Ron Teeguarden

Who Is Ron Teeguarden?
Ron Teeguarden is the cofounder, with his wife Yanlin, and leader of Dragon Herbs. He is widely recognized as one of the foremost herbalists in America. Ron has been a professional practitioner and teacher of the holistic Asian health arts since 1971. He has been a powerful translator of Eastern philosophy and health care techniques to ten's of thousands of Americans for nearly four decades. He is recognized as the premier spokesperson for Chinese tonic herbalism in America, having spent decades teaching the concept that it is better to promote our health and well being than to become sick and then have to take remedial measures.
Ron has written two major books on Chinese tonic herbalism. His first book, Chinese Tonic Herbs, published in 1984 (Japan Publications), is a classic in the field. It is the book that introduced the art of tonic herbalism to the American public. The Ancient Wisdom of the Chinese Tonic Herbs (originally published as “Radiant Health”), published by Warner Books (Time Warner) in 1998, is recognized as a major book on the subject of Chinese longevity-herbalism. It is a must-read for those who have an interest in Chinese tonic herbs and the Asian arts of longevity and radiant health. His most recent book, 30 Tips for Living a Long and Happy Life is available now. If you read it and apply the tips, you will probably live a long and happy life! Ron has been featured in articles in Time Magazine, USA Today, the Los Angeles Times and the New York Times, and many other newspapers and magazines, and in numerous news stories on television, including features on NBC, HBO and CNN.
Ron specializes in the Chinese tonic herbs – herbs that have been used for centuries to promote longevity and radiant health. Ron has taken special interest in the adaptogenic herbs and in the art of Life Cultivation by which one can develop radiant health (“health beyond danger”).

Ron frequently travels to some of the world's most exotic locations seeking the highest quality, most extraordinary anti-aging, immunoprotective, cardioprotective life-enhancing, empowering herbs in the world. For the past two decades, he has spent extended time in many regions of China, Japan, Central Asia, the Himalayas and Southeast Asia. These adventures result in the ever-growing repertoire of thousands of tonic herbal enthusiasts in this country. Ron has proven to have a knack for finding miraculous herbs. As a result of his research and exploration, Dragon Herbs offers the largest and most extraordinary range of tonic formulations in the world. And Ron is incredibly dedicated to finding the BEST tonic herbs and superfoods available anywhere on earth. His customers can count on the fact that they are getting the best herbs and herbal products that nature and mankind can provide.
Ron has very close ties to a number of very senior phyto-pharmaceutical scientists throughout the world, and particularly in mainland China. They provide him with inside tips on where to find the most extraordinary herbs available. Ron is directly involved in the manufacture of hundreds of herbal formulations.

Ron could not do what he is doing without his wife and partner, Yanlin Teeguarden. She is the maestro who runs the operation, including the overseas procurement and production of the hundreds of formulas made by Dragon Herbs. She is also the person responsible for the beautiful "look" associated with the Dragon Herbs stores, literature and packaging.

Ron’s History

Master Herbalist Ron Teeguarden is well known as the “father” of the tonic herbal movement in America. He first started selling tonic herbs such as Ginseng and Goji berries in 1971, and teaching about the tonic herbs in 1974. Hundreds of herbalists and health practitioners consider him their teacher and thousands of others have been influenced by his teachings. Over his career, Ron has personally worked with thousands of clients and has built a reputation as one of the pre-eminent herbalists working in America today. In addition, Ron has developed hundreds of commercial formulations, including entire herbal product lines for prominent network marketing, direct marketing and retail companies. Ron and Yanlin live alternately in Los Angeles California and in Fuzhou China.

Ron is a proponent of the concept of “radiant health,” a degree of health that the Chinese define as “health beyond danger.” This definition of radiant health, to the Chinese, further includes increased longevity, emotional balance, strong resistance to disease, superb vitality and the maintenance of youthfulness. According to Ron, “the Western mind-set emphasizes treating disease while the Chinese focus is on the promotion of overall health and prevention.”

