Ho Shou Wu

[mantis]

I finally have some money to spare and I am looking for a good Ho Shou Wu. I know that the dragonherbs site is supposed to have the good stuff but a lot of their herbs cost a lot and at the doses they recommend they won't last you long either.

[billb]

I finally have some money to spare and I am looking for a good Ho Shou Wu. I know that the dragonherbs site is supposed to have the good stuff but a lot of their herbs cost a lot and at the doses they recommend they won't last you long either.

There is an inexpensive tonic drink called shou wu chi with ho shou wu as its main ingrediant and Ron Teeguarden from dragonherbs recommends it in one of his books. Are you in the Boston area, I think I know a place in chinatown here that carries it, I think it was around 7dollars for a 10 day supply.

[mantis]

Boston is about a 20 minute drive for me.

[Ya Mu]

Ho Shou Wu

 

Can't tell you best source but how about a ho shou wu story?

 

I had traveled to the largest herb market in China and wanted to pick up a few things, one of them being Ho Shou Wu... My problem was that my Chinese language skills sucked (and still do). This market had several acres of herb/mineral/animal - every single ingredient that Chinese Herbal Medicine offers. Amazing! So I first looked for Ho Shou Wu but couldn't find it. So I made the error of asking someone about it. So it turned into an hr long thing ending up with about 300 Chinese doctors, pharmacists, and herb suppliers trying to assist me - all at once. It went something like this I asked Ho Sou Wu - everyone gave me this puzzled look so I tried varying the tonalities - he shoe wa, hoe shoe wu, hush sho wooo, hesh show wooo, he shoe waa - you get the drift. Finally one doctor exclaimed "ahhh! Ho Shu Wu" - which sounded to me exactly like the first thing I asked for. What an experience!

 

I have seen the herb change people born with black hair that has turned grey back to black.

[rsalazar]

Funny story Ya Mu

 

I started going grey in my 20's, it's a genetic thing since my mother had the same experience - I have used the tonic drink (Shou Wu Chih that you can get in most Asian markets) over the years and notice that after taking this at around 2 shots per day for 1-2 months the appearance of half black, half white hairs (with a black root), nothing dramatic but enough to take note, since the only time I saw this was when drinking the shou wu chih - Unfortunately, I was never consistent with the usage, but I suspect that I might see more visible changes if I would take this over a much longer period of time, like at least a year. I'm currently giving this a go.

Cheers,

R

 

 

Ho Shou Wu

 

Can't tell you best source but how about a ho shou wu story?

 

I had traveled to the largest herb market in China and wanted to pick up a few things, one of them being Ho Shou Wu... My problem was that my Chinese language skills sucked (and still do). This market had several acres of herb/mineral/animal - every single ingredient that Chinese Herbal Medicine offers. Amazing! So I first looked for Ho Shou Wu but couldn't find it. So I made the error of asking someone about it. So it turned into an hr long thing ending up with about 300 Chinese doctors, pharmacists, and herb suppliers trying to assist me - all at once. It went something like this I asked Ho Sou Wu - everyone gave me this puzzled look so I tried varying the tonalities - he shoe wa, hoe shoe wu, hush sho wooo, hesh show wooo, he shoe waa - you get the drift. Finally one doctor exclaimed "ahhh! Ho Shu Wu" - which sounded to me exactly like the first thing I asked for. What an experience!

 

I have seen the herb change people born with black hair that has turned grey back to black.

Edited September 18, 2009 by rsalazar

[Baguakid]

Ya Mu, what city was that herbal flea market in?

 

I would love to see something like that.

 

 

Ho Shou Wu is a tonic herb/concoction though and it is not recommended for people with spleen deficiency.

 

(Has given me indigestion and dizziness after consuming).

[Ya Mu]

Ya Mu, what city was that herbal flea market in?

 

I would love to see something like that.

Ho Shou Wu is a tonic herb/concoction though and it is not recommended for people with spleen deficiency.

 

(Has given me indigestion and dizziness after consuming).

 

You know, I can't remember. It was several hours bus ride from where I was in Baoding. I'll see if it is in my old notes. Supposed to be the very biggest in all China.

