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Chinese herbal remedies are part of the oldest science in the world. Some Americans find that they can throw away their prescription medicines and all the negative side effects, in exchange for natural medicines. For instance, did you know that Chinese herbal medicine has been used to treat osteoarthritis, liver damage, depression, sore throats and emphysema, to name a few? The body is, after all, just a machine or a series of interconnected processes. Many things can disrupt that machine, but the Chinese believe it is an imbalance, either the absence or excess of a certain vitamin or nutrient.

To treat emphysema, Chinese herbal doctors recommend first adjusting your diet to include raw foods and vegetable juices. Garlic, onions and a teaspoon of pure, cold-pressed olive oil and apple juice should be taken every day to add essential fatty acids to the diet, thus eliminating toxic waste. Several times a week, patients should include chili peppers, ginger, horseradish and other spicy foods that keep mucus away. Also, avoid gassy foods like cabbage, greasy goods, salt and mucus-encouraging items (dairy, wheat, tobacco, processed junk).

Chinese herbal supplements used to treat emphysema include: vitamin B6 (to remove cadmium), coenzymes (to improve lung oxygenization), vitamin E (carries oxygen), vitamin C (heals inflammation) and vitamin A (repairs lung tissue). Specialists also recommend rubbing your chest with diluted essential oils like cedarwood, eucalyptus, peppermint or pine to assist in breathing. Home made teas made of boiling water and a few teaspoons of mullein or licorice before meals can work wonders. It's important to see a specialist, as every individual's treatment is unique.

"I think acceptance by the mainstream medicine is getting better and better,"said Che Chun Tao, professor and director of the School of Chinese Medicine at Chinese University. "I can tell you, before 1997 there were no doctors in hospitals who were willing to touch any herbal materials in clinical trials, but now there's quite a number of clinical trials going on and there's better acceptance from medical doctors.

I believe a combination of traditional Chinese medicine together with western medicine is needed for treating serious diseases and it's important to offer a choice for patients and the general public," he said. Currently, clinical trials for Chinese herbal extracts are being tested all around the world to cure some of the world's most serious diseases.

"We need to find out what is the best benefit for the patients and we need to use methods both from the western side and the traditional Chinese medicine side," says Dr. Liang Liu, dean of the School of Chinese Medicine at Hong Kong's Baptist University. Other doctors and professors believe that Chinese herbal therapy is finding a warmer reception in the West as a complementary treatment. Emergencies may still require stitches and prescription medicines, but for the long term, treatment of things like osteoarthritis and diabetes, Chinese herbal medicines can be a good sidekick.

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