“There are basically three levels of herbal practice in China,” explains Teeguarden. “The lowest level is medicinal. This approach, based on medicinal herbs, is known in China as the inferior herbalism. The medicinal herbs used to treat diseases and other disorders are prescribed by doctors. They are powerful and often effective, but may have side effects if used for an extended period of time or incorrectly. The second level is known as the general herbalism and utilizes herbs that combat weaknesses and prevent ailments from occurring. The third level is known as the superior herbalism and utilizes the ‘superior herbs.’ These superior herbs, also known as the ‘tonics’ build up every aspect of your system, creating greater resistance, balance, adaptability and radiant health. These are the anti-aging, wisdom-enhancing, longevity herbs of China.“

Superior herbalism is Ron Teeguarden’s specialty. “The superior herbs have stood the test of time and have proven to offer long-term benefits without harmful side effects if taken regularly. Superior herbs are generally as safe as food and many are good tasting as well. In fact, in China, superior herbs are considered superfoods.

When Ron speaks of the benefit of herbs, he talks from personal experience. Ron was born in St. Augustine, Florida, on February 8, 1947. He attended the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor. He was a pre-med student on an athletic scholarship (tennis). In 1969, in his last year of college, he contracted a viral infection for which doctors could not seem to find a cure. Plagued by extreme fatigue, deep depression and headaches, he lost 55 pounds and showed no signs of getting any better.

Desperate for an alternate solution, he tried a Chinese herbal tonic which was recommended by one of his friends. “I felt better immediately,” he recalls. “I felt my energy come back and I felt alive. I made a significant recovery within a very short time.

The experience changed his life, and he began to study with a number of Asian teachers who taught him Taoist health techniques, including acupressure and a completely natural diet. He lived a pure macrobiotic lifestyle and worked in the macrobiotic community for seven years. He was involved in the seminal founding of Eden Organic Foods, a natural foods provider that is still a prominent organic foods company. He also learned about the healing properties of Chinese herbs. Then in 1974, he met the man who would come to have the greatest impact on his life: Sung Jin Park, a Korean Taoist master.

Master Park took him on as his prime student and taught him the inner secrets of the Art of Radiant Health. “The level of my learning became so much deeper than before,” Ron explains. “He shared with me secrets and fundamental knowledge that is extremely hard to come by these days, even in Asia. I have lived in China and Japan for extended parts of my life and have never met anybody with his depth of knowledge and understanding. He shared with me knowledge that one is taught only if you are deemed dedicated and worthy.“ Master Park directed Ron to teach ten people to be masters of the deepest Asian health arts and to instruct each of them to teach ten others, and so on, so as to spread the knowledge of these great arts throughout the Western world. Ron accepted these instructions and vowed to spend his life doing so.

When Sung Jin Park returned to Korea in 1976, Ron spent several months in Japan studying Oriental health care and took a serious interest in the herbalism practiced in Japan. The Japanese were just introducing the Kampo system of standardized, modern formulations into the Japanese market and Ron saw an opportunity to apply the same methods in America. Ron returned to California and remained in America directing a holistic health clinic in Santa Monica, California, where he practiced acupressure, dispensed tonic herbs and taught an endless series of classes. During that time, Ron co-developed a form of acupressure that is now practiced throughout the world known as Jin Shin Do Acupressure.

In 1984, Ron wrote Chinese Tonic Herbs. It was published by Japan Publications, the very prestigious Japanese publisher of books on Asian health care techniques. The book has become a classic and remains the best selling book on Chinese tonic herbalism to date in America. Also in 1984, he journeyed to China for the first time to immerse himself in a culture where herbalism was a part of everyday life. While in China, he met with everyone from farmers to pharmacists. His travels gave him an idea about opening “bars” to mix and sell herbal tonics. In 1986, Ron opened the first “elixir bar” in the United States at Charmer’s Market in Santa Monica. From that point on Ron Teeguarden devoted his time solely to the development and promotion of Chinese tonic herbs.

