In contrast, natural medicines (e.g., herbs) with chemicals therein, have been with us since we appeared on this planet eons ago. Hence, we are no strangers to one another. When we compare our experience with modern synthetic drugs (a measly 2 centuries) versus that of traditional medicines (millennia or countless years), it is like a grain of sand on a sandy beach. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Being unaware of this difference when dealing with synthetic drugs<\/strong> based on our drug principle, \u2018synthetic and natural chemicals<\/strong> are the same if they have the same chemical structure and both are pure\u2019. But how pure? Nobody seems to raise this question for 200 years since the synthetic era began. <\/p>\n\n\n\n World pharmacopoeias<\/strong> (like our USP\/NF<\/strong>), the \u2018bibles\u2019 of identity and quality of drugs and additives, only give a range of their impurities up to around 3%. Which is for manufacturers of herbal or chemical supplements and drugs to follow. However, once these products are on the market, there are no rules from USP\/NF or government agencies like the FDA to test for them in the finished commercial products on the market. With drugs, you can still analyze the drug chemicals in them, but not those in herbal supplements or traditional medicines because there are still no meaningful rules for guaranteeing the ID and quality of herbs based on any assumed active chemical. Which is why our herbal supplement industry<\/strong> is such a mess<\/strong>. The way it is now, 2 herbal supplements made by 2 different companies with labels containing the same herbal ingredients can be different as night and day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Modern drugs (or drug therapy using synthetics) are very different from herbs or traditional herbal medicines. The former is based on faux science unless its advocates (most of my colleagues) include the trial-and-error step after our modern drugs have been approved via the clinical-trial process. Otherwise, we would forever be scratching our heads wondering why its VC continues to produce endless side effects, enriching the drug makers & associates, while continuing to exploit most Americans\u2019 health and finances. <\/p>\n\n\n\n In short, the two types of therapeutics, synthetics and traditional medicines or herbs, both have merits and faults. The former is based on science without the experience and wisdom of the trial-and-error process which require time to acquire, without which many more generations of Americans and fellow humans will continue to suffer more from its VC \u2013 being sick more often and croak earlier. The latter, herbs and traditional medicines, are experience and wisdom already accumulated over millennia or countless years. We just need to take the better features of each and combine the two to work in a complementary manner to benefit every fellow human who needs such therapeutics at affordable cost.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" In contrast, natural medicines (e.g., herbs) with chemicals therein, have been with us since we appeared on this planet eons ago. Hence, we are no strangers to one another. When we compare our experience with modern synthetic drugs (a measly 2 centuries) versus that of traditional medicines (millennia or countless years), it is like a … <\/p>\n