Elixirs

[thelerner]

Now feels like the time to start one's winter elixir.  Something to boost vitality for the winter. 

Anyone got any favorite formulas? 

 

Lately I've been taking Rural Apothecary tincture with Reishi, Astralagus, Fo-ti, Schizandra, Goji berry, and Maca.  Does it do me good?  Don't know.  They have a tincture of Pine Pollen where I do feel a difference, ie quite yang. 

[Vajra Fist]

1 hour ago, thelerner said:

They have a tincture of Pine Pollen where I do feel a difference, ie quite yang. 

 

I took pine pollen tincture on a cycle for about three years. Eventually ended up quitting as it basically gave me the feeling I was roid raging. Still love the stuff but I think its too strong for me at present. 

 

I use tonic alchemy from Dragon Herbs as my adaptogen these days. Also half a spoonful of reishi in my coffee at breakfast. 

[Takingcharge]

Are these prescribed via any form of diagnosis? Or do you just randomly order something and take it?

[cheya]

If you call Dragon Herbs, you can talk to an advisor, who can... advise you. 

 

[silent thunder]

Honey daily.

Vit D daily.

 

Thinking it's a good time to revisit raw garlic again... two fold benefit, boost my system and provide incentive for others to maintain social distancing.  (I start a new project Tuesday).

 

Start making bone broths again.  We have ox tail, pork, beef and chicken bones waiting in the freezer.

[thelerner]

15 hours ago, Takingcharge said:

Are these prescribed via any form of diagnosis? Or do you just randomly order something and take it?

Nope <there is wisdom in checking w/ an expert>.  I'm 55 years old.  I've read books, used to chat w/ herbalists.  Certainly no expert, but able to do research. <ie common mistakes are 'more is better' and 'more yang the better'.   I'm pretty sure my normal diet is way more dangerous then taking a tincture of Pine Pollen or the Reishi formula.  As I'm writing this, my son came in with a mini Oreo Dairy Queen blizzard, I've taken 3 spoonfuls.  It's sugar, dairy.. chemicals.. I believe it's worse then a dropperful of most herbs but I really enjoyed those 3 creamy spoonfuls.   

 

I recommend doing research but not being scared of herbs.  I worked next to the Chinatown in Chicago, walked and talked to herbalists for years.  Other cultures use herbs, regular and exotic commonly.  In Taoist culture and most traditional ones, taking a winter tonic is normal <particularly for the elderly>.  Its something that has escaped modern US culture, imo, to our detriment. 

 

 

20 hours ago, Vajra Fist said:

 

I took pine pollen tincture on a cycle for about three years. Eventually ended up quitting as it basically gave me the feeling I was roid raging. Still love the stuff but I think its too strong for me at present. 

 

I use tonic alchemy from Dragon Herbs as my adaptogen these days. Also half a spoonful of reishi in my coffee at breakfast. 

 

I've found Pine Pollen is best cycled.  It's affect on me sexually stimulating, not roid inducing (long bouts of celibacy make me more anger prone).  I'm not taking it these day but its got a time and place in my book.  Nice to have some onhand.  

 

Reishi is a good adaptogen.  Taking a half spoonful is probably very healthy.  Course so's the avocado I ate earlier.  Humble mushrooms have some unique protective properties.  None of this stuff is magic, but diet can help or hurt.  Be supportive and protective.  Its too bad its not more mainstream.

 

silent thunders advice below is excellent.   Vit D is generally good and these days might stop the deadly cytocline storm if one catches covid19.  Garlic, great, if your system can handle it.  Bone broth.. is perfect for winter.  Your body tastes it and recognizes.. this is what I need.

 

14 hours ago, silent thunder said:

Honey daily.

Vit D daily.

 

Thinking it's a good time to revisit raw garlic again... two fold benefit, boost my system and provide incentive for others to maintain social distancing.  (I start a new project Tuesday).

 

Start making bone broths again.  We have ox tail, pork, beef and chicken bones waiting in the freezer.

[silent thunder]

Mushroom is a great foundation booster.  thanks for the reminder. 

Might even pulverize some and add them to the bone broth...

 

I used to regularly use a blended mushroom tincture.

Don't recall the name, but the last few times I was in Whole paycheck... I mean Whole Foods... they'd stopped carrying it.

I should find another.