Charmer’s Market was the precursor to the better known Tea Garden Herbal Emporium which opened in 1988 in Venice, CA. “It was like a MASH unit – an 800-square-foot space that was packed wall to wall with people from morning ‘til night. Frequently stopping by the Emporium for elixirs and to have their herbal programs replenished and reviewed were such luminaries as Mel Gibson, Darryl Hannah, Danny Glover, Sharon Stone, Jackson Browne, Wesley Snipes, John McEnroe, Wayne Gretzky, Dr. Andrew Weil, Warner Erhard (founder of EST), Reverend Michael Beckwith (“the Secret”) and Mel Simon (owner of “the Forum” in Caesars Palace and the Mall of the Americas), among many others.

He was the chief herbalist for the Emporium until 1993 when he shifted his efforts toward developing and sourcing herbs in China. At that time, Ron began spending most of his time in China. Ron had a highly fortuitous encounter on a flight to Beijing in 1993 with the Commissioner of Drug Approval for the People’s Republic of China, Xiao Pei-gen. They were seated together for the long flight. Ron happened to have an article in his flight bag written by Professor Xiao entitled “The Antiaging Herbs of China.” Professor Xiao was certainly surprised to meet somebody with an interest in the tonic herbs on an airplane, especially someone who had a highly marked-up article he had written. Xiao Pei-gen became Ron’s mentor in China. Ron spent considerable time at Professor Xiao’s world renowned Institute of Materia Plant Development, a direct branch of the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, and the cutting edge herbal institute in China. Professor Xiao gave Ron an insiders track into the whole herbal industry of China, including direct contact with major scientists, research institutions, manufacturing facilities, and most importantly, incredible sources of raw materials. Concurrently, Ron met his future wife, Yanlin, who was just finishing up her studies at the prestigious Shanghai Institute of Foreign Trade in Shanghai when the pair met. From the very beginning, she helped with sourcing and logistics in China.

In 1996, Ron had a meeting and interview with Grand Master Xu Guo-Jun, Ph.D., in the presence of Professor Wang Zheng-Tao, Ph.D., and Professor Zhou Zhen-He, Ph.D. Professor Xu was then Professor Emeritus at China Pharmaceutical University in Nanjing, China; director of the Chinese Pharmaceutical Association; a member of the Chinese Pharmacopeia Commission and the Chinese Academy of Sciences; a member of the Advisory Panel of Medicine, Academic Degree Committee, China; and a member of the Consulting Specialist Committee (Pharmacy), Chinese Ministry of Health. At that time, Professor Xu (who was in his late eighties) was the most respected herbalist in China. He has since passed away. Professor Wang was then a professor at China Pharmaceutical University, Department of Pharmacognosy; a member of the Chinese Pharmacopeia Commission; and Director of the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences’ Commission to Standardize Chinese Herbs. Professor Zhou was then president of the College of Traditional Chinese Medicine at China Pharmaceutical University in Nanjing, China. The three great men jointly wrote the Foreword to Ron’s book, The Ancient Wisdom of the Chinese Tonic Herbs.

At that meeting, based on Ron’s life work, published materials, and comments made during the interview, Ron was deemed a "Master Herbalist" by the three masters.

Ron Teeguarden left the Tea Garden Emporiums in 1996 and currently operates Dragon Herbs, based in Santa Monica, California. There remains a tremendous demand for his consultations and the demand for his herbal products has been growing dramatically. Ron remains the herbalist for many top celebrities and executives. He and Yanlin spend considerable time in China overseeing their manufacturing facilities and herb farms, and meeting with researchers who are investigating the nature of the tonic herbs and developing new herbal materials, technologies and products. And Ron continues to travel to the most exotic regions of the world to find herbs that can benefit us all.

“More and more, you see people in Western cultures embracing what’s actually very commonplace in the East,” says Ron. “We don’t compete with conventional Western medicine, we compliment it. It is our intention to provide the knowledge and materials that can improve the lives of millions of Americans.”

Dragon Herbs Dedication to Quality and Safety

Dragon Herbs is dedicated to seeking out the finest herbal products in the world and providing them to our clients. For over thirty years we have been researching, sourcing and producing tonic herbal products. It has always been our credo that we will sell nothing but the highest grade, most effective tonic herbal products in the world, no matter what the difficulty in obtaining them. We have built our business and our reputation upon that credo.

