--- title: "Forward" url: "https://books.drcassone.com/21/traditional-medicines-of-east-asia/253/forward" --- The first purpose of writing this book was a personal review of these amazing medicines to hone of my professional skill in treating patients. The production of this book allowed me to process seven years of academic study, class notes, shared concepts among colleagues, and highlights from favorite textbooks spanning two different schools of Oriental Medicine and two different programs (Master’s and Doctorate level) combined with fourteen years of clinical private practice (not to mention multiple degrees in health sciences prior to entering the field of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine). The second purpose of this book is to illustrate to the consumer the beauty and complexity of herbal medicine while breaking the trend of tabloid hype that has resulted in countless injuries, false claims, and massive sales of poor quality products with ineffective ingredients. Unfortunately, too many wonderful herbs have been made unavailable because the FDA was forced to regulate misuse. In the American market, single herbs are promoted without any understanding of traditional medical use. Improper use of theses medicines can result in liver, kidney, or gastrointestinal damage in addition to complications of the original condition attempting to be treated. Professionally, I am committed to excellence in patient care. I regard the prescription of herbs and the customization of herbal formulas with supreme respect. The lack of regard for these medicines has become an issue I hope to shed light on. There are three primary areas of concern in the modern day use of herbs as medicine: herb knowledge (including drug interactions and contraindications) diagnostic skill (e.g. don’t treat the headache, treat the cause of the headache) herb quality (store bought herbs are unlikely to be potent or contaminant free) The proper use of herbs in patient care requires a strong foundation in physiology and pathophysiology. Beware of untrained holistic or herbal practitioners. Those who have discovered a passion for this medicine should go to school and get a proper education and license (practicing medicine without a license is a jailable offense). They can offer advice without a license, in some states, as long as they still have the proper knowledge and are promoting general health vs treating medical conditions. Keep in mind that natural does not mean safe and lack of knowledge will eventually, if it hasn’t already, cause harm. When an untrained practitioner isn’t directly harming someone through misuse of medicines they may also be missing the window of opportunity to treat a condition that needs medical intervention. I’ve had patients come to me from other practitioners promoting holistic ideologies only to have me send them straight to the hospital with no time to lose. I’ve also had patients come to me after being hospitalized because the local herb guy put them on a detox program and they had severe reactions. These practices also give holistic and herb based care models a bad name. I hold a primary care license and the State of California considers every herb I give a medical prescription. I double and triple check to ensure proper use, efficacy, and quality. There are also patient management responsibilities that untrained herbalists are unequipped to handle. Respect the herbs as medicine. That is my message. If you are a self-prescriber or get information from the untrained hourly paid desk person at the nutrition store then I applaud you for your interest in these medicines. However, I strongly urge you to seek a doctor trained in herbal and nutritional medicine that can evaluate your specific needs and teach you how to use the appropriate herbs based on your unique biological issues. Just because something makes you feel better initially does not mean it is good for you or that it is treating the root cause of your condition (cocaine will make you feel better and is all natural, organic, and gluten free but it is not good for you). In my practice, I am happy to educate patients on their condition and differentiate for them formulas and modifications for their treatment. It has been my experience that the majority of holistically trained doctors take a similar position in teaching their patients and empowering them to take care of themselves. Traditionally these medicines were rarely used alone. Each medicine has properties, characteristics, and temperatures as well as primary, secondary, and tertiary functions. Each herb has contraindications that must be evaluated before combining with other medicines or drugs. Many of these medicines have reactions when combined with other medicines. These reactions can be antagonistic, reductive, or enhancing. Herb prescriptions should always come from a diagnosis based on assessment of the organs involved in the presentation of the chief complaint. Pattern diagnosis may involve multiple systems and is based on pathomechanism and pathogenesis; what’s occurring to create illness and how it started (respectively). Holistic medicine is very different than attempting to treat the symptom without an understanding of what part of the body is in trouble needing treatment that is creating the symptom. Symptom treatment by itself has complete