, the right way to avoid the risk is taking these medicine under guidance of a qualified TCM practitioner, not just simply abandon them. Medicine those passed the FDA test also has side effects, right? Everything has two sides. You cannot only look at the risks but ignore the benefits.
Due to limitations of modern medicals, patients sometimes cannot be diagnosed or cured. Some patients go to their family doctors with concerns but diagnosed as "healthy" or only advised to rest and drink water. Many of them are then cured by Chinese medicine (I use herbs only). As a doctor, I consider the patient's benefits the most important. I don't want to see anyone read your article and miss the chance to be cured. I'm hoping to read science articles with impersonal ideas, otherwise it can be misleading.
Well, the point of this post was to show how under-regulated TCM is, allowing illegal poisons to enter the market. This is actually part of a series I've been doing where I've previously and thoroughly looked into the falsehood of TCM which you can perhaps check Here (history of TCM & acupuncture) and Here (research into acupuncture)
That's not to say all TCM is fake and only works on placebo, for example I show how snake oil is actually medically effective here, but these things are not discovered via the scientific method, and more by chance, having millions of people die from either poisoning or simply ineffectiveness over the millenia. Furthermore, even if the medicine is effective, the lack of regulation means you don't even get what you pay for and get poisoned anyway.
We should not be making medicines based on trial and error 2,000 years ago; the very premise of TCM - qi energy and meridian pathways - is flawed and problematic
Yes I totally agree that the regulation of TCM is a mess in China. For me as a practitioner, I only purchase herbs from traders I trust, and I never let the patients buy Chinese medicine anywhere else. It is good to have you here giving this notice. Therefore, it is the regulatory system to be blame, not TCM itself. If I were you, I'd clarify it in the article, instead of saying:
I read your other articles about TCM and I appreciate your careful research. I like them though some of the ideas are far away from mine. I left one comment there and hope you keep up the good work:)