Unlike the vast majority of herbal companies in America, Dragon Herbs sources every herbal ingredient directly from its original source. Dragon Herbs is a Di Tao™ company. Di Tao literally means “Earth Tao (Dao),” or “authentic source” in Chinese, and it is a fundamental concept in Chinese herbalism, though the concept is widely ignored in the American marketplace, mostly out of ignorance and the price-driven nature of business here. Di Tao sourcing is vitally important to you, the consumer of these products, because it is impossible to make gold from straw. Most herbs used by other manufacturers in the United States are “commodity grade” herbs. These herbs are grown for the mass market and are purchased by herb companies primarily based upon price and a chemical “standard” that the dietary supplement industry has deemed “acceptable and attainable” on a broad scale. It is similar to the way we grow corn in America. Dragon Herbs does not use commodity grade herbs as its raw material. We use only ultimate grade herbs obtained by our own buyers around the world. Our process for selecting these source materials is not based on price – it is based solely on quality – and our standard of quality equates to the word “exceptional.” Sourcing any single herb can be a daunting process, often taking us years to identify the best quality herb to be used in Dragon Herbs formulations. The herbs we use meet the ultimate standards of herbal experts, scientists and connoisseurs in China, Southeast Asia, Tibet, Japan and, of course, America.

Dragon Herbs is a producer as well as a purveyor. We manufacture almost all of our products in our own factories and workshops. We use special, advanced technologies to extract or otherwise process the herbs. We have complete control of the process from the mountain, sea or desert, through the manufacturing of the concentrated extracts, to final production of the capsules or liquids in America. We meet and surpass every standard of the various pharmacopeias and health agencies around the world. Dragon Herbs products are not equivalent to the products found on the shelves of most American natural foods stores, herb shops or sold over the internet. That is why Dragon Herbs is regarded as the ultimate source of tonic herbs and superfoods by people “in the know.”

Because we are the manufacturer of these products, from the ground up, we cut out a whole chain of middlemen that normally significantly impact the price of herbs. As a result of our unique situation (no middlemen), we can provide higher grade herbal products at prices that are equivalent to, or lower than, other herb companies. Therefore, our products are a great “value.” In Asia, the same grade herbs sell for much more than what we are selling them for in America. Again, we have no middlemen, so we can pass the savings on to you.

We consider it our mission to serve as a flagship herb company for the entire dietary supplements industry. We take this mission completely seriously and have succeeded in achieving recognition for that service. Thousands of clients know the difference between Dragon Herbs products and the generic products widely available.

Of course, “the proof of the pudding is in the eating.” It is the incredible efficacy of these amazing herbs that ultimately wins our clients over to become lifetime customers of Dragon Herbs. Our goal is to aid each of our clients in their path to radiant health and longevity. Dragon Herbs is interested in fostering the growth and development of each of our clients, even beyond the use of tonic herbs. Tonic herbs are part of a lifestyle that is dedicated to life cultivation. It is also part of a process to help restore balance to our world and perhaps alter the path of history by helping reverse the trend toward the un-natural and dangerous use of synthetic products.

Tonic herbs, by definition, are herbs that may be safely consumed regularly and continuously throughout life to support the natural life functions and to protect us from environmental challenges. We believe they should be part of everyone’s diet because they provide nutritional support and protection that cannot otherwise be obtained. We continue to investigate the sourcing, use and practical application of tonic herbs.

We select our herbs from sources that we KNOW are reliable. Before we buy, we send our representatives to the growing site to review the conditions of the site. We have long since learned what to watch for. We know how herbs are collected and grown. We know how they are processed. We test samples at various stage of the process to be sure that the herbs are totally free of pesticides, heavy metals, dyes or any other chemicals. Because we are so careful at the initial stages of the process, we rarely have to reject an herbal ingredient. However, in the two circumstances in the past sixteen years where the herbs did not meet our standards when they reached our export site in China, we DID reject them. The herbs you get from Dragon Herbs are not only the finest quality herbs from the very best sources; they are also perfectly clean – guarantied.

