Smoking is... good?

[go2]

Re: Lyme and Smoking

Hi Odyssey,

I tend a small woodlot in deer tick country and have been interested in lyme disease since it became
a health threat in the area. Several friends have contended with this difficult to diagnose and treat disease.
I have not heard of the teasel plant until your post. When I looked at photo, I recognize teasel as a common
roadside weed. Perhaps, nature provides the remedy. Thanks.

 

[theos]

Re: Lyme and Smoking

Teasel tends to grow in open, grassy areas with sun. I see a lot on the side of highways. The stalk with the flower is not the part used. if you look down near the stalks there are green leaves growing out of the ground. You dig those up and take the root. :)

 

[theos]

Re: Lyme and Smoking

Here's a bit more about teasel and its actions:

From: http://dandelionrevolution.com/blog/?p=244

Teasel - Dipsacus sylvestirs
Sunday, 23 August 2009, 20:57 | Category : Chinese Medicine, Materia Medica
Tags : arthritis, joint, joint pain, Kidney, kidney essence, teasel, uterine bleeding, yang tonic


This summer, I have not harvested or made much medicine beyond blending teas. Instead, I find myself staring off at plants, wondering about them. One that has attracted much of my attention and wonderment is teasel.

It’s not hard to be intrigued by teasel. It grows tall and stately, and its stems, ribs and flower heads are lined with sharp spikes. The leaves join the stalk and create a cup where rain gathers. The flowers form a band or patch on the flower head with little sweet-smelling, tube-like periwinkle flowers. When that band or patch of flowers is done flowering, other parts of the flower head will be filled with flowers, traveling up, down and around.

Teasel is in its own family (the Teasel family, related to the Asteraceaes) and is an European introduction. All over the world, the sharp, bristle-like dried flower heads have been used for carding (or teasing) wool. Though it hasn’t been used much in Western and Native American medicine, it has a traditional use in Chinese medicine, where its name means “restore what is broken” (Wood, 234) or “heal fracture”.

I first came across teasel medicinally while working at The Medicine Tree is St. Croix Falls, Wisconsin. Every so often people would purchase a tea by Herbalists and Alchemists called “Teasel Combination Tea”. It is an eclectic blend of Chinese and Western herbs: mulberry root, Japanese teasel root, du huo root, sarsaparilla, fennel and cardamom. Here is what David Winston has to say about it:

“Based on a traditional formula, these herbs open the channels (meridians) promoting circulation of blood and qi. This tea also acts as a systemic anti-inflammatory, reducing stagnation and pain associated with joint injuries, tendon and ligament damage as well as arthritic pain and bursitis.” (103).

This makes teasel a good herbal choice for Lyme disease and other conditions where with painful joints. Although I tried the Teasel Combination Tea for taste (tasted slightly warm and bitter), I never used it specifically for treating joint pain or injury. I do not have a Chinese herbal at my disposal, but it seems obvious that teasel is used in cases of cold, damp and blood deficiency. Lesley Tierra does say that teasel tones yang, and has hemostatic, anti-rheumatic, bone-healing, and analgesic properties (77). Tierra precautions its use in signs of deficient yin and heat, but indicates it in

“sore and painful lower back and knees, stiffness in the joints, weak legs, uterine bleeding, white vaginal discharge…pain, traumatic injuries, healing of bones, skin sores, arthritis, rheumatism” (77).

Matthew Wood writes the most about teasel, citing many interesting case studies. He says;

“As far as I know, Teasel is a superlative medicine for the kidney esesnce. The muscle and joint pain, the deterioration of structure, the helplessness and loss of purpose, ect., all relate to this pattern.” (237)


References:

Tierra, Lesley. Healing with the Herbs of Life.

Winston, David. Herbal Therapeutics.

Wood, Matthew. The Book of Herbal Wisdom.

