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[You can paste it back in, then I'll delete this post.... done] ---

http://www.exoticindiaart.com/product/ayurveda/balarishtam-bala-arishta-AMN19/

Stillman - you may be able to find some reports by Pankaj Oudhia, online, regarding traditional knowledge of harvesting ashwagandha. I came across multiple sources saying that the plants should be mature. I also asked my Ayurvedacharya about the age and he said "at least few years, maybe two". The photo of dried roots above...the bark is very thin The root bark should be pretty thick. It would not be considered good traditional practice to harvest wild plants with such small roots. Commercial production is different to traditional use. Grown for yield and harvested after one season. Maybe they compensate by using standardised extracts but it doesn't mean the composition is the same. The herbs are about more than just the alkaloids (I don't mean anything magical). Anyway...traditional usage is considered and cautious in prescribing, and knowing which plants shouldn't be used because of specific growing conditions, where if you follow supplement industry literature, every modern stressed person should be taking ashwagandha. It's just an idea I have - but in Ayurveda, ashwagandha is considered quite heating and shouldn't be used through late Spring - Summer, or by particular people with 'heat' conditions, and it's given with cooling herbs like licorice/amla, etc - and I think this caution is based on the very potent and effective, properly harvested/selected root. It's really powerful used under the right conditions but maybe using the younger roots give a "softer, sweeter" effect

the use of immature plants (< 3 years) could give the impression that ashwagandha is not a very effective herb. Maybe 2 years could be a minimum. it is easy to germinate seed

Use the juice (crush in mortar and pestle and squeeze through cheesecloth). 10- 30mL daily. Or find out how much of fresh leaves you need for that amount of juice, and blend with water & raw honey (to make it quicker)

off topic - but I recall hearing a few good mental health stories by him, lately

It wasn't the spin I disliked -- it was the talk-back format without many facts. I don't think they ended up giving a definitive bottom line on the legal situation (or maybe I missed it towards the end - it got vapid/boring pretty quickly), or presented the way the story has unfolded over the years, in a coherent way. It just seemed lazy & last-minute. This sounds judgy - but if the talk-back callers were any/only indication - I'd be inclined to avoid canna-anything

the Hack story was pretty crap, imo

I think the claims are meant to sound surprising to the reader - not credible. Isn't his unique point that he could experience all of this with no apparent cortical activity? It was probably while he (it) was coming back online but the distorted sense of time has put him on the wrong track Now he has a book deal Just because the article says he believes he has proof of heaven, I don't think it necessarily means he believes it's an actual alternate "reality" ? Anyway - it's Yahoo news.

Reminds me of the account of Jill Bolte Taylor

Most of the people I've spoken to (not a whole heap, admittedly), who are living on the street in Melbourne, really don't want any help getting off the street. A lot refuse food (an offer of whatever they would want), though they ask for money for food, because they drink so much they have gastric ulcers and/or eating actual food would inhibit the prompt absorption of alcohol once they save up enough for a cask, and they never want to stop drinking. I just ignore it all now -- the stories are usually bullshit & manipulative. Unfortunately the most you can do for those looking pretty ill (cancers/ulcerations, etc.) is get the police to do a welfare check - but it doesn't change anything unless the police decide the person is an immediate harm to themselves or someone else.

Brain Science Podcast, Episode 19: Gut Feelings

exercise seems to be incredibly therapeutic with ADD/ADHD...maybe one of its causes is sedentarism. maybe you will find John Ratey's "Spark" program interesting www.johnratey.com

more than 3-5g of dry herb daily is not necessary and in Ayurveda is often considered better to be cooked into food (5 - 15 minutes simmering after having been sauteed in the cooking oil, or simmered in milk or almond milk, etc. improves absorption but digests slowly) it is just considered that high doses can cause a sort of detox crisis, as it's sometimes called in natural medicine, but then a lot of the toxins end up getting re-absorbed (I think this relates to liver phases 1 & 2 detox pathways). So it should be combined with appropriate herbs (in cooking it always goes with coriander). My ayurveda teacher told us of a "curry" recipe he'd recommend to arthritis patients, to be taken several times weekly, which was basically ghee, onions, ginger, garlic, turmeric (for diet, but also along with appropriate medications, of course). It is also often combined with particular high fiber foods (eg okra - mucilage/polysaccharides binds bile acids carrying toxins & prevents constipation/re-absorption) - fiber fermented by healthy gut flora form short-chain fatty acids which are thought to activate detox and antioxidative enzymes (eg glutathione transferases). Maybe they are subtle considerations, but I know some ayurvedic practitioners that sort of cringe when they hear about people taking high dose turmeric extracts maybe evening primrose oil would help as well, to favorably balance prostaglandin synthesis? I always found that I could reduce my doses of ibuprofen when I also took EPO (whiplash injury)

maybe try shankhapushpi & guduchi to help treat/reverse the rebound headaches, & have you tried Boswellia as an anti-inflammatory/immuno-modulator? (turmeric could be helpful but strong extracts are considered pretty heating and a bit rough on the liver [by natural medicine] as the previous medications have been also) formulas including glutamine, aloe vera, deglycyrrhizinized licorice & shatavari are good for healing gut damage

dizzyanarchist - you might find these threads address the Victorian Ipomoea weeds http://www.shaman-au...showtopic=17633 http://www.shaman-australis.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=8694

the most common ayurvedic use is of Ipomoea is I. digitata root - Vidari, or vidari kanda. Seems to be used in a way similar to maca. It's not psychoactive and also Convolvulus pluricaulis - Shankhapushpi - nerve/brain tonic

You can see how well it grows even in a small pot if kept well watered...this was over one growing season in Melbourne from a well rooted cutting

There is ayurvedic use of argyreia roots that seems very similar to geriatric use of hydergine (cognitive enhancer/viriliser) but I have no experience with it. I have never heard of anyone experimenting with the roots and when I've mentioned it before, I haven't noticed anyone taking any interest. the Indian strains have much less potent seeds, I believe, so the ratio of pleasant to unpleasant effects may over all leave the seed to be considered just mildly toxic.

the occasions you vomit, what are the contents? / what does it look like? do you eat dinner within 3 hours of sleeping?

Kulfi is easier to make than ice cream if you cheat and use evaporated milk...it's like what halcyon made above

Pho Secret Ingredients: Dried Earthworms (Sa Sung)

refreshing summer drink: Pennywort Drink it's very nice to add a few drops of vetiver essence to the syrup, or use Shankhapushpi syrup, instead of the plain sugar syrup, for extra relaxing/cognition enhancing effect

bacopa grows well in melbourne...it just stops growing through winter. keep it always very moist I hope you have some ongoing support, like a psychologist/counsellor that you get along well with

an ice cream churn keeps the mixture cold