Robert Cran Clinic blog

Can I use them to lose weight safely?

The slightest Google search for weight loss nowadays will bring up a long list of pills that are said to be safe for people wanting to lose weight.  A question I am sometimes asked is: "Are the herbs in this list of ingredients all safe?"

Follow up:

The honest answer has to be "Yes" and "Not necessarily"

First the positive side

Yes, if Chinese herbs are prescribed for an individual on the basis of a Chinese medicine Differential Diagnosis by Syndrome then it is safe to say that the herbs are safe for that individual at that time.  This is the expertise in matching a cluster of herbs and an individual all together that comes with thousands of years of clinical experience recorded in writing by some of the finest medical minds in world history.

The language, or meta-language, used in making and defining this Differential Diagnosis by Chinese medicine Syndrome is something that is still outside the narrow scope of modern science.  So, if you're looking for a scientific rubber stamp for it, forget it:  for the most part it does not exist.

And now the negative side

If Chinese herbs are not prescribed on the basis of an individualised Differential Diagnosis by Chinese medicine Syndrome or Pattern, then it is possible that the desired results may not happen, or that unwanted results may be experienced.

Dishonest commercialism

Another aspect that is extremely important is that one must be sure in any case that the ingredients of a formula are honestly stated.  Because of the commercial nature of a Google listing for a cure-all, it's inevitable that producers and vendors will resort to unscrupulous methods to produce dramatic results.  Not all of these results are necessarily wholesome.  Some of  them may even be harmful.

Pharmaceutical adulteration of Chinese pills

Recently, Members of the Register of Chinese Herbal Medicine (UK), of which I am a Member, were alerted to the existence on the market of pills claiming to contain only "safe" herbal ingredients for weight loss.  In fact, the list of ingredients was relatively innocuous; with the reservation, again, that any formula should be prescribed on the basis of a proper Chinese medicine Syndrome Differentiation.

One of these pill formulas is currently undergoing laboratory examination as the dramatically severe unwanted effects of taking it suggest it has been adulterated by a potent pharmaceutical chemical.  The following is an abstract from an alert circulated to Members of the Register of Chinese Herbal Medicine (UK):

"The product is believed to be widely available over the internet as well as in some traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) outlets in the UK.

Anyone currently using this product should stop taking it and consult their healthcare professional immediately.

This issue was brought to the Agency’s attention by a concerned GP after one patient was hospitalised and several others reported suffering a range of side effects including palpitations, severe gastritis and abdominal pain, as well as insomnia after taking the capsules."

Cases of people complaining of unexpected undesirable effects from slimming pills are now cropping up in South Africa.

The Lesson

If you want something to be treated by Chinese medicine, take advantage of the knowledge of a properly trained Chinese herbalist;  it's more than  a matter of shopping for substances that are fashionably "Chinese".  A properly trained Chinese herbal practitioner knows how to obtain herbal materials from reputable and safe sources.

The layperson can't become such an expert by Googling.