I stopped my Western wellness stack for Chinese herbs heres what happened

Gen Z is beginning to doubt whether the West really is the best, and I might be among them — at least, when it comes to medicine.A couple of months ago, while mindlessly scrolling TikTok, I noticed my algorithm feeding me more videos centered around Traditional Chinese Medicine: people mixing Chinese herbs, sipping warm morning teas, trying acupuncture pads and practicing (or attempting to practice) tai chi.It’s not unusual for me to stumble across these kinds of trends.I cover wellness from a consumer lens and do my best to keep up with every corner of the industry.

But when I started seeing posts about “ChinaMaxxing,” an apparent Gen Z trend built around incorporating elements of Chinese culture and traditional Eastern medicine into daily routines, I stopped scrolling.At best, the so-called “ChinaMaxxing” trend has been framed as a harmless exchange of wellness practices.At worst, it veers into blatant cultural appropriation.

One of the most problematic aspects, beyond the term itself, is that few Americans understand how herbal medicine actually works.I include myself in that group.For most of my life, I defaulted to typical Western fixes for just about everything.

But the controversy surrounding this trend had me reconsidering how I view herbal medicine, particularly against the backdrop of America’s pharmaceutical industry and its often symptom-focused approach to health care.My typical routine is as follows: protein powders for muscle growth and satiation, probiotic supplements for bloating and gut health, pre-workouts for energy, electrolytes for recovery, and occasionally, over-the-counter medication for menstrual cramps.Here in the U.S., there always seems to be a steady influx of “treatments” for every symptom, and often another product to counteract the side effects of that same “treatment.” I use the word treatment loosely here because I’m sometimes skeptical that the source of the issue is truly being considered.Chinese medic...