Truth in science and medicine
Our blog articles are meant to promote truth in science and medicine, to stimulate thought and to provoke discussion.
Most of the information you can still find today via print, broadcast and digital media portrays the medicinal qualities of plants from a circumscribed materialistic, and thus distortive natural scientific perspective. Yes, chemical properties do indeed exist, but they represent only a part of the whole quality of a medicinal plant, which includes energetic and spiritual dimensions.
Plant medicines not only address the physical but also the supraphysical, subtle aspects of the human being, including the health of the soul and spirit. Only an herbalist awake and alert to higher aspects of the human individual and to the cosmic and tellurian environments can appreciate this truth and incorporate into her or his clinical practice.
Today we will take an exploratory look at the Chinese herbal medicine formula Shufeng Jiedu as an alternative or complementary treatment option in the present health and social crisis. And thereafter.
Ask probing questions and seek truthful answers
The methods of modern natural science are often inadequate to document the “real-world evidence” of the prophylactic and therapeutic properties of natural and alchemical medicines. “Experiential medicine” has been successfully practiced for thousands of years, by generation after generation of doctors in various cultures throughout the world.
In the interest of human health, should we accept or reject current campaigns to ignore, or to devalue and discredit, such medicines — in favor of expensive, often exorbitant, synthetic drugs produced by the pharmaceutical industry, with their frequent negative side-effects?
What matters most, the commercial interests of the pharmaceutical industry or the health and well-being of people and of the lives making up the natural world? You would think the former if you examine many government policies implemented in response to the ongoing health and social crisis.
How much have public health policies that are being recommended or enforced by governments arisen in response to lobbying campaigns by the “medical industrial complex”? Who has economically benefited most from the present crisis as national governments have taken on mountains of debt and often awarded lavish subsidies and highly lucrative contracts to the wealthiest oligarchs and largest multinational corporations?
The health of the human body is dependent on supra-physical as well as physical factors. Why? Because the true constitution of the human being, based on theosophical and anthroposophic teachings, includes a dense physical body, a life or etheric body, an astral or psychic body, lower and higher noetic or mental bodies, and the Ego or I. Note: some traditional Eastern and Western wisdom teachings depict the constitution of the whole human being slightly differently. The truth of the multidimensional human being has been recognized in all times and climes. It has only been lost sight of in the modern era, with the dominant influence being exerted by materialistic natural science on thinking in all realms of contemporary human life.
In the conclusion of the abstract for “Shufeng Jiedu, a promising herbal therapy for moderate COVID-19: Antiviral and anti-inflammatory properties, pathways of bioactive compounds, and a clinical real-world pragmatic study”, we encounter an awkward statement that successfully illustrates the crisis in today’s scientific and medical theory and praxis:
“SFJDC might be a promising drug for the treatment of COVID-19, but large-scale randomized, double-blinded, placebo-controlled clinical trials are needed to complement the real-world evidence. It might be beneficial to start SFJDC treatment as early as possible in suspected cases of COVID-19.”
Apparently “real-world evidence” is not enough in today’s confused and confusing cultural, political and economic environments. When you have “real-world evidence”, what would be the real benefit of proof by “randomized, double-blinded, placebo-controlled clinical trials”?
Shufeng Jiedu
Shufeng Jiedu consists of eight herbs:
- Bupleurum chinense DC (root)
- Fallopia japonica Houtt (rhizome/root)
- Forsythia suspense (Thunb) Vahl. (fruit)
- Glycyrrhiza uralensis Fisch (rhizome/root)
- Isatis indigotica L. (root)
- Patrinia scabiosaefolia Fisch (aerial parts)
- Phragmites communis Trin. (rhizome)
- Verbena officinalis L. (aerial parts)
This traditional Chinese phytotherapeutic formulation demonstrates anti-viral, anti-inflammatory and immunomodulatory effects.
Shufeng Jiedu capsules have been approved by the China Food and Drug Administration and are registered in the Chinese Pharmacopoeia.
In the “COVID-19: Global literature on coronavirus disease” webpages of the World Health Organization, you will find numerous articles on the therapeutic effects of Shufeng Jiedu on corona virus disease. In the abstract of the article “Potential therapeutic effect of Shufeng Jiedu capsule and its major herbs on coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)”, we learn:
“Based on its antiviral, anti-inflammatory, and immunoregulatory activities in acute lung injury, SFJDC can be effectively used as a treatment for COVID-19 patients according to the diagnosis and treatment plan issued in China and existing clinical data. SFJDC has been recommended in 15 therapeutic regimens for COVID-19 in China.”
Shufeng Jiedu formulations are available through numerous apothecaries (pharmacies) in Germany, some of which accept domestic and international online orders.
If interested and you live abroad, you will want to explore whether Shufeng Jiedu is also available in your country. And if not, why is it not available to you as a complementary or alternative therapy?
With the Light and Warmth of the soul and heart,
Joseph Michael Contrada
Healer and Health Educator
Heilpraktiker (Lic. German healthcare and psychotherapy provider)
Medical Philosopher and Journalist
Disclaimer
This blogpost is for general educational purposes only. Please consult a qualified health care professional for INDIVIDUALIZED medical and/or psychological diagnosis and treatment. You will want to receive the advice of your primary healthcare provider before introducing any new medicine into your existing healthcare regime.
Information Sources
Xia L, Shi Y, Su J, Friedemann T, Tao Z, Lu Y, Ling Y, Lv Y, Zhao R, Geng Z, Cui X, Lu H, Schröder S. Shufeng Jiedu, a promising herbal therapy for moderate COVID-19: Antiviral and anti-inflammatory properties, pathways of bioactive compounds, and a clinical real-world pragmatic study. Phytomedicine. 2021 May;85:153390. doi: 10.1016/j.phymed.2020.153390. Epub 2020 Oct 22. PMID: 33158717; PMCID: PMC7581328.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33158717/
Slomski A. Trials Test Mushrooms and Herbs as Anti–COVID-19 Agents. JAMA. 2021;326(20):1997–1999. doi:10.1001/jama.2021.19388
https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2786023
Jeanne Trill, Zhijie Wang, Merlin Willcox, Yu Zhang, Xiao-Yang Hu, Michael Moore. A synthesis of the evidence regarding safety of a Chinese herbal formula Shufeng Jiedu: A pharmacological review, Pharmacological Research – Modern Chinese Medicine, Volume 2, 2022, 100017, ISSN 2667-1425, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.prmcm.2021.100017.
(https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2667142521000166)
Xu, Yayun; Yang, Li; Wang, Longfei; Chen, Feihu. Potential therapeutic effect of Shufeng Jiedu capsule and its major herbs on coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19): A review. Drug Discov Ther ; 15(6): 289-299, 2022 Jan 15. Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-1580004
https://search.bvsalud.org/global-literature-on-novel-coronavirus-2019-ncov/resource/en/covidwho-1580004