The Origin of the Name Fo-ti

From: http://www.eastearthtrade.com/fo-ti.aspx

The Origin of the Name Fo-ti:

  Many websites repeat the legend that "The name Fo Ti was given to the plant by a marketer in the early 1970s for the American herb business." If this was true then why the name Fo-ti? The Chinese name for Polygonum Multiflorum is "He shou wu". Fo-ti doesn't sound anything like that name and has no meaning in Chinese. Our East Earth Trade Winds herbalist says that one of his Chinese herb class teachers at the San Francisco College of Acupuncture (around 1982) told the following story about the origins of the name Fo-ti.

There was a discussion about a powerful herb, Fu zi (aconite), between a Chinese herbalist and an American. On learning that this herb could strengthen the heart, kidneys, and adrenal function the American wanted to buy it. The Chinese herbalist fearing that the American would injure himself or others because he wouldn't understand or appreciate how to use it properly sold him Polygonum Multiflorum instead. This "Fu zi" or "Fo ti" as it became known was still a powerful tonic herb but Polygonum multiflorum is very safe to use. The herb was marketed as Fo-ti and became popular and to this day it is known in the USA as "Fo-ti".

Herbs, The Foundation of Medicine

Chinese herbs to clear summer heat. Read the full article at:
http://ezinearticles.com/?Herbs,-The-Foundation-of-Medicine:-Treating-Summer-Heat&id=8838758

Ginseng

Ginseng is the most famous of the Oriental herbs. Ginseng strengthens the body's vitality. It enhances the psychic centers. It clears the spiritual vision. The classical herbal texts say that this enhanced strength can be used for any task.  Known for boosting energy and stamina, it traditionally is said to strengthen the Lungs and Spleen and improve the digestive system. Research has shown that it speeds the transmission of nerve impulses, increases endurance, and strengthens conditioned reflexes. It has also been shown to have many anti-stress capabilities. On the basis of tests done on 1,500 Rusian athletes it was reported that ginseng helps to increase stamina, endurance and concentration, and improves the reflexes. Oriental soldiers at war used ginseng to increase resistance to combat fatigue and shock.
If you want high quality ginseng roots we recommend purchasing through East Earth Trade Winds.

Ephedra (Ma huang)

Ephedra, Herba (麻黄 Chinese: ma huang)
Actions: 1). induces sweating, disperses cold, 2). calms wheezing, 3) for Wind-Cold Pattern, 4). for wind-Cold cough and wheezing.

Due to past misuse and abuse by multi-level marketing companies and mass marketers Epedra (Ma Huang) is no longer legal to sell in the United States. This is unfortunate because it is a very useful herb in Chinese herbal remedies.

Corydalis

There has been a lot of interest in the herb Corydalis in the last several months. Corydalis is a powerful pain relieving herb. Here's one of the news stories that discusses corydalis: Study Finds a Potent Painkiller in Traditional Chinese Medicine. Dr. Oz also mentioned it on TV and since his programs are frequently rerun the folks at East Earth Trade Winds get many calls from people looking for this herb.

When discussing the effectiveness of the corydalis the folks at East Earth Trade Winds noticed that they don't get a lot of repeat sales for this herb even though it is touted as a fantastic pain reliever. This begs the question "why?".

In Chinese herbal medicine herbs are rarely used alone. The majority of them are used in combination with other herbs. So depending on what type of problem you have a formula would be created that addresses those symptoms. Corydalis invigorates the blood so if you have a pain due to blood stagnation then it may work well but if the pain is due to something else? That's where combining it with other herbs come in. You need to address the type of pain and then, if corydalis is appropriate, add it to the formula. If used by itself Corydalis may give less than stellar pain relief and they think this is what is happening.

However, there are products already available that contain corydalis. One product that has it as an ingredient and has always had lots of good feedback is Tung Shueh Pills. This formula is specifically for arthritis type pain. Tung Shueh contains corydalis but corydalis isn't the main ingredient. Corydalis works as an adjunct herb and in this formula the overall combination of herbs relieves joint and muscle pain very well. Corydalis just adds to the effectiveness. So if you are interested in pain relief for arthritis, muscle, or joint pain the folks at East Earth Trade Winds conclude that the Tung Shueh pills may give you a lot more relief than just using  the single herb corydalis alone.

Google's anti-Chinese herb policy demands removal of advertising Bi Yan Pian from East Earth Trade Winds website

I've previously written about Google's War on Chinese herbs. As a recap, East Earth Trade Winds advertises on Google Adwords -those little ads that pop up when you search for something. In April of 2013 they had their account shut down for three weeks for advertising Epimedium - a Chinese herb that is legal to import and legal to use. In Chinese medicine Epimedium is considered a Kidney Yang Tonifying herb. East Earth had to remove that product listing from the site in order to be able to advertise on Google Adwords again.
Now the Google anti-Chinese censors are at it again. This time the East Earth Trade Winds account violated Google policy by advertising Bi Yan Pian - a common remedy for allergies and stuffy nose. Once again this product is legally imported and there are no restrictions on the sale of this product by the FDA. It is simply that Google's censors don't approve of Chinese herb products.

Here's the violation that they pointed out to me:


"Please be advised that your ads are getting disapproved for promoting Bi Yan Pian on the Landing Page which is an Unapproved Pharmaceuticals monitored by Google. Please remove it from the Landing Page so that we could approve the ads. Please find attached a screenshot of the highlighted term on the Landing Page of your website which needs to be removed.  "

Googles anti-Chinese herb policy restricts legal Chinese herb products.

Instead of removing the product East Earth Trade Winds removed the product name Bi Yan Pian and changed the name listing to the English translation "Nose Inflammation Pills". As of this date we don't know if this will pass their censorship. Bi Yan Pian, by the way, is not a "pharmaceutical" - it is an herbal supplement.
Google  arbitrarily restricts the sale of Bi Yan Pian. There are others who advertise the same product and do not seem to have any restrictions.
I suggest that people use yahoo or bing for their search engines instead of Google. Yahoo and Bing do not seem to have an anti-Chinese herb policy.

Dr Oz and Corydalis

Because of Dr. Oz's television show the folks at East Earth Trade Winds gets lots of inquiries and orders for Corydalis. Corydalis is a powerful herb and does have good effect in relieving pain. However, in Chinese medicine it is usually combined with other herbs in a formula to achieve pain relief. That said, although they have sold many bottles of this product they haven't had people calling back and raving about it - but we do have people commenting all the time about how well the Tung Shueh formula works. Tung Shueh contains ingredients specifically for relieving muscle and joint pain and Yan Huo Suo (Corydalis) which is an ingredient in this formula seems to work even better in the synergistic blend. If you are going to try Corydalis for joint and muscle pain we would suggest that you consider trying the Tung Shueh also. You might have better results.