The Claim That Herbal Medicine Has Not Been Scientifically Proven

"But herbal medicine has no scientific basis."

When I hear this, I do not start by refuting it. Because there is a correct part in that statement. But there is a mistaken part too. Today I will separate the two.

First, the correct part

You cannot say that herbal medicine as a whole has been verified by modern standards. This is true.

Confirming, one by one, the countless combinations of thousands of herbs through clinical trials has, realistically, not been done. Some prescriptions have a fair amount of research accumulated; some have almost none. If there is someone who says "herbal medicine has all been verified," do not believe that. I do not say it either.

There is one more thing that must be admitted. Among the old explanations of Korean medicine, there are many that must be rewritten in today's language. Simply repeating old sayings is not enough. I regard that work as my own.

But "not proven" also has a trap

Having no research and having been researched and shown to have no effect are completely different.

These two are often mixed together. "There is no basis" is quietly swapped for "there is a basis that there is no effect." That is not logic.

And in reality, there is already a fair amount confirmed at the pharmacological level.

• That herbal compounds act on multiple targets at once (multi-target)
• That a good share of the components must be metabolized by gut bacteria to be activated
• That a low stimulus can, rather, raise the body's regulatory capacity (hormesis)
• That components of licorice inhibit a particular enzyme and act directly on an inflammatory alarm substance

These are not stories I made up but content dealt with in pharmacology. But joining these fragments into a single picture is the interpretation of my clinical practice. I always speak of these two while keeping them separate. (What Herbal Medicine Actually Does)

The real reason it is hard to verify

There are structural reasons why herbal medicine does not fit well into the modern clinical-trial frame.

First, herbal medicine is compounded differently for each person. For the same disease name, the prescription differs from person to person. But a clinical trial is designed on the premise of giving everyone the same drug. If you give each person a different drug, the trial design does not hold. (Same Diagnosis, Why Is Each Person Treated Differently)

Second, the components are not just one. Within a single dose there are dozens, hundreds of components, and they influence one another. It is hard to say flatly "this component produced this effect."

Third, the target is different. The place where herbal medicine is often used is a state that shows no abnormality on tests. It is hard to take what is not captured in numbers as an outcome measure.

This is not an excuse but the nature of the problem. And the existence of these reasons does not make it "so there's no need to verify."

So how do I go about it

I do not treat the evidence as one lump but use it separated into layers.

Layer	What it is	The attitude I take
Established	Mechanisms confirmed in pharmacology and physiology; toxicity, interactions	I follow it as is. It cannot be violated
Research accumulating	Where clinical research exists but the conclusion is not firm	I refer to it but do not assert
My clinical interpretation	The picture I made by joining the fragments	I state it, declaring it an interpretation
Expressions of old texts	Old terms and explanations	I rewrite them in today's language

When I explain to a patient, I make these layers explicit. I speak separately: "this is confirmed," "this is my judgment." I believe that the moment that distinction is blurred, trust collapses.

The limits I state honestly

Herbal medicine is not the answer to every illness. There are clearly cases where a part is badly broken, where it is urgent, where surgery or a strong drug comes first. In those times I recommend tests and other care first. That is the attitude of respecting evidence.

And I do not promise "it will be cured." I tell you in what direction, on what basis, and for how long we will try before judging. If it does not work, I say it does not work and change direction.

When you should go to a hospital first

• Suddenly arising severe pain, paralysis, or slurred speech
• Weight dropping without a clear reason
• Fever lasting long and night sweats
• Blood mixed in phlegm, stool, or urine
• If you have already been diagnosed with cancer, heart, or kidney disease and are in treatment (herbal medicine does not replace that treatment)

Finally

The question "is there scientific basis" does not make me uncomfortable. On the contrary, it is a question I keep holding onto.

My answer is this. What is confirmed, I will say as confirmed; what I do not know, I will say I do not know; my interpretation, I will say is interpretation. And I will not blur those boundaries.

Being able to say this much is the honest Korean medicine that I think of.