Review

Immune System and Chinese Herbs

By -- Pi-Kwang Tsung, Ph.D.

Why? This is the question a physician should ask whenever a patient appears before him with presenting complaints. Why the patient? Why do they have the allergy, cancer or other debilitating condition and not you? Why does the sibling remain free of toxins when your patient is "always sick?" We are all humans with head, arms, and legs. What makes one person so vulnerable to pathology and someone else so free of disease?

Of course there are those who will instantly come up with the classic super-straight chiropractic answer that the problems are always caused by a subluxation. Indeed -- a structural aberrance may, at times, be a predisposing factor, but I'm sure that the vast majority of the chiropractic profession has long ago abrogated the belief in a monocausal hypothesis.

The real culprit is in the compromise of the immune system. While working in a medical clinic, I was exposed to many forms of pathology and impressed by the value of the proper maintenance of those elements that enhanced the system's viability. In essence, we never treated the disease -- rather we treated the patients by supplying their bodies with the equipment to build and repair the immune system with nutrients such as herbs, glandulars, vitamin/minerals, and homeopathics. The results were gratifying in cases that had long been abandoned by the so-called "orthodox" approach.

It is therefore obvious that I should find a text entitled Immune System and Chinese Herbs of more than casual interest. The text is not an alphabet of diseases and their herbal remedies. Rather, it is an explanation of the rationale for the use of Chinese herbs as a support to immune system function.

In its 14 sections children's problems are covered as well as allergies, aging, arthritis, cancer, diabetes, hepatitis, and AIDS. All done succinctly and in simple terms. The author obviously doesn't plan to make herbalists out of his readers but does give sufficient instructional material for the volume to act as a guide to both the layman and professional.

Naturally the FDA and AMA, as the great "protectors" of American health, can't allow instruction material of any kind to escape without codicils and warnings. One can only imagine all these learned herbalists in the FDA and AMA passing judgement on the value of the text. While medicine doesn't have a cure for AIDS or cancer, no one else must be allowed to even try to find one for fear they might.

Because of this, the author was obliged to advise his readers that anything discussed in the book was to be considered only adjunctive or complementary to medical treatment. He further advises consultation with a Chinese herbal doctor or medical assistance when needed.

While we are a form of generic medicine, it must be assumed that he meant the MD brand. It would seem better if he and others in the future suggest consultations with "other qualified health care professionals" rather than the usual political acquiescence to the allopaths.

The book also contains a small glossary and six appendices and should be purchased by any physician interested in treating his patient with every viable conservative means possible. If you've read this far -- this means you.

RHT