[Baguakid]

Cool.. yeah, I happened to fall upon a small multi-level mall in Shanghai with just herbs in it but it was mostly ginseng and the worm grass herb dong chong xia cao 冬虫夏草

 

http://www.thechinesesouplady.com/worm-grass-chickensoup/

 

Not a full selling of TCM herbs.

[松永道]

Cool.. yeah, I happened to fall upon a small multi-level mall in Shanghai with just herbs in it but it was mostly ginseng and the worm grass herb dong chong xia cao 冬虫夏草

 

http://www.thechinesesouplady.com/worm-grass-chickensoup/

 

Not a full selling of TCM herbs.

 

Most larger cities in mainland China have at least one full-on herb market. I imagine most any TCM Herbalist should be able to tell you where to go.

 

At the market here in Xi'an you can find a bunch of specialty herbs that clinics don't usually keep in their active inventory. Plus you can find higher quality herbs - I've found some enormous goji berries (over 2cm long) for instance.

[Zenshiite]

There is an inexpensive tonic drink called shou wu chi with ho shou wu as its main ingrediant and Ron Teeguarden from dragonherbs recommends it in one of his books. Are you in the Boston area, I think I know a place in chinatown here that carries it, I think it was around 7dollars for a 10 day supply.

 

Shou Wu Chi is one of the worst tasting things I've ever had.

[Trunk]

I've mostly stopped experimenting with tonic herbs and have settled on occasionally having JoAnna's chicken liver blend. Super cheap. Nourishing and circulating.

 

p.s.

Ok, well, I do often put goji berries and american ginseng in it.

Still, way cheaper than herbs in capsule form.

[Ya Mu]

Ya Mu, what city was that herbal flea market in?

 

I would love to see something like that.

Ho Shou Wu is a tonic herb/concoction though and it is not recommended for people with spleen deficiency.

 

(Has given me indigestion and dizziness after consuming).

 

I am thinking now it must have been Anguo City. My notes on this seem to be packed up or lost.

But it was HUGE. Sea horses, several humdred different ginseng vendors, earthworm casings, dong quai... nothing listed in TCM was not there. At the time I was intensely interested in TCM - not so much now. I just use Golden Flower herbs and occasionally Kan Herbs and Health Concerns brand herbs; I believe them all to be high quality. At a certain point in Medical Qigong one tends to start bypassing all the TCM theories and go direct with energy manipulation. But I did have good results utilizing the TCM.

 

Shou Wu Chi is one of the worst tasting things I've ever had.

For added flavor, throw in a few earth worm casings, yumm (don't do this, just kidding)

[Zenshiite]

^Hah. Yuck.

 

I knew a guy that would just chill on his couch drinking Shou Wu Chi. He probably got a little bit tipsy from it.

[mantis]

I can't drive to Boston right now (no license) so should I just order some Shou Wu Chi online?

 

http://www.asiachi.com/shouwuchi.html

 

How long does that bottle last? What is the general dosage? Thanks.

[alexandrov]

I've mostly stopped experimenting with tonic herbs

 

is there any specific reason for this trunk?

 

 

Personally I have found that it is good to take breaks from taking herbs as their effects seem to stop working so well after a few weeks or so

 

additionally some people take herbs that may not be suited for them at a particular time. Basically they can do themselvs more harm then good.

 

however the same thing can be said about foods as well, some are not very suitable for particular individuals with specific conditions.

 

I think He Shou Wu is really good stuff in my experience, but I have a sense that my spleen chi is not the strongest so I dont take it all the time.

 

I once got some from http://www.therootofthematter.ca/cgi-bin/i...rootofthematter

 

im not sure how good the quality is, but it worked pretty good for helping leg pain, and strengthening sexual potency

[billb]

I can't drive to Boston right now (no license) so should I just order some Shou Wu Chi online?

 

http://www.asiachi.com/shouwuchi.html

 

How long does that bottle last? What is the general dosage? Thanks.

I think it is a 2 week supply but you have to also pay $8 for shipping up to $30 order so I think the best deal would be to get 4 bottles and pay $38 for a 2 months supply. The price is about the same as in chinatown minus the shipping.

[mantis]

Cool. I ordered two of the Yang Chen brand Shou Wu Chi from Amazon at $7 each. I'm young so i'm not going to take the full dose and see how that works out for me as I have some minor hair loss (which is strange since my father at 47 has a full head of hair).

 

I'll keep this thread updated with my experiences.