Month: May 2026

Since the synthetic chemical era started about 150 years ago, all the synthetic drugs, additives, and supplements have one thing in common.   Being made from toxic petroleum and other fossil fuels, they are all brand new to our planet and have never had long interactions with us.  Hence, they are inherently toxic.  The toxicities of drugs generally show up in days or weeks, while those of additives and supplements, because of their lower doses, may appear years after our having started using them.   Now, due to the accelerating synthetic activities, producing countless of these chemicals, their side effects and new diseases are increasingly obvious among fellow Americans.

However, there are no efforts by the mainstream medical profession to try to reduce the use of conventional drugs made from fossil fuels.  Hence, I don’t see any movements to reduce legitimate drug use in the USA, despite its inherently toxic properties.  Even some bright Chinese scientists who had influence with the ChP have unknowingly changed the properties of a well-known anti-aging herb, cured Fo-Ti, to the cathartic, raw Fo-Ti.  [My next post will include this tonic vs. cathartic now in the ChP and the confusion in the English literature].

Chinese ginseng has been used in China since ancient times.  American ginseng was only introduced into China in the 18^th century and within decades, it was described as different from Chinese ginseng.  The Chinese didn’t use the science of botany or chemistry to tell the difference.  They used the experience of trial-and-error that their ancestors had used and taught them.  Unlike modern synthetic drugs with brand-new unknown impurities, whatever present in TCM herbs have already been there since our ancestors tried them eons ago.  They have all been tested  as safe, which is why we can safely ingest these herbs and formulas.  Not so with brand-new synthetic drugs with their impurities, for which our recent forebears were smart enough to design scientific tests (in-vitro, in-vivo, etc.) before clinical trials and finally approval for patient use.  Only then, the trial-and-error process that our ancient ancestors used is started all over!  There is no other choice for us to gain experience and time. 

So, the 2 therapies are very different!  But we can still use both, keeping in mind our health continues to be ruined by synthetics, which can be alleviated by TCM formulas containing tonic herbs or bypassed with natural chemicals. In my next post, I will address the confusions in TCM herbs in the English documentation, specifically addressing the tonic/cathartic named cured Fo-Ti and raw Fo-Ti.   Which is which?

Regardless, I think I know what it is trying to say:  there are these 2 groups of products – one is just herbs, whatever they are is immaterial, because you just have to do your best to market and  sell them; the other eventually will be destined to be scientific and evidence-based drugs.  I think the people involved in either group know what they can do.  One thing this article has done for me is that it has given me the reason why there are no standards of identity and quality for commercial herbal supplements, about which I have often complained.  Now, there would be no need to worry about what you sell, because the goods are not important.  The main objective of their existence is just being ‘health’ goods, especially the DSHEA does not allow specific claims.  The other kind of supplements (herbal or chemical), according to those dealing in them, is one step closer to ‘scientific’ or ‘evidence-based’ drugs, eventually with Big Pharma behind it.  Even with this group, I don’t think the players have any clue what they are dealing with – herb or chemical?  Especially they are not scientifically trained and don’t recognize that there is no science in drug therapy once a chemical gets  into our complex multichemical body.   Or they are so intimidated by ‘science’ that  they simply go along.  I have numerous posts on LinkedIn and on my blog  discussing this chemical vs. herb issue, especially the last one uploaded a day ago.

www.ayslcorp.com/blog

We should take both and bring them together, taking the good and ignoring the deficient in each and let them do their best in complementing each other.

A. Synthetic drug –   1.  made from toxic petroleum  

                                           2. brand new to our planet

3. with identity and purity issues (can never be absolutely pure like 100.000000 %)

                                           4. inherently toxic (already ongoing and non-changeable)

B. Traditional herb –   1. already developed by our ancestors and handed down to us

                                             2. our body knows it, so no surprises

3. absolute purity is not an issue, whatever therein dates to ancient times

                                             4. no inherent toxicity issues

Modern drug therapy using mainly synthetics is responsible for most of our illnesses (side effects & new diseases).  Just look at the promotions and advertisements on your family TV.  They make you feel like you are missing something if you don’t try their advertised drugs.  And we are openly blaming drug addiction as due to our young folk’s weak will power!  This reminds me of watching war movies of the Second World War era (1940s), seeing sailors smoking in submarines was common.  Smoking was not banned in public until around 1990s and 2000s!  And smoking physically and visually affects others nearby, which took more than half a century for us to ban in public.  I  don’t expect to see synthetic chemicals like drugs, additives, and supplements (now ubiquitous but quietly ruining our health) to draw the attention of the nontechnical public.   

Consequently, with the even more abundant synthetic chemicals that are not ingestible which we have been making for our convenience and comfort (like plastics, nylon, polyester, other synthetic fabrics, & foam rubber, etc.), they first pollute our environment and then over time decompose to minute entities (e.g., microplastics) that enter our body through our drinking water to further do us harm.   It is a serious situation.  But no one with fame and money seems to openly talk about it.   Scientists like me write about it but we are mostly ignored.  Regardless, I don’t give up.  I’ll keep trying until I croak. 

When dealing with A3 and A4, try to bypass the synthetic drug therapy with naturally isolated chemicals whenever possible.  Try to discourage continued drug advertising on family TV.  The only way to eliminate it is by passing laws to afford taxpayers (citizens & residents) free universal healthcare so that there would be no need for insurance and healthcare companies to continue to find ways to exploit the public. There should be term limits for members of our Congress so that they would not continue to get free perks (like healthcare) for themselves and ignore the rest of us Americans.    

TCM traditional medicine is mostly based on observation, experience and accumulated wisdom over time. It is as complex as our body and contains as many chemicals.  B3 and B4 allow it to be safely used.  The herbs and formulas are well documented both in print and through word of mouth among families.  There are dozens of formulas available from Asia already being sold as herbal supplements in Chinese herb shops throughout major American and Canadian cities.  They are for common ailments such as colds, flu, cough, and heat conditions (canker sores, pimples, etc.).  They can be fingerprinted by TLC or HPTLC.  I have already published my work on 3 dozen tryptamines that include several common psychedelics (psilocybin, psilocybin, LSD, etc.) with Rf values on 5 different solvent systems (mobile phases) and 3 adsorbents.   Well-promoted brands can be fingerprinted so that consumers can at least see what they look like when compared to a trustworthy brand.   Furthermore, the formulas containing tonic herbs are particularly suitable for improving our natural immunity.  

That can serve as a start, so can my organization, PBN Naturals Worldwide Consortium.  And I can provide initial guidance.