The Healing Power of...star anise?

I’ve noticed that every floor in my office building has a bowl of star anise sitting around. At first I thought it was for decoration, or at most, potpourri. Then I found out it’s supposed to prevent the spread of swine flu. Very comforting.

How? you might ask. Well, the thinking is that star anise is one of the primary ingredients in Tamaflu and so by inhaling the essence of anise, we absorb some of the healing powers into our bodies. Apparently the faint aroma of black liquorice wafting the halls and offices of TRAFFIC and WWF is enough to stop the pandemic that has infected more than 3600 people in Viet Nam.

Ok, sarcasm aside, the star anise raises an important point- many cultures still use traditional medicine as a primary source of health care. The World Health Organization has estimated that 80% of the population of developing countries still use traditional medicines. Viet Nam is no exception at around 75% of the population depending on traditional medicine- or TM as we refer to it in the language of acronyms. TM made of plants and animals is huge with TRAFFIC because of the use protected wildlife like endangered tiger bones, rhino horns, and pangolin scales. Interestingly enough, many of the contraband wildlife medicines are meant to be used for ‘male enhancement.’ My friend working in WWF recently came back from a TM filming trip that included tanks of floating seal and other penises. She reflected on the homoeroticism of it all and concluded that one day she will use Asian men’s fear of homosexuality to campaign against wildlife consumption. You know, she brings up a good point….

But as silly and backwards as some of it seems, like seal penis and star anise, maybe there’s something to be said for TM. I come from a culture that spurns most homeopathy and holistic healing as new-age hippy BS. But how do botox injections and the hundreds of oxy-cyclo-benzo-etc-etc chemicals we fill our bodies with appear to the average Vietnamese person? In Viet Nam, the government implemented a policy to equally support TM and western medicine. Imagine that! Federal support for nature’s Viagra!

Here are some facts I found interesting...

In Viet Nam, there are :

• 48 hospitals and institutes devoted to TM practices only


• >240 TM departments in central and provincial governments


• >900 TM health centers


• 1500 TM remedies are licensed by the Ministry of Health for trade