Many people believe that the tales of health benefits, long revered, are still derived from captive bears in Korea and continue to be used in Korean traditional medicine clinics. However, this is not the case. Currently, the Korean herbal medicine industry does not use bile from captive bears, and last year, with the amendment of the Wildlife Protection Act, the domestic bear farming industry came to an end. In the Korean medicine field, due to reasons such as bioethics, bile obtained from domestic bears has not been used for decades. Furthermore, the bile imported from Russia last year was not obtained through hunting but was derived from bears hunted for population control.
Russian bear bile is moving away from bioethical issues and is also welcomed in the Korean medicine field. Known for its excellent effects in nourishing the liver and kidneys, bear bile is a representative high-priced herbal medicine ingredient, and its usage is rapidly increasing.
However, doubts remain about whether bear bile is as effective as it is portrayed in old tales. Bear bile is known for its efficacy in liver function improvement rather than general tonic effects, and its fatigue recovery effect is also attributed to improved liver function. Additionally, it is known as a specific medicine for liver diseases, preventing liver fibrosis, and inhibiting the growth of liver cell cancer.
However, bear bile should not be taken indiscriminately. Due to its strong cooling properties in traditional Korean medicine, caution should be exercised if the body is not overheated or if there are no appropriate symptoms for taking bear bile. In cases of chronic liver disease or symptoms of chronic fatigue due to the liver, it should be taken only after diagnosis by a Korean medicine doctor.
Thus, while bear bile has long been known for its health benefits, careful use is necessary at the intersection of bioethics and efficacy. When choosing for health, always listen to the advice of experts and make careful judgments.
