NO. not all Chinese Medicine herbs are dietary supplements.
There are about 5 thousand herbs documented inside Chinese Medicine herbology. There are a few hundred herbs are defined as the dietary supplement which is safe to consume in a reasonable long time. Currently, about 83 herbs are documented in Chinese FDA as the food.
The treatment modality of Chinese Medicine is mostly different from Western Medicine. Besides toxicity, Chinese Medicine measures mostly on the level of Qi,Xue, Yin, Yang, external and internal. Whether it is deficiency or surplus. Therefore, even things are not toxic, if the usage of herbs is not reflecting the measure of conditions. Then the herb is considered ‘TOXIC’.
Even with the toxic herb, they can be used if the toxicity fits patient’s condition. This is similar to western medicine. However, Chinese medicine is prescribed as the formula which has other herbs remedy the toxic herb to reduce the impact/side effect on the patient.
Chinese Medicine and Western Medicine are different treatment modalities. They have their own scientific rules. Therefore, it is not appropriate to force rules of Western Medicine onto Chinese Medicine as it has been proved mistaken. For example, either forbid the use of toxic herbs or let all herbs be considered as “no toxic” dietary supplement. They have to be prescribed by trained/certified herbalists.
Currently, there is herbology track of training and certification which is different from acupuncture track. National Certification Commission for Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine (NCCAOM) is the main testing body to certify herbology, acupuncture and Asian bodywork.
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