Introduction

A Western doctor, Glenn E. Miller, M.D.,
and a Chinese doctor, Henry Han, O.M.D.,
collaborate for a better medicine

My career in Western medicine began with an interest in my family's background in pharmacognosy, which is the branch of pharmacology that deals with drugs in their crude or natural state. My father, two uncles and two cousins are all pharmacists. Growing up in the Midwest, I spent summers, weekends and holidays with my dad at his pharmacy. Before I could even see over the counter, my father would have me grind raw ingredients—many of which came from plant sources—in a mortar and pestle. My father would then put the ground powder into capsules, blend it into an ointment or mold it into suppositories. My father was a Scout leader who took me and my Scout troop on trails, pointed out plants and told us about their medicinal applications. I was fascinated that plants you might see on a trail could end up as raw ingredients in medications dispensed in pharmacies.

Throughout my childhood, as I continued to work with my father behind the counter in his pharmacy, fewer and fewer naturally occurring medicines were prescribed. Pharmaceutical manufacturers began growing into the behemoth companies they are today, and prescription drugs became the way of life in medicine and in the practice of pharmacy. Mortars and pestles, folded powder papers, ointment tubes and suppository molds were put on the shelf, destined never to be used again. Pharmacies that specialize in formulating compounded prescriptions dwindled in the United States to so few that physicians now have difficulty in finding one when the need for an individualized preparation arises.

I initially followed in the footsteps of my father and enrolled in pharmacy school. By the time I graduated from Drake University College of Pharmacy, they were no longer offering classes in pharmacognosy. We were not taught the preparation of natural herbs in the mortar and pestle. We were taught how to prepare and fill ointment tubes, but were informed that the chance of us ever having to do so “out in the real world” was rather low. The lack of attention to the properties of plants in pharmacy school did not dampen my interest. At the same time, my studies in pharmacy school were not enough for me. I knew I wanted to pursue a career in medicine.

In medical school, there was no place for my interest in the preparation and use of natural herbs. I attended one of the finest clinical medical training centers in the world at the University of Illinois College of Medicine, Chicago cam-pus—and there it was all about mainstream Western medicine. It was not until I was in private practice in Santa Barbara that an opportunity arose for me to pursue my interest in natural herbs as medicine.

Throughout my career in medicine I have always had great respect for my patients' opinions and have advocated using whatever it took to give patients the best results. There were occasions when patients achieved positive results on medications I prescribed but suffered severe, and at times debilitating, side effects. When some of my patients began asking me about the interactions of various prescription medications they were taking with herbs they wished to take, my long-hibernating interest in natural herbs was awakened. I began researching so that I could accurately answer my patients' questions and address their needs. During the course of my research, I happened across Henry Han, O.M.D. (Oriental Medical Doctor), in my own backyard. When some of my patients told me about their positive experiences with Chinese herbal medicine in resolving their side effects, I realized I could treat many illnesses with Western medicine and the side effects could be alleviated with Chinese herbal medicine. Given my background, it seemed perfectly natural to me to use herbs in conjunction with Western medicines and treatment protocols. I began researching and studying Chinese medicine, referring patients to Dr. Han and collaborating with him on patients' treatment plans.

Dr. Han, who is the founder and chief physician of the Santa Barbara Herb Clinic and a specialist in internal medicine, was born in China and trained in Chinese and Western medicine in Beijing. When Dr. Han says, “To heal others is to heal myself,” he speaks of an arduous journey in which his own life experience molded his philosophy about healing.

Dr. Han was born in 1958 in the People's Republic of China to parents who were Western-trained physicians; his father was a dermatologist and his mother a gynecological oncologist and surgeon (his sister later became an internist). R After Chairman Mao claimed absolute control over the country in 1949, any one who was not working-class was considered a potential antirevolutionary. The political turbulence, stirred by the development of a communist society, culminated in the Cultural Revolution in 1966. The campaign of Red Terror was set in motion to purge those suspected of being disloyal to the Party. Dr. Han's parents were among the educated professionals who were singled out and arrested.

Four years into the Cultural Revolution, his parents were exiled to the remote countryside in western China, and Dr. Han, then twelve years old, was allowed to go with them. Exile was meant to “reeducate” his parents through forced labor, yet their medical knowledge and skill were needed and called upon from time to time as they traveled through towns and villages where doctors rarely, if ever, visited. On occasion they asked their son to give them a hand when there was no nurse available to assist them.

Watching how Western medicine was practiced in dire situations left a deep impression on Dr. Han. He watched his parents incorporate Chinese medicine into their Western medical practice. The combined use of these two diverse medical systems came naturally for Dr. Han's parents partly because—in spite of their training in Western medicine—they were culturally accepting of Chinese medicine. By the majority of Chinese people the effectiveness of Chinese medicine is taken for granted and never questioned. Even in the second half of the twentieth century in the vast Chinese countryside Chinese medicine still shouldered most of the responsibility for health care. In addition, both of Dr. Han's parents had received some training in Chinese medicine as part of the institutionalized sponsorship by the government to promote the integration between Western and Chinese medicine.