 

 

 

 

 

[Gerard]

From my personal experience, It's better boosting vitality when it's cold with the correct diet, especially meat-based soups with rich broths, slow cooking stews and congee rice recipes as well as ramen with also bone broths. This has to be followed in a daily basis throughout the entire winter season. 
 

 

 

[Vajra Fist]

I went through a stage of chewing raw garlic cloves. It made me sick through once, I think the clove had sprouted. I now have those garlic oil capsules with allicin almost every morning (allicin is the compound released immediately when garlic is crushed and lost when it is cooked). Garlic is fantastic as a remedy at the first sign of a cold, as is a spoonful of honey. Regular garlic consumption is also great for your circulation. Definitely a wonder vegetable.

[Vajra Fist]

18 minutes ago, Gerard said:

From my personal experience, It's better boosting vitality when it's cold with the correct diet, especially meat-based soups with rich broths, slow cooking stews and congee rice recipes as well as ramen with also bone broths. This has to be followed in a daily basis throughout the entire winter season. 
 

 

 

 

Definitely something to be said for traditional Chinese seasonal eating. No cold foods like salads or smoothies during winter. Drying and warming foods like chicken and soup. Just feels more natural on the body. 

 

I'm not as strict as bearing it in mind for every meal. I tried once to memorise the properties for every food, but found that different practitioners had classed the same food differently. I think its largely enough to think of cooling foods - summer; warm foods - winter.

Edited September 7, 2020 by Vajra Fist

[thelerner]

7 hours ago, Gerard said:

From my personal experience, It's better boosting vitality when it's cold with the correct diet, especially meat-based soups with rich broths, slow cooking stews and congee rice recipes as well as ramen with also bone broths. This has to be followed in a daily basis throughout the entire winter season. 

That reminds me, I was making bone broths last winter.  I tried one for 'Infinite' chicken bone broth where you kept a couple of stripped chicken carcasses in the slow cooker and added water as needed, keeping it always on 24/7.  That one didn't work out well for me but when you find an interesting recipe, try it. 

 

I expect that recipe was well known to most of our ancestors though, countless generations were one pot, one fire.  No waste, organs, bones, everything was precious.  One of my favorite books 'Natural Born Heroes' talks about how Corfu resistance fighters in WWII were able to cover long distances on minimal calories.  Herbs, scrounged small greens, often baked into pie, the predecessor of our spinach pies, yet much more nutrient dense.  

[silent thunder]

Chewing raw garlic.  That is intense.

 

I smash and let it sit a few minutes, then mix that with a tablespoon of honey.

 

 

 

[Satyalok]

Turkey tail mycelium (Host Defense), Chaga tea a few days a week, Vitamin D, lugol's iodine. Keeping a supply of food grade H202 for nebulizing in a saline solution if an infection comes (Dr. Robert Brownstein protocol). My look into pine pollen based on this thread, could use an anaboloic/yang push.

[dwai]

Take chyawanprash, a classic Ayurvedic jam. 
 

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.banyanbotanicals.com/info/amp/ayurvedic-living/living-ayurveda/herbs/chyawanprash/

[liminal_luke]

I´ve recently started making eggless aioli.  I peel a whole bulb or so of garlic cloves and smash them up in my mortar.  Add a bit of salt and a squirt of lemon.  Then dribble in olive oil very very slowly while constantly whisking.  The result has a diesel fuel intensity that´s not entirely pleasant.  But for adding garlic flavor to dishes there´s nothing like it.

[Taomeow]

I've made a few tinctures a few months ago.  This time mostly antivirals -- I was consulting  Buhner's "Herbal Antivirals" for this, he has very good detailed instructions for specific tinctures.  I made them with cane rather than grain alcohol (from Mexico, and from my own research rather than Buhner's), and used it undiluted (96%) on fresh herbs and diluted to 55-60% on dry ones.  That's because fresh herbs naturally  have a high water content, while dry ones had all their water evaporated, or in the case of some -- like quinine bark -- didn't have much to begin with.  For best extraction, some components in the herb need alcohol in the highest concentration possible, but some other components are water soluble, so to get a superior, maximum concentration tincture, you need both. 