We do not buy herbs from regions where it is even possible to be polluted. Our herbs are generally mountain grown, at high altitudes. They grow on mountain spring water, and in some cases on glacial melt. Our sea products are collected where there is no pollution. We test for pollutants just to make sure. You will not be in any danger of consuming lead or mercury or DDT when you consume any of our products. We’ve never once produced a product that tested positive for these or any other similar pollutants or toxins. Our products are designed to rid your body of these substances, not contribute them to your body.

It is not yet possible to make herbal products from strictly organic materials. The “organic” system has not been implemented extensively in China or other Asian countries yet for herbs. That does not mean that the herbs are not grown by organic methods, however. In fact, all of our herbs are grown by methods that would make them certifiable in America. All of our herbs are grown in pristine regions without the use of chemicals, chemical fertilizers, or any form of genetic engineering. Water sources are natural and clean as a result of the mountain sources. Also, many of our herbs are wild crafted, and this is a type of growing that cannot be easily classified as “organic.” These herbs are grown from seed thrown into a natural environment (a mountain forest or a desert, for example) and allowed to grow naturally without human interference. And of course, some of our herbs are true wild herbs (Ginseng, Rhodiola, Schizandra, Snow Lotus, Wild Reishi, etc.). Wild herbs cannot be termed “organic” because they are not cultivated. But they are often better than the cultivated varieties.

Ron Teeguarden is as interested in being “organic” as anybody in the world. He was a seminal founder of one of the first organic food companies in America, Eden Organic Foods, in 1969. He co-authored a natural foods cookbook in 1971 and worked on several organic farms in the 1970s. Clean food, free from chemicals is an absolute necessity in his world. That is why Dragon Herbs manifests the mandate to provide non-polluted herbal products. That is why the owners and executives from other herbal companies buy their personal herbs (for themselves and their families) from Dragon Herbs.

We are very aware of the pollution issues that the world currently faces. Every country in the world (with the possible exception of Bhutan) has serious pollution problems – including the United States. Certainly China, Indonesia, India, Germany, Great Britain and other countries have seriously polluted areas. But we DO NOT use herbs that are from polluted areas. Heaven Mountain, Chiangbai Mountain, the Himalayas, the western (windward) coast of Indonesia, the Catskill Mountains, and similar source locations for Dragon Herbs are PRISTINE. They are not in any way related to the pollution issues famously described in the popular press.

Also, contrary to the impression presented in the press, the Chinese government is VERY interested in purity of Chinese herbs. Herbs in China must meet strict standards and factories are modern and excellent. They have advanced machinery, superb water purification systems, and state-of-the-art procedures that meet U.S. FDA criteria. Our factories are extremely advanced. They are extremely clean. They are strictly pharmaceutical grade facilities. These facilities also meet European and Japanese standards, since they also supply products to these countries. The standards in Europe and Japan are extremely strict.

Dragon Herbs is subject to oversight by the U.S. FDA, the U.S.D.A., the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Agency, U.S. Customs, and other government agencies. All of our shipments from overseas are delayed at Customs for FDA inspection and possible inspection by other agencies. These agencies almost always take samples for laboratory analysis. We are very proud of our record in this regard, as our goods are always passed.

We do not use endangered species of anything. We are extremely eco-conscious. We pay fair prices to our indigenous suppliers. We recycle everything possible, in America and in China. We will be gradually switching to a new production technology over the next two years that will reduce our carbon footprint from production to almost zero (you’ll here more about this in the coming months). Our factory has one of the world’s most advanced water purification systems, assuring the ultimate purity of our products. All of our products are tested for purity and to assure that there are no contaminants. In the 18 years since we have been producing herbal products in China, we have never had a recall.

We will continue to pursue quality and safety with gusto. The herbal world is complex and sources do change. The world’s environment is in flux and we are keeping constant watch with all of our sources and products. We would not be your ultimate source of tonic herbs and superfoods if we did anything less.