Ginseng -- How much ?

[monkeyfoot]

I have some really nice oolong tea that has ginseng in it. I use a yixing tea pot and brew it in fully boiling water.

Not really into brewing ginseng root straight, though I do love the taste and have drunk it on its own a few times (used to chew the roots sometimes aswell lol, dunno if its bad for you though so probs wouldn't do that).

Anyways, all I can say in relation to ginseng root is STORE IT WELL. I picked some up from a thai market and didn't realize that it was infested with weevils.....

craig

[uki]

LOL. i once lived in marilyn coopers attic in stroudsburg... she gave me a bag of ginseng roots for about a week until she saw i was eating them everyday, periodically thru-out the day... LOL... i felt like i was speeding - my eyes were all dilated... i was a mess. anyhow, she took the bag away for a week and then gave it back to me and told me to be more careful... i kept that bag for like 3 years or so. my favorite was a root re-hydrated in water, blended into puree and shot like a whisky. YOW!! talk about a kick in the a$$!!

[mickey]

Greetings,

I also learned about taking a week or two break from using the stuff. I learned this from a middle aged Russian.

I found ginseng to be incredibly stimulating, to the point of actually weakening my constitution; thereby, creating a condition identical to the munchies, a desperate attempt to replace all the energy that was expended in one shot. Needless to say, I had some very embarassing moments eating in public.


mickey

[PlumDragon]

Those pills arent as strong as a good decoction, so youll have less issues with it whether it unbalances you or not. However, youll likely never run into a practicioner telling you to take any single herb--These sorts of things work best when combined with other herbs.

With that said, its never a bad idea to take an occasional break from tonics, regardless of potency or action....

[mawali]

If I remember correctly from my TCM school days with herbal medicine (I will have to find some of my books) there are actually 4 main areas where ginseng is grown:
1. China
2. Korea
3. Russia
4. USA

Korean ginseng is known to be the 'better' variety andthe USA variety, though quality is not as strong, its effects are such that it can be used for longer periods of time by itself but for the synergistic effect, it should blended as such with the appropriate herb for the result needed. The Chinese and Russian version may be potent, depending on the characteristics of the location (latitude/longitude/cover/soil conditions).

Individual constitution usually determines if it is warming or not. Some people can handle once a week, others every other day, while the weaker individual may need to take it for x days in a row followed by a washout period (no ginseng for 2-3 weeks, then take for a week.

[mickey]

Hi mawali,

I have been told that American ginseng is so abundamt that it has been brought and resold under a different national flag. Have you heard about this?

mickey

[uki]

Hi mawali,

I have been told that American ginseng is so abundamt that it has been brought and resold under a different national flag. Have you heard about this?

mickey

all i know is that american ginseng is rare in my area, but i have a few spots in the woods where i have found it growing in plentiful amounts... there is another variety which i know merely as "dwarf ginseng" - the root is about the size of a marble... my mycology mentor showed it to me... apparently american ginseng was harvested and sold for its medicinal purpose early in the century, but that tradition has been lost since the rise of the big pharm and franken-medicine agenda.

[mawali]

Hi mawali,

I have been told that American ginseng is so abundamt that it has been brought and resold under a different national flag. Have you heard about this?

mickey

Some Asian companies buy American ginseng and resell it. They mix it with certain herbal varieties as a tonic.