Though I am posting this for the diabetic and also people with sciatia nerve damage, I will also put in a few other forums that might find this herb of use.
I saw that they are doing a study on an herb Centella asiatica commonly called gota kola to see if it helps reverse diabetic neuropathy.
It may be good to start some now to help prevent this in the event the study shows it helps. It apparently was show to regenerate nerve cells in rats from sciatic damage. They believe this might help diabetic nerve damage and maybe even paralysis.
Doctors have no help for regrowing nerves and from getting nerve damage other than keeping blood glucose low so this could be very promising. I am going to try it for my parastesia nerve damage that stemmed from severe sciatica and also for the neuropathy I have from diabetes and for blood pressure and other benefits it has. I am excited as nothing has helped my nerve damage which is excruciating in the past 13 months.
I feel an organic tincture would be best as this is the best way to take herbs. The average tincture dose is 60 drops 3-5 times a day for a person of 150 pounds..if you weigh much more or less than that then see Clarks' rue for dosing on figuring out the dose
http://curezone.com/schulze/handbook/CAD.asp
For instance if you weigh 75 pounds you would take half 75/150 = 1/2 or 30 drops 3 to 5 times day. If you weighed 300 you would take double or 300/150 = 2 which is 120 drops 3 to 5 times a day or weighing 225 would be 1 1/2 times the dose or 225/150= 1 1/2 which is 90 drops 3 to 5 times a day
If making your own tincture use cut and sifted organic or wild crafted herbs and 80-100 proof vodka. Make it so the top liquid part of the jar when is settles is 25-50% fluid menstrum (alcohol) and 50-75 % solid herbs at the bottom..label it 5 years from date you strained it after soaking and shaking for at least 2 week though it will probably be good for at least 20 years more or longer. If keeping long term throw out if it dries out or gets moldy.
Gota kola also offers a number of other benefits including some for the diabetic. for one thing it improves circulation in the tiny blood vessels like capillaries and more found below at Wikipedia which is reproduced here and linked below I bold printed things it is used for.
Medicinal effects
Gotu kola is a mild adaptogen, is mildly antibacterial, anti-viral, anti-inflammatory, anti-ulcerogenic, anxiolytic, a cerebral tonic, a circulatory stimulant, a diuretic, nervine and vulnerary.[4][5]
Centella asiatica may be useful in the treatment of Anxiety and may be used as a promising anxiolytic agent in the future.[6]
In Thailand cups with gotu kola leaves are used as an afternoon stimulant.[7] A decoction of juice from the leaves is thought to relieve hypertension.[citation needed] A poultice of the leaves is also used to treat open sores.
Richard Lucas claimed in a book published in 1966 [8](second edition in 1979) that a subspecies "Hydrocotyle asiatica minor" allegedly from Sri Lanka also called "Fo ti tieng", contained a longevity factor called 'youth Vitamin X' said to be 'a tonic for the brain and endocrine glands' and maintained that extracts of the plant help circulation and skin problems.[9] However according to medicinal herbalist Michael Moore, it appears that there is no such subspecies and no Vitamin X is known to exist.[10]
Several scientific reports have documented Centella asiatica's ability to aid wound healing[11],[12] which is responsible for its traditional use in leprosy. Upon treatment with Centella asiatica, maturation of the scar is stimulated by the production of type I collagen. The treatment also results in a marked decrease in inflammatory reaction and myofibroblast production.[13]
The isolated steroids from the plant have been used to treat leprosy.[14][15] In addition, preliminary evidence suggests that it may have nootropic effects.[16] Centella asiatica is used to re-vitalize the brain and nervous system, increase attention span and concentration,[17] and combat aging.[16] Centella asiatica also has anti-oxidant properties.[4] It works for venous insufficiency.[18] It is used in Thailand for opium detoxification.
Followers of Sri Sri Thakur Anukulchandra commonly known as Satsangees all over the world take one or two fresh leaves with plenty of water in the morning after morning rituals. This is prescribed by Sri Sri Thakur Himself.
'There have been many reports showing the medicinal properties of C. asiatica extract in a wide range of disease conditions like diabetic microangiopathy, edema, venous hypertension, venous insufficiency (Incandela et al., 2001a; Incandela et al., 2001b; Incandela et al., 2001c). The role of C. asiatica extract in the treatment of memory enhancement and other neurodegenerative disorders is also well documented (Mohandas Rao et al., 2006). The first report concerning the antitumor property of C. asiatica extract was on its growth inhibitory effects on the development of solid and ascites tumor and that lead to increased life span of the tumor bearing mice (Babu et al., 1995). The authors also suggested that the extract directly impeded the DNA synthesis. In our study, C. asiatica extract showed an obvious dose dependent inhibition of cell proliferation in breast cancer cells'[19]
http://www.ohsu.edu/xd/about/news_events/news/2007-news-archive/10-3-ohsu-examines-effects-of.cfm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Centella_asiatica
oh well it must be organic or wildcrafted as this contains 7-10 times the phytochemicals that cure and prevent disease. Not sure if what you bought is organic.