disregard to causative factors and has made conventional medicine useless, and even destructive, in treating those with chronic illness conditions (conventional medicine is still highly effective in treating acute care needs and those in a state of medical crisis). There is a similar trend in herbal medicine promoted by tabloid writers selling loads of supplemental herbs to treat various symptoms without any study or reference to individual cause. Many consumers think this dangerous approach has is somehow safer because it is a “natural” or “healthier” choice than a drug. I must warn against this mindset. If a person has chronic headaches, tabloid sales media will suggest something “natural” to treat the headache. However, a truly holistic approach will be searching for the cause of the headache. The use of herbs to treat disease requires high quality herbs. Each herb needs to grow in climates and conditions unique to that herb. The soil needs to be cared for and the topsoil maintained or the herb roots will not be able to pull out the rare phytochemicals that give it healing properties. High quality herb companies spend their resources testing every purchase of herbs in their labs for contaminants and retesting every batch for potency. Thin Layer Chromotagraphy is used to identify correct species and eliminate purchases from unethical suppliers selling substandard crops. Without laboratory testing, lethal mistakes can occur in patient care. High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) is a standardized testing technique that should be performed on all pharmaceutical herbs to ensure that the bio-active constituents are present in proper concentration, confirming potency and consistency. Unfortunately herbs are classified as dietary supplements and retailers are only required to ensure general safety, not potency or efficacy. HPLC testing is costly and typically only used by serious medical herb companies. It is rarely, if ever, performed on the products being retailed at the local health store because they have no legal requirement. The reason why retailed products often don’t work is because they are typically empty products. Retailers spend their efforts and resources on marketing not research or science. On the other hand, companies carried by most licensed professionals use pharmaceutical grade extracts tested with HPLC for qualitative and quantitative analysis. I use only the best products and visit every company that I purchase from personally. The last thing I need is to second guess my diagnosis because an herb isn’t doing what it is supposed to be doing. For students, the need to memorize every aspect of each herb can seem impossible but it is required for school exams and for passing the California Acupuncture Licensing Exam (CALE). I cannot speak highly enough about the Zoo cards. The Zoo cards are a system of learning based on images for memorizing herbs and their qualities based on Oriental Medical theory. In all my time during various classes and continuing education, it is the students that used the Zoo cards that have always known their herbs the best. If you memorize the Zoo cards you will be head and shoulders above the rest. I have included a brief reminder of each Zoo card image with each herb but you will not understand it until you have the cards in front of you and commit to the Zoo card system. They can be purchased at www.herbzoo.com and are well worth the money. As far as academic learning, the Materia Medica by Dan Bensky, Steven Clavey, and Erich Stoger is considered gospel and should be required reading. Use this book, Traditional Medicines of East Asia, to see photos, connect with the information, and write your own notes. The photos were taken by my daughter, Isabella Cassone, from my personal herbal collection. The entering channels and herb properties are not my original content. Although there are differences in literature, I chose to use what is taught in the State of California for passing the CALE. This allows the reader to use this book as a reliable study guide. Similarly, the section CLASSICAL MANIFESTIONS is very close to what is classically described as presentations for each herb. The herb properties, entering channels, and CLASSICAL MANIFESTIONS are essentially consistent with the concepts you will be tested on. I have made a few minor changes to how the material is presented but my intention was not to deviate too much. The main body of writing is my own original content. It is meant to give the reader insight on the herbs and their functions to help them connect to the herbs for the purpose of learning. The section COMMON APPLICATIONS AND CLINICAL POSSIBILITIES is mixture of class notes, random excerpts, and personal thoughts. Both the main body of writing and the COMMON APPLICATIONS AND CLINICAL POSSIBILITES are a blend of personal insights and concepts from many sources. Therefore, although these two parts of the book can be informative, they should not be used as study material for academic or licensing exams. The section on Contraindications is based on class notes but for test purposes you will need to differentiate between contraindications and cautions which is a distinction that I did not make. I hope you enjoy the process of learning herbs as much as I have enjoyed it. [Cassone Wellness](https://www.cassonewellness.com)