As a boy, Dr. Han learned that, in many situations, the combined use of the two medicines seemed to work better than either one of the systems. Whenever he could, he spent hours hanging around herbal pharmacies to help process herbal formulas and satisfy his curiosity about the different colors, textures, shapes, smells and medicinal properties. There was magic in knowing that a plant was capable of healing an illness.

The Cultural Revolution officially ended in the fall of 1976 with the death of Chairman Mao. Dr. Han's family was reunited. In late 1977, Dr. Han enrolled in the Beijing University of Chinese Medicine. The training of the school was divided between traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) and Western medicine. Among his teachers were some of the world's most well respected Chinese herbalists and scholars of Chinese medicine.

Dr. Han then had the opportunity to go to the United States to study, and he chose the University of California in Santa Barbara. After Tiananmen Square Dr. Han became involved in student demonstrations in the United States, and it was therefore impossible for him to return to China. President George H. W. Bush issued a presidential order that provided protection for Chinese students. Dr. Han decided to stay in Santa Barbara and set up a practice there in 1989.

After meeting Dr. Han, my days of medical library and Internet research were over. Here was a master herbalist who was able to answer my questions. From the very beginning of our relationship, Dr. Han provided me with more and more enlightening information, not only providing assistance to my patients but fanning the flames of interest in integrative medicine. Through this interactive relationship I came to the understanding that there is more than one way to effectively treat patients. If Western medicine did not have the right or best answer, I was free to search for a better answer. When we integrated Chinese and Western medicines, the battle against disease had a much greater chance of being won.

Because Western and Chinese medicines can so effectively complement each other's weaknesses, the marriage of these two medicines makes sense. Chinese medicine, which operated independently from Western medicine for three thousand years, has been integrated with Western medicine in parts of China during the last two hundred years. In China, when a patient is evaluated, often both Chinese and Western medical approaches are considered. Sometimes Chinese medicine is more appropriate, sometimes Western. This integrated approach is widely accepted in China as a way of providing optimal medical care for the patient.

Dr. Han persisted in his goal of further integration. In his practice, when ever possible, he uses Western diagnostic laboratory tests in evaluating and monitoring patients' progress throughout the course of treatment. He continued to attempt to contact his patients' Western medical doctors, and slowly the barriers began to fall away. Today, many of the Western doctors of patients who shared their case histories for this book are now actively pursuing collaborative relationships with doctors of Chinese medicine, such as Dr. Han, as a result of the success their patients experienced with Chinese medicine. Dr. Han, Dr. Mao and Dr. Dao are a few of the doctors who now have Western doctors collabo rating with them on patients' treatment plans, referring patients to them and even seeking Chinese medical treatment as patients themselves. These practices have become stellar models of how true integration can work for the betterment of medical care.

Our desire to share this model grew into the book you are now reading. Just as everything known about Western science could not be explained in one book, it would be impossible to fully explain every detail about Chinese medicine in one book. For that reason, Ancient Herbs, Modern Medicine will give you a basic understanding of the most important concepts of Chinese medicine, including theory and principles, acupuncture and herbs. Understanding these principles and medical modalities will enable you to understand your Chinese medical doctor when he or she explains your condition from a Chinese medicine perspective. You will also be able to talk to your Western medical doctor about Chinese medicine.

Chinese herbs come in two basic forms: raw, dried herbs that are individually prescribed and brewed into a tea called a decoction, and refined patent herbs that are standardized for certain conditions and come in pills, granules and tinctures. Patent herbal formulas are comparable to Western over-the-counter medications. Self-treating relatively mild or benign conditions or symptoms with patent herbal formulas can be safe and effective. Once you learn about herbs and are ready to try them, the appendices provide resources for you to find a Chinese herbal clinic in your area. If there are no clinics in your area, you can order herbs online at ancientherbsmodernmedicine.com.

In potentially life-threatening situations or when one is seriously ill, how ever, herbal formulas must be prescribed by a trained and experienced herbalist. To maximize the benefits of your treatment, your herbalist and Western physician should collaborate and communicate throughout the course of your treatment. If you are taking Western drugs, always tell your herbalist what medications you are taking. Likewise, always tell your Western M.D. if you are taking Chinese herbs.

Chinese medicine fills a need sorely felt in today's world. The efficacy of Chinese medicine can rival that of Western medicine—and for many chronic illnesses, Chinese medicine is actually more effective and a better choice. This is why in the modern era of advanced science and technology, this ancient medicine has not only held its ground but remains vital and is gaining increasing acceptance worldwide.

The strength of Chinese medicine comes from three thousand years of treating illnesses and promoting health. The core of its wisdom is sophisticated theory and philosophy, which has provided Chinese medicine with its characteristic of gentleness, its holistic approach to illness and health and its strong emphases on quality of life and prevention. We believe that by promoting the marriage of the best of the West and East, the emerging health care model for the new millennium can have a better balance between art and science, ancient wisdom and modern high technology, respect and sensitivity for the wholeness and quality of life and a high degree of effectiveness in eradicating diseases.

Glenn E. Miller, M.D.
Santa Barbara, California