 

I also made a quinine tonic syrup (with a few other herbs and citrus peel from three kinds of citrus fruit) used either for homemade tonic water (delicious) or in alcohol based cocktails, which I haven't tried -- I'm in the no interest in any alcohol phase, which happens periodically.  I have made a great mint tincture planning to use it for a mint liqueur but, having lost interest in alcohol, haven't gotten around to that yet.  Scutellaria (Baikal scullcap), eleuthero (Siberian ginseng) and rhodiola, herbs native to Siberia, must have channeled something inexplicable (tinctures made right are magical) and a couple of folks who run a health/ski/meditation retreat in central Siberia somehow found me and wanted to talk on whatsapp, whereupon they suggested I do a presentation in the course of a 6 week "marathon" they are going to run online on various related subjects.  Thinking about it...  but feeling a bit too lazy to get involved.  Will see.  

[Gerard]

That Metal above Water (2020 Metal Rat) which leads to stagnation is problematic this year especially in winter this year and for those living in the northern hemisphere (colder and longer winters).

 

Follow this advice to the letter plus the dietary advice I mentioned in my last post:

 

https://www.acupuncture-points.org/blood-stasis.html

 

Look after yourselves. You'll pick up the start of autumn pretty quickly as I did, if you are sensitive enough. It caught me by surprise this Metal Rat. I had to slow down big time.

Edited September 7, 2020 by Gerard

[RobB]

7 hours ago, silent thunder said:

Chewing raw garlic.  That is intense.

 

I smash and let it sit a few minutes, then mix that with a tablespoon of honey.

 

I was having a bit of a reorganise the other day and found an unopened jar of garlic cloves fermenting in honey (raw - I used to keep bees). They've been sitting in there since 2016 - I'm actually a bit scared to open it.

[Taomeow]

16 minutes ago, RobB said:

I was having a bit of a reorganise the other day and found an unopened jar of garlic cloves fermenting in honey (raw - I used to keep bees). They've been sitting in there since 2016 - I'm actually a bit scared to open it.

 

If it was stored safely, it will last a few thousand years.  Honey used to be the universal preservative for all things they wanted to preserve.    

[senseless virtue]

On 9/7/2020 at 6:05 AM, thelerner said:

It's affect on me sexually stimulating, not roid inducing (long bouts of celibacy make me more anger prone).  I'm not taking it these day but its got a time and place in my book.  Nice to have some onhand.

 

Unintentional innuendo is the best.

[silent thunder]

My gal must have read over my shoulder, or picked up the vibe.

 

Got home an hour ago from my first day on a new project and there was a bottle of reishi extract pills on my desk waiting for me.

I'm going to look for a liquid blend of oil or oral tincture too though.

 

I'd be grateful for any recommendations of a brand anyone trusts and uses as my old brand seems to be defunkted.

[Vajra Fist]

6 hours ago, silent thunder said:

I'd be grateful for any recommendations of a brand anyone trusts and uses as my old brand seems to be defunkted.

 

If I can afford it I get everything from Dragon Herbs these days. They have an excellent source of duanwood reishi. 

[thelerner]

On 9/7/2020 at 9:32 AM, Satyalok said:

... My look into pine pollen based on this thread, could use an anaboloic/yang push.

Thing with pine pollen is, its very yang. 

A wise herbalist once told me- "If you take something very yang when you're 20 or 30, What you gonna take when you're 50 or 60?"

[EmeraldHead]

12 minutes ago, thelerner said:

Thing with pine pollen is, its very yang. 

A wise herbalist once told me- "If you take something very yang when you're 20 or 30, What you gonna take when you're 50 or 60?"

Isn't it supposed to give support to the body? Or does it act like artificial testerone whereby it overtakes the bodys productions making it unable to produce afterwards?

[thelerner]

6 minutes ago, EmeraldHead said:

Isn't it supposed to give support to the body? Or does it act like artificial testerone whereby it overtakes the bodys productions making it unable to produce afterwards?

my limited take is, it supports the body, particularly circulation, it does act testosterone like, good for the wood.  I've seen it pushed at body builders.   From my readings years ago, probably more likely to get less effective in time, then to overtake the body's production.  So my limited understanding is, if you're younger and things are firing fine, stay with a more balanced stuff, or as people above have said, no herbs, let nutritional food do its work.  When you're older look for more yang-ish boosts, if thats your thing. 

 

Haven't researched it in the last couple years.  There may be new research looking directly at that.  For me at 55, I'll use it for 3 or 4 days in a row for a week or two, then forget about it for awhile.