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A480

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  1. A480

    Heads up for kiwis

    sweet...any idea if they're selling them via the website? not sure if this is news or not but Bunnings have pachanoi cristate for ~$9
  2. Well, I've found plenty of contradictory articles (no, really?)...most seem to suggest that enough 5-htp makes it into the brain to make supplementation worthwhile but the B6 argument seems to be a wee bit thornier...did find this tho (but bear in mind this guy's hawking the stuff):http://www.mwilliamson.com/5htps.htm The "Warning" also claims that Americans' use of vitamin B-6 supplements further worsens 5-HTP's (alleged) danger, since B-6 activates the enzyme that could convert 5-HTP to serotonin in the bloodstream. Yet experiments with monkeys (18) and rats (19) fed even "moderate excess" amounts of B-6, increased brain serotonin production up to 60%an impossible finding if B-6 would cause the bulk of ingested 5-HTP to be prematurely converted to serotonin outside the brain. And College Pharmacy of Colorado, one of America's premier mail-order compounding pharmacies, has been selling (by prescription) a 100 mg 5-HTP with 12.5 mg B-6 (and no PDI) since 1990 with no problems. 18. P. Hartvig et al. Pyridoxine Effect on Synthesis Rate of Serotonin in the Monkey Brain Measured with Positron Emission Tomography. J Neural Trans. 1995; 102: 91-7. 19. K. Dakshinamurti, et al. Influence of B Vitamins on Binding Properties of Serotonin Receptors in CNS of Rats. Klin Wochenschr. 1990; 68: 142-45. So basically, I'm scoobied. Since none of this applies to tryptophan, I'm curious as to what foods are the most efficient sources? I've heard Torsten mention salmon, but wouldn't the high protein content make it an (expensive) waste of time or is there more to it than that? [ 11. February 2003, 02:29: Message edited by: A480 ]
  3. What to make of this? http://yarchive.net/med/5-htp.html More or less states that 5-htp is decarboxylated in the liver into serotonin and hence never crosses the blood/brain barrier. The enzyme responsible supposedly uses B6 to do this, meaning that in supplements containing both, even more of the 5-htp is prematurely converted to serotonin, possibly resulting in dangerous blood levels of it: How much does it take? Several hundred milligrams of 5-HTP taken per day, if converted to serotonin, would result in a urinary excretion of the serotonin metabolite 5-hydroxyindoleac- etic acid (5-HIAA) of several hundred milligrams also-- an amount well within the urinary excretion range of the average person with a serotonin producing carcinoid. Such a dose of 5-HTP certainly would result in a serotonin blood load comparable to that of green-banana-diet eating people who have serotonin-induced heart valve disease. Normally, people do not excrete breakdown products of more than 10 mg of serotonin metabolites per day. If you take one capsule per day of 50 mg 5-HTP with 10 mg B6, however, you would be expected to go to at least 50 mg per day of 5-HIAA in the urine. Less metabolism in the liver (less B6) would result in less 5-HIAA in the urine. If you are going to take 5-HTP, therefore, you probably need 5-HIAA urine monitoring, to figure out just how big a dose of systemic serotonin you're actually getting (and incidentally, how much 5-HTP you're wasting). See a doctor! Quite overjoyed am I to find this article the day after having dropped 30 bones on 5-htp with B6 added :mad: [ 28. January 2003, 23:37: Message edited by: A480 ]
  4. A480

    Looking for Salvia in New Zealand...

    I think I remember him saying that his died...there was another NZer that used to post here who had some...ballisticfeijoa or something?
  5. I know of a large chimp that made a tea from a little over a kilo of poppyseed... ...and spent about four hours vomiting every fifteen minutes or so, lips blue, pupils pinned, simultaneously shivering and sweating and totally unable to focus his eyes. He reckons there might just be something on/in them... I also heard a story from a friend down south that supermarkets there are no longer stocking bulk poppyseed... So there must be something to it, but what? Residue?
  6. I don't intend any of this to sound snide -- remember, it's 5:30am here, adjust tone accordingly I'm still not sure what it is you actually believe in, but earlier you spoke of astral travelling, different dimensions/planes, learning from "spiritual beings, angels(masters) and devine beings"...all of which is fine if that's what crickles yer crackle. I just don't understand why you feel it neccesary to represent *your* experiences as objective fact. If I told you that I had been kidnapped by aliens in my sleep or while tripping, you guys would probably give me hell and rightly so, no matter how strongly I might feel that it happened. I personally don't see a distinction between that and some of the things you're talking about. ...and this bit makes me cringe: >>>and for those interested, Quantum Physics is the study of the astral planes and the other dimensions out there - The Astral plane being part of the 5th Dimension, the other part of that dimension being the mental plane which is just above the astral and all this has been scientifically proven so stick that up ya all those non-believers Oh really... (yes, that was snide but come on) >>>have a REAL spiritual experience beyond that of this pathetic material physical plane... This is something I've noticed with a lot of "believers" (in any religious/mystical circle)...a sort of resentment of the physical world. I've never been able to relate to it and I'm really surprised to find it at a website dedicated to the complexity and mystery found in nature. And from your last post: >>>one of the first things you will be taught is the necessity of keeping these things secret... ...and immune to any critical thought. Slippery slope... >>>and anyone working toward destroying the ego's would have already partially awakened their consciousness Destroying the ego to awaken the consciousness? We must have radically different definitions of these words then as I have always used them almost interchangeably. >>>besides what harm is there in trying? None, as long as you do your best to remain objective about it. People who are too eager to accept "odd" ideas are often the same people who twist them to suit there own needs. If we could have disproven the existence of Atlantis in the 30's, WWII might have been avoided (Hitler believed the aryan race originated in Atlantis)...it's a bit of a stretch, I know, but I hope you understand my point... >>>I wont lollygag and prance about the truth dressing it up in pretty words to stop from hurting overs fragile egos as I find THIS accomodating others inadequacies This is pretty stupid, IMHO. I was raised as (or atleast "by") a Jehovah's Witness (feel free to point and laugh ) and they liked to bang on about "the truth" too. It is no less a dogma coming from you. The only reason I write all this is because I know how dangerous reckless faith can be. Don't let anyone convince you that fence-sitting or scepticism are bad things. Vigilance... [This message has been edited by A480 (edited 25 June 2002).]
  7. A480

