This Asian-Owned Brand Gives Herbal Medicine an Update
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If you think you have it rough, you didn’t live through China's Shang Dynasty. To exist during this period—roughly 1600 to 1050 BCE—was to endure plague, famine, war, and a king whose favorite pastimes included torturing people mercilessly. To get a clearer picture, I suggest Googling a supercut of the most gruesome scenes from Game of Thrones. All guts, no dragons.
But as is the case with all the complicated histories of all the complicated nations of this big, beautiful world, much greatness was also achieved—and endured. The Mad King days may be behind us, but the era’s triumphs live on. Mid-Bronze Age vessels speak of masterful craftsmen, some of the earliest evidence of horse drawn chariots indicate a people that advanced combat in leaps and bounds, and characters inscribed on animal bones are thought to be the oldest known forms of Chinese writing. On those bones, archaeologists have found references to illness and disease, suggesting the era may have laid the groundwork for another significant contribution: a series of healing practices that have survived for thousands of years and seem due for a modern resurgence in our wellness obsessed age.
I’m talking, of course, about Traditional Chinese Medicine or TCM. It’s a blanket term encompassing several philosophies and treatment modalities, including Chinese herbal medicine, acupuncture, mindful movement such as tai chi and qigong, and feng shui. Ultimately, all are aimed at improving the movement and flow of qi (air) and xuè (blood). In TCM, poor health is believed to be caused by the stagnation of these two elements.
Proponents believe TCM to be the perfect foil for Western medicine’s singular focus on symptom relief and reactive disease treatment. In stark contrast to the “take two and call me in the morning” approach, TCM is mostly aimed at the prevention of disease: If you can keep that qi flowing, you’re good to go. But for those with acute issues, there’s research suggesting that some of these practices can offer relief from things like chronic pain and fibromyalgia.
William Li is a believer—he was reared on it. As a first-generation Chinese American growing up in Manhattan’s vibrant Chinatown neighborhood, he remembers his mother preparing myriad herbal teas and tinctures to address all manner of ailments. “When I was growing up, if anything was wrong—whether I had a cold, or trouble focusing, or stomach discomfort—my parents didn’t go the medicine cabinet, they went to the kitchen cabinet,” Li says.
In truth, though, he thought TCM could benefit from a little updating. In between refreshing Goop’s homepage and dashing off to the Lululemon friends and family sale, the modern wellness devotee hasn't had the time to spend hours steeping herbs in boiling water and nursing the bitter brew. "If you want a good TCM formula, you typically have to visit an herbal store, where the guy puts all these different herbs in a pouch and you go home and boil it down for hours," says Li. "The end result is something that's incredibly difficult to drink—not to mention smelly."
After years of doing the corporate thing as a marketing executive at Conde Nast and president of Ralph Lauren Home, the entrepreneurial spirit struck and Li’s mind immediately turned to TCM. Last week, he, along with his business partner and friend Danielle Chang, the creator and co-host of Lucky Chow on PBS, unveiled a line of supplements called The Hao Life, which bills itself as “modern plant remedies rooted in Chinese wisdom.” Hao translates to “good” in Chinese—the good life. “The characters are actually made up of the symbols for woman and child, and this harmony represents a balanced life,” says Chang, who is Chinese by birth and was raised in Taiwan. “As an immigrant, I was constantly mocked for my smelly lunchboxes, so I’ve always been inspired to bring forth the good of Chinese culture.”
It's a shared mission. After meeting when Li sponsored Chang's Asian food festival, the two became fast friends, and a shared pride in their Chinese heritage has inspired everything they've done since. To Li and Chang, The Hao Life's formulas aren't just supplements; they represent millennia of culture and history, distilled into pill form. "We both wanted to do something that would celebrate Asian culture, which we both care deeply about," says Li.
Each of the six varietals target one of five key organs—the heart, liver, spleen, lungs, and kidneys—with the goal of keeping them functioning and in harmony with each other, another key tenet of TCM, says Li. “But hey, I have other organs that need taking care of,” you’re thinking. In TCM, formulas that address, say, the kidneys, are also believed to benefit the surrounding network of organs. The Hao Life’s kidney supplements for men and women, called Got Game and Balancing Act respectively, also nurture the adrenal glands, bladder, and reproductive system.
It can be a bit confusing for the linear Western thinker, which is why Li and Chang labeled each blend by its benefits. Gut Feelings promotes digestive health to beat bloat and indigestion while Mind Unwind purportedly helps calm the mind and minimizes stress. They’re meant to be taken daily and can be used singularly or in tandem.
So, what’s in there? Li and Chang tapped Chinese herbal medicine expert Dave Melladew to craft formulas that take inspiration from the recipes used by ancient practitioners—but with a modern twist. Ingredients like reishi mushroom, ginseng, ginger, and dandelion leaves are paired with functional foods that have become well known to today’s consumer, such as turmeric and black sesame seeds. “There’s no reason to totally reinvent the wheel,” says Melladew. “We took formulas that we know are very effective and supercharged them.” And lest you wonder why there are six different blends rather than a one does-it-all formula: It comes down to dosage. To cram all that herbal goodness into a single capsule would mean a much smaller percentage of each individual ingredient would wind up in the finished formula—probably not enough to affect any noticeable change, says Melladew.
That's not to say TCM doesn't have its skeptics—and detractors. While it's estimated that one in five Americans use herbal remedies to help treat everything from heart issues to respiratory disease, there are risks involved. Some products may interact negatively with prescribed medications, for example, which is why it's always best to check with your doctor before beginning any supplement regimen.
But supplements, says Li, are just one part of a much larger vision. He and Chang view The Hao Life as a true lifestyle brand, with the potential for instructional videos on acupuncture and feng shui and—as the world begins to open again—live events that incorporate tai chi or qi gong. “We want to demystify Asian wellness and bring all of that to The Hao Life,” Li says. “This is just the beginning.”
The beginning of a fresh take on TCM, perhaps? Because as the saying goes: What’s ancient is new again. Or something like that.
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