Type this into the search engine
gota kola organic bulk herbs
can also type
gota kola wildcrafted bulk herbs
I like mountain rose herbs as they sell 4 oz for just a little more than most sell one ounce
oh I looked and they are currently out of it here is one organic ounce for $1.05 and might find cheaper with searching..may want to order a little more so you have enough
http://vt-fiddle.com/shop/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=932
cut and sifted herbs are always preferred over powdered as this can cause loss of volatile herbs
The best way to take herbs is in the form of a tincture
You would need to buy 80-100 proof vodka to make a tincture
After it settles the bottom half to 3/4 or more should be herbs and the top 25-50% liquid rather than a weaker blend
here is how to make a tincture
http://healingtools.tripod.com/tncmthd.html you do not need 100 proof vodka if you cannot find it use 80 proof
make sure the bottle is dark glass like brown, green or blue or store it in a paper bag or paint the outside of the bottle or store in a dark cupboard as light deteriorates it.
label it with contents and put an expiration date 5 years from the date you strained it but it will be good probably decades after that
if you can't find the coffee filters use a clean cotton pillowcase to squeeze out the liquid
buy a tincture bottle or reuse an old one,.,.that is one with an eyedropper top
they look like this
http://images.search.yahoo.com/search/images;_ylt=A0oG7n2m4itPvWsAsRFXNyoA?p=tincture%20bottle&fr=ytff1-tyc&fr2=piv-web
Transfer some from the big bottle to the tincture bottle for ease in taking it by dropper refilling as needed.
Though not as good 2nd best is a tea for hard parts of the plant like roots, bark, hard berries etc boil the herb in distilled or steam distilled water 15 minutes (always use distilled as it is empty and absorbs more of the healing compounds) this is called a decoction.
if is is the soft parts or the plant or a powder like leaves, flowers, soft berries, fresh make an infusion by pouring boiling water over the herbs like one does a tea and letting it steep a little while
We do not really know if the herb is raw or not as not sure what the manufacturer did but to keep raw one can make sun tea or even use warm water to steep it and it might still be raw if it was to begin with.
with the average tincture dose for herbs take 2 dropperfuls (60 drops) 3 to 6 times a day.
If you weigh more than 25 pounds one say or the other you will need more drops or less figure it out using Clarks rule for dosing by weight found here
http://curezone.com/schulze/handbook/CAD.asp
I use suspect for teas one use the standard amount in teas maybe a few tsp per cup of water 3-6 times a day.
With the tincture one can just take from the bottle or if the taste is too bad, add a tbs or so of a strong juice like grape juice to mask the taste or one can use water to dilute it
I don't know much about DSMO
can you tell me more. What is it used for?
hmm well although Bacopa Monniera seems like a good herb, you have to remember that this will decrease the amount of gota kola you are getting.
the best way to take an herb is always making an tincture as the alcohol menstrum extracts more of the healing phytochemicals while a tea will only extract of some types of phytochemicals/phytonutrients but not as many types as the alcohol. the menstrum (vodka) makes digestability far superior as it goes directly to the bloodstream bypassing digestion which is good particularly of one has digestive problems.
Teas are 2nd best but taking herbs in capsules is the least effective as they are rarely absorbed and also can be burned in the powdering process.
Since gota kola is so cheap I would get more buy cut and sifted organic and make a tincture from it for optimal absorption.
Although if you never made a tincture it may should difficult it is super easy in practice..it just involves mixing the herbs with the vodka and making it when done and settled 50-75% herbs and 25-50% liquid by adding either more vodka or herbs as needed.
Once you have that done, you just shake it a few times a day and then strain it. It will last you a long time. I save up to 90% of the cost of tinctures by making my own. If an herb needs to be powdered you are better off doing it yourself. You can also buy a ready made gota kola organic tincture for about 10 dollars. I like herbpharm for good herb tinctures. But making it yourself it can be stronger than even good store bought.
Once it is done it is super easy to take just squirt a few dropperfuls in your mouth. Nothing could be simpler.
This way you are getting the real benefit while the powder done in yogurt is not going to give you the best chance of healing.
you can go ahead and take the herb as you are as long as you make a straight tincture as I suggested to be getting the prime delivery of the herb with the least lose of vital elements.
since the gota kola in the powered form may be less strong, it would not worry too much about taking too much.
Try taking 1-2 doses of it as is and 3 or 4 of the herb tincture..there are a few cautions but generally this herb is safe..knowing the side effects can help you know what to look for.
If you are afraid to do that then take 1 dose of what you have and 2 of the gota kola tincture which should be quite safe but I feel you could take more. It is up to you
here is one site on the cautions
http://www.all4naturalhealth.com/gotu-kola-side-effects.html
To increase absorbability on any herb take it with cayenne tincture (or tea) as cayenne is a catalyst herb that makes anything it is taken with more potent and gets it to where it needs to go.
they did a study on ginkgo and found maybe something like 35% of the people with senility improved but when taken with cayenne it jumped to like 94% improvement or something like that so you see this can really be a missing ingredients to taking herbs.
But never to rarely take herbs in capsules..tinctures I feel are best as does Dr Richard Schulze.
But I would guess something is better than nothing but I think it would be worth your while to get a few ounces and make some tinctures..these will also last far longer than powder--say 1 year compared to 50 years or so
Also Victoria Boutenko says if taking green smoothies it is not a good idea to add anything but the water and produce not powders etc...but it is up to you of course..just passing on what I feel would give you the best results.
what are you using it for?
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