    Spores

    Mystical mycology is still in limbo. I'm not making any more predictions. It would be good to see them back eventuall though Bloody oath it would. Bluemeanie said a while back at shroomery.org that he had heard they weren't planning to re-open. It's pretty ratshit if they're knowingly ripping people off who ordered before they went AWOL. Surely somebody must know something?
  8. How does increasing serotonin levels actually help? From what I gather, most people already have plenty of serotonin but people with anxiety or depressive disorders can't make use of it. I tried 5HTP for a couple of weeks (maybe a little longer) at 100mg per day...I can't say it did me much good, and it was too expensive to continue. So is 5HTP actually effective for chronic problems or just the acute effects of drug-related comedowns? Or was I not taking enough/for long enough?
  9. A480

    So, how was it?

    [darklight you're a weapon girl, with any luck you'll put up a post explaining how mulga ended up in hospital with a busted jaw. [/b] So I guess in the heat of the moment she didn't think to aim lower...ahh well. Glad to hear (almost) everybody had a good time in spite of all this shit...wish I could've been there. Man, do I wish I could've been there...
  10. A480

    Poisonous cacti?

    I think the mighty Saguaro contains a potentially nasty alkaloid(?) called carnegine, not that anyone is ever likely to dine on one of them... ...and I also *think* I remember reading somewhere that Stetsonia coryne contains... erm...something bad ...someone else can hopefully say more about this, given that it's concievable S. coryne could be mistaken for Trichocereus peruvianus... Edit: heh heh...and I should mention that, according to some nameless book I found in the gardening section of the local public library, ingestion of Lophophora williamsii leads to paralysis and constriction of the pupils...consider yourself warned [This message has been edited by A480 (edited 09 February 2002).]
  11. Re: distinguishing bridgesii and peruvianus -- I don't think they look similar at all. Bridgesii rarely has more than five ribs (more often four) and the spines are in a sort of tripod formation, with the lowermost spine the longest (atleast on my plants). Or is there some other form of bridgesii that I'm not aware of (besides the two monstrose types and the "normal" one)? [This message has been edited by A480 (edited 05 February 2002).]
  12. Don't know about scopulicolus having darker or bigger spines, but it looks more like a scop than a pachanoi to me, too... Actually, that cactus looks a lot like one of the Trich's Torsten was trying to ID a few months back...the thread is gone, but I think he decided it was Tr. cordobensis???
  13. A480

    id hints

    San Pedro is fairly easy to ID, as there are only one or two lookalikes out there...generally, Trichocereus pachanoi will have fairly short spines, ranging from non-existant to about half a cm long. The spines are arranged haphazardly on the areole (ie, there isn't a clearly defined central spine, and they aren't laid out in a radial pattern as on other species). The areole itself should have a downy quality to it, as should all(?) Trich's. Peruvianus is trickier, as there are many lookalikes within the genus Trichocereus and in other genera. I don't think I will ever be able to tell the difference between Tr. peruvianus and Browingia hertlingiana, for example. Peruvianus as a species also seems to be more variable than pachanoi. V-notching above the areole is a possible (tho' unreliable) indicator, as is a prominent central spine. On my not-exactly- scientifically-ID'd peruvianus, the spine at the top of the areole is also longer than the rest. For all your Tricho ID needs: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/EntheogenImages/ http://albums.photopoint.com/j/AlbumList?u=665768 [This message has been edited by A480 (edited 11 December 2001).]
  14. A480

    who to vote for in upcoming election??????

    "Why vote?" OK, I'm not on your shores...but I'd like to point out that, on the eve of the last election here, the Greens only hope of getting into parliament was considered to be the electorate vote -- which they lost. It was announced on the night of the election that the Greens would not be a part of the up-coming parliament. A couple days later, upon counting the special votes, this was ammended -- the Greens had made the five percent threshold...all because dodgy punks like ourselves made the effort to support them. They are now the third largest party in the country, out-stripping the very same party they had the good sense to defect from -- Alliance (whom currently are a part of our coalition government, with Labour). The Greens now stand an excellent chance of forming part of the next NZ govt., along with their policy of reefer decriminalisation (amongst many other strangely rational views)... So fuckin vote, already
  15. A480

    Mushroom picking in my dreams

    ...and on the other hand, the Khanty of western Siberia believe it is unlucky to consume an even number of fungi (in their case, Amanita muscaria) and therefore always consume an odd amount...go figure. [This message has been edited by A480 (edited 27 September 2001).]
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