Herbal Formulas

[SirPhillipJFry]

Hello Guys Im curious if any of you have experimented with herbal formulas and fasting. 

 

I myself have not however had read some books on the subject so I thought I'd open a thread for everyone to share formulas and what effect they had from it. What the intended use and how to make or cook the ingredients. 

 

Thank you

[Rara]

Fasting, sure. This was effective for a short while to discipline my habits of "eating for the sake of it", but I eventually began to cheat and crammed during my eating window. In the end, I was just simply getting indigestion and consuming just about the same amount.

 

I'd recommend doing a couple of days then return to normality and see how things change during that short period. You may then be able to work short fasts into your life every now and then.

 

I have ended up cutting down on food by eating more wholesome meals and more regularly throughout the day instead. Just eating until satisfied then not eating again until hungry, then repeat. I find it's useful to have a lot of rice pre-cooked and tubbed for easy access. This will lower bread/quick food intake.

 

Now, herbs. What is it exactly that you want out of these? I had a TCM concoction once to expel humidity from my body...I couldn't tell you what was in it, it was so long ago. It gave me very sticky stools and I was going more than normal, and only felt mildly better. It tasted horrible too!

[thelerner]

Two protocols.  I've done 5 to 7 day fasts like the one outlined in Daniel Reids book The Tao of Health Sex and longevity.  His 'twist' is you could have distilled water, lemon juice, psyllium seed (fiber/metamucil), (bentonite too) and if needed a little maple syrup along the way.   The thinking being it was the psyllium seed filled you up so it made the fast easier.

 

It was alright.

 

On the modern side I've done Tim Ferris 3 1/2 day Keto fast, a modern approach to fasting.  Allowing you to have coffee and MCT type oils.  It also has you walk 4 or 5 hours on the first morning after inorder to rid your body/liver of carbs or the like.  Not you lose 5 lbs in a weekend.  Maybe 2 1/2 or 3 pounds of that is real loss.

 

I wish I did fasts more often but I'm generally to weak willed to take the jump.

 

The herbal I've been taking lately is Pine Pollen tincture.  A general male tonic.

>>Lately doing intermittent fasting.  Going 16 to 18 hours w/out eating.  Or as some call it not eating breakfast.  The trick being not to substitute junk food/high carbs for the skipped meal. 

Edited August 9, 2019 by thelerner

[Earl Grey]

In the sleeping qigong system, a weekly 36-hour fast on nothing but water is recommended. If my last meal is Monday night before fasting, my meal after fasting is Wednesday morning.

 

As for herbal formulas outside TCM, GM Doo Wai has some from his system and are taught by Terry Dunn if you study Flying Phoenix qigong with him.

[Nintendao]

Infusion of Usnea Lichen

 

 

Usnea can easily be spotted growing on trees and fallen twigs. It is usually called "old man's beard," but it's very important to note that this is NOT the same plant as "Spanish moss," which also gets called "old man's beard." The active ingredient, usnic acid, is alcohol soluble, and is a natural antibiotic.

 

The make the infusion, or "cold tincturing," is one of the oldest and easiest methods.

 

1. Harvest enough usnea to completely fill a container, without compressing it too much. I used a 16 oz stainless steel water bottle. If you use clear glass, wrap the bottle in cloth/sock or just store it anywhere away from light.

 

2. Fill the bottle with at least 80 proof liquor of your choice. I used blended scotch, and since my usnea was grown on oak trees, the flavor actually enhanced each other!

 

3. Wait at least 6 weeks, then the liquid is ready to use. The the longer time, the better. Give the bottle an occasional shake to mix up the ingredients. I'll usually top off the same bottle a couple times with fresh liquor once it gets half way down. After that, discard the usnea after the liquid is used up.

 

The standard use is just a few drops in some water as a homeopathic immune booster. I usually just gargle and swallow a shot of it straight whenever I feel like I might be coming down with something (or just for the hell of it.) I've also used it like a mouthwash to heal a canker sore.

 

I recently went for it and drank the entire bottle over the course of a 24 hour fast. I was surprised it actually worked and cleared up a small skin infection on my leg that had been lingering for over a year and stubbornly resisting various topical treatments.

 

I'm going to wait a few months before collecting a new batch, though. Since it's so hot and rainy, there's too many other molds and fungus floating around out there.

 

[exorcist_1699]

A herbal formula of TCM is a prescription composed of two or  more than two herbs. Its combination is not something simply an addition of several herbs with similar effect   so as to give a cure , quite the contrary ,  mixing several herbs together does give  rise to some  specific  result. So, you not only have to know the individual effect of a herb, say ginseng replenish and enhance qi ,  danggui  ( a major herb for women ) replenish blood ,  but  also the combinative effect  when you  use them together ; for example , if you  boil 10 grams of ginseng with 15 grams of danggui  in a bowl  for 45 minutes , what  effect it will give to a lady who always feels  fatigue ? Here are something to note  when learning/using a formula :

 

1) In a herbal formula, there  are  always one or two herbs which play the major role , and the other one or two herbs playing  secondary,  supporting role . Find and identify them can let you quickly understand what the formula does ; other elements in the formula are then just something complementary.

 

2) The quantity of the major and secondary herbs being used always get  bigger quantity /portion , in a prescription for an adult they always appear as  10 grams or more ;  this is also  another point  to  let you recognize them easier .

 

3) Classical formulas(經方)  are  prescriptions that have been  using for thousands of years and have themselves  proved being effective for certain diseases , for example, the Decoction of Four Drugs ( "四物湯" :  dang gui 10 g, shu di huang 15 g, bai shao 12 g, chuan xiong 6 g) for curing women's diseases or Decoction of Six Gentlemen ( " 六君子湯" , mainly use ginseng and bai shu ) for curing lack of qi, vulnerable to  fatigue..etc;  Learning TCM  formula  through these classical ones is a good way to learn Chinese herbs, maybe even a way to learning Chinese .

 

Edited August 12, 2019 by exorcist_1699