In 2019, the World Health Organization for the first time included traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) in the International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems (ICD). Here is the reference source: Most Influential Medical Documents It guides more than 100 counties on how doctors diagnose illnesses and what treatments insurance companies cover. TCM’s full membership in his ICD is the result of years of lobbying and efforts by Chinese officials, who believe this membership is key to their goals. spread this custom around the worldrivaling Western medicine in the process.
But while adherents of traditional Chinese medicine undoubtedly welcomed the WHO’s move, advocates of science-based medicine mostly groaned.
‘WHO chapter on traditional medicine likely to backfire,’ says editor of leading scientific journal Nature I have written. “It is extensive and detailed, and risks justifying unfounded underlying philosophies and some unscientific practices. It is unlikely to do anything other than promote more sales of the law.”
“WHO’s association with medicines that have not been adequately tested and may even be harmful is unacceptable for the body with the greatest responsibility and authority to protect human health,” they said as appropriate. added.
Chinese medicine is modern magic
The origin of TCM is belief For thousands of years, life energy called Qi has existed in the body and pervades entire channels called meridians. There is also a life force called yin and yang. through use Acupuncture, Tai Chi, and a variety of herbal and animal-based remedies can balance all these forces and energies to maintain or restore health.
As is evident, TCM is superstitious nonsense and magic in nature.Certainly, martial arts taijiquan can be done offer Exercise and meditation are good for health, but acupuncture is a dramatic placebo and almost all drug-like treatments are ineffective. pharmacologically worthless. For example, the system It is recommended Boiled gelatinous donkey skin for coughs and cancers, dried seahorses for impotence and bedwetting, and bear bile for just about everything. is more than Contains a total of 1,000 plant species and 36 animal species.
Traditional Chinese Medicine Causes Three Big Problems
Because Chinese medicine is popular all over the world (Chinese government) Estimate There are 900 million practitioners, if you can believe it), and the demand for the remedy could be very high. This raises three important issues.
First, this seemingly insatiable appetite for traditional remedies is pushing the species to the brink of extinction. Users generally prefer remedies derived from wild animals to farmed ones. For example, musk deer glands are used to treat coma and restore menstruation. A single one can sell for up to $45,000 on the black market.is more than 100,000 Musk deer die each year in China alone to meet demand. 230,000 East Asian native species remain.
Other species destroyed include tigers because of their penises. rhinoceros Sun bear horns, pangolin gall bladder, pangolin scales. Even the humble donkey is in danger. From 1996 to 2016The wild donkey population in China declined from 9.4 million to 4.6 million as humans sought the animals’ precious hides.
Even plants are unforgiving. wild american ginseng Very common in the United States more than 150 years ago, it is now endangered due to decades of harvesting and can be sold to traders in China and Hong Kong at high prices. In TCM, ginseng is considered a remedy for the common cold. Studies have shown that this is not the case. (At best, like vitamin C, prophylactic long-term consumption of ginseng may shorten the duration of colds.)
TCM not only harms animals and plants, it can also pose real health risks to humans. According to the National Institutes of Health, some treatments are “contaminated with toxic compounds, heavy metals, pesticides and microbes” and can cause serious side effects. China’s lax manufacturing standards and intentional contamination are to blame.For example, in 2019 the FDA High levels of lead detected It is included in one company’s herbal products. In any case, it seems particularly illogical for him to take TCM therapy when the risk of harm outweighs the potential benefit, as TCM therapy is generally not beneficial.
Finally, as we learned from the recent COVID-19 pandemic, frequent and sustained contact between humans and wild animals can spell disaster.Chinese medicine is very Encourage wildlife trade such as Batpangolins, and disease-carrying rodents that can jump into humans.
No benefits, no risks
In summary, traditional Chinese medicine provides little or no health benefits while endangering various animal species, exposing consumers to unsafe products, and increasing the likelihood of a global pandemic. Not provided. Given its immense popularity around the world, it may be the most harmful alternative ‘medicine’.
