Translated material
Grass of the Celestial Empire
Fred Guterl, Melinda Liu (Newsweek)
Chinese athletes use herbal elixirs as tonics.
Chinese athletes use herbal elixirs as tonics.
According to a Chinese proverb, “food and medicine have the same roots,” which is why herbal remedies are traditionally included in the Chinese daily diet (Photo: AP )
Coach Ma Junren's athletes were ready to do anything to win. In the early 90s, they set new records in women's athletics - and raised suspicions that they owed their triumph to illegal drugs. "Nothing like that!" - Ma got excited. He swore that his wards won only thanks to a special technique - intensive training plus an unusual diet, which included cordyceps chinensis (a fungus that parasitizes insects - "Results"), herbs and a cup of turtle blood daily. Once, in front of German television cameras, he even demonstratively cut off the head of a turtle, expressed the blood into porcelain cups, and his runners drank the contents in one gulp.
Ma Junren's undoubted talent as a showman still cannot improve the reputation of Beijing, which is known as one of the main doping centers. Chinese officials say they are committed to correcting their country's image. National prestige is at stake at the Sydney Olympics and - crucially - Beijing has a good chance of becoming the 2008 Olympic host. Chinese officials swear that doping is over. Before the Games, 27 Chinese athletes were kicked off the Olympic team for using erythropoietin, or EPO, a banned stimulant that enhances performance in endurance events. But many of the Chinese athletes are going to continue to follow Coach Ma's recipes, absorbing large doses of natural natural tonics. Many of these drugs are harmless, some can be poisonous, and some can help competitors improve their performance. And some give a positive result when tested for doping.
In the West, a clear line is drawn between medicines and food. But for the Chinese, things are different. From the 1st century BC. the entire population of China became addicted to tiger bone powder, snakes soaked in wine or bear bile - everyone, from poor concubines to high-ranking officials, longed to gain prosperity, longevity or, at worst, relief from illness thanks to these drugs. As Shi Kangcheng, an employee of the Beijing State Sports Agency, explains, "It is a tradition that we say that food and medicine have the same roots." And this is a particular problem in China." Many of the Chinese medicinal herbs do have stimulant properties. One of the plants, ma huang, is an herbal form of the famous stimulant ephedra, which is used in the creation of anti-allergy drugs; it opens the bronchi and increases the heart rate. Medicinal plants are so have become part of the daily life of the Chinese, that even homemade chicken soup will probably be flavored with ginseng, ginkgo nuts or gooseberries.Of course, the athlete needs to drink a bucket of these drugs so that the analysis reveals the presence of stimulants in the blood.
Experts from the West and East have different assessments of the effectiveness of most Chinese potions. Partly because of the language barrier, partly because of the distrust with which Western scientists view research conducted in China, where it is considered unethical to refuse treatment to a patient. This makes it almost impossible to conduct clinical studies using control groups. Chinese research shows that powdered deer antlers can raise body temperature and relieve fatigue. However, many Western scientists claim that this property has not been proven. Nevertheless, athletes take these powders, sometimes simply because they once and for all believe in their healing properties.
Some of the substances were tested in Chinese laboratories on animals to determine whether these drugs were capable of relieving stress. Thus, rats that were given Cordyceps sinensis, when placed in a vessel with water, were able to stay afloat much longer than those that were not given this fungus.
Among the many traditional methods of Chinese medicine, acupuncture has become widely used in Western practice. Scientific articles in Western journals report that acupuncture is effective for relieving pain, allergic reactions, and treating drug addiction. Much more extensive Chinese work in this area shows that needles can be used to increase blood flow to certain parts of the body, which can improve athletic performance. For example, last year, scientists at the Beijing University of Traditional Chinese Medicine forced athletes to run 5,000 meters, and then performed acupuncture on some of them - even before they had a chance to catch their breath. Those who underwent this procedure regained a normal heartbeat faster than those in the control group.
A definite opinion regarding many drugs will be formed after maximum information has been collected. In most cases, the potions that are fed to Chinese athletes have no medical effect. The basis of one of the popular remedies called Dalishen Oral Liquid is the seal penis and testicles. “When you talk about something like a soup with a penis and testicles floating in it,” says Ted Kaptchuk, a Chinese medicine expert at the Beth Israel Deaconess Clinic in Boston, “it seems like Chinese pharmacology is nothing more than witchcraft.” .
And then there's Coach Ma with that turtle blood. “We cannot say with confidence that Ma’s athletes really take it regularly,” says Shi Kancheng. “If we believe Western experts, it does not have any effect on athletic performance.” But Ma later achieved commercial success with his elixir, which he dubbed the #1 nutritional drink, and is said to have sold the secret of its composition to a foreign company for a tidy sum.
It is not news to Chinese officials that some drugs test positive in doping tests. In recent years, they have published lists of dozens of substances that can test positive, and have repeatedly advised athletes to avoid using them. But still, sports management is not able to cope with this problem: it is difficult for athletes to explain how to distinguish herbs from prohibited chemicals. “At the end of the day, one marijuana cigarette or six cups of coffee is enough to disqualify an athlete,” admits Shea. Trainers won’t help here either: they don’t see any danger in elixirs and insist on using them. And Chinese athletes are accustomed to unquestioningly obeying their mentors.
But Ma may soon lose his influence over Chinese athletes. In any case, weightlifters are already choosing other priorities. Women's national team captain Ding Meiyuan avoids even the usual methods of traditional Chinese medicine. The main thing for her is “training hard and eating four meals a day to stay in the right weight category.”
(Perhaps Ding Meiyuan is right, in any case, Chinese weightlifters won four gold medals at the Olympics! - “Results” )
(Printed with abbreviations)