 

[go2]

Re: Lyme and Smoking

I first came across teasel medicinally while working at The Medicine Tree is St. Croix Falls, Wisconsin. Every so often people would purchase a tea by Herbalists and Alchemists called “Teasel Combination Tea”. It is an eclectic blend of Chinese and Western herbs: mulberry root, Japanese teasel root, du huo root, sarsaparilla, fennel and cardamom. Here is what David Winston has to say about it:

“Based on a traditional formula, these herbs open the channels (meridians) promoting circulation of blood and qi. This tea also acts as a systemic anti-inflammatory, reducing stagnation and pain associated with joint injuries, tendon and ligament damage as well as arthritic pain and bursitis.” (103).

Thanks Odyssey, I am going to give this tea a try for some joint inflammation which
flared up after I aggravated a foreign body cyst on the inside of the left middle finger
operating the chainsaw.

Moderators..do you think this thread should be moved to Diet and Health?

 

[Vulcan59]

Re: Lyme and Smoking

Hi go2,

Did occur to me to move it to Diet and Health but I thought of waiting for a few days till the thread becomes sort of inactive. Thanks for the reminder. :)

 

[theos]

Re: Lyme and Smoking

Yes, this may do well in the Diet and Health section.

I'll just go ahead and post the recipe in case someone wants to make a homemade batch.

From class notes (posted with authors permission) Dr. Philip Fritchey, ND, MH:

PREPARATION: (Never use aluminum utensils.) Root should be cut just below the crown at ground level. Chop fine -- to the texture of coarse meal. Weigh the chopped root mass, and combine with 6 times that weight of 100 proof vodka or other rectified spirits -- i.e. 6oz of chopped root would combine with 36oz of vodka. Macerate on a sunny windowsill for 2-4 weeks in a clear jar with a tight fitting lid, shaking at least once daily. Strain and press out the mass {with cheesecloth}. Filter the resulting liquid through an unbleached coffee filter paper. Store in dark glass bottles in a cool, dark cabinet. Stored this way, tincture will remian viable for 3 years or more.

Reocommended dosage of Teasel tincture for Lyme is 1 to 5 drops taken 3 times daily. Larger doses may bring on a "Herxheimer Reaction" in Lyme-infected patients. Non-Lyme conditions that may also benefit from Teasel (Parkinson's, ALS, Non-Lyme fibromyalgia, age-related dementia, etc.) can tolerate -- and often require -- higher doses without causing a "herx" response.

Small amber or dark blue 1 or 4oz dropper bottles (glass bottles and droppers) can be purchased over the internet or bottle supply stores.

Per Dr. Fritchey: non-lyme condition 15-20 drops 3xdaily. Lyme 1-5 drops 3xdaily + colloidal silver if desired. (If you suspect you have Lyme, having a herxheimer reaction to teasel is probably an indication that you do indeed have Lyme)

If anyone wants to try it I'd be interested in knowing the results. I plan on trying it myself, though I don't have any of the above conditions.

 

[Bo]

Today I have tried my first cigarrete,

There is a store near me which sells American Spirits, and I decided to start with the yellow package(the light version), it was a very interesting observation!

Before lighting the cigarrete up, I felt scared, and I was thinking about lung cancer and all of those mental programming that has been installed in our minds.

After I inhaled the first time, the fear dissapeared and I suddenly felt like a tough guy(hey look at me , I am smoking , I am tough guy'') , LOL! , it was really an interesting observation to see how several programs suddenly started to surface when I was smoking this.

After a few more inhaling I started to feel less tired, energetic and light in the head, this lasted for 10 minutes, but I also feel like that I really don't need smoking, but I will experiment with this package of American Spirits and see how my body responds, I started smoking , because I had an urge to smoke for some time, I think this has been related to some stress from previous weeks.

I will see how my body responds to this.

 

[sankara]

Dant :)

Many papers are made out of hemp. Many among them are really as thin as possible.

 

[JAKSUN]

Re: new to smoking :what are the healthy guidelines.

Daniel, as anart said, it is very important to listen to your body. Not everyone should or needs to smoke.

I have started smoking again after 30 odd years based on the evidence put together by Laura, and I can imagine why U.T.s don't like it - It tastes bloody awful! and the first one made me feel quiet ill, I had to lie down while I spun out. I am up to about 1.5 fags a day now, roll yr own and a Name brand that might start with D and end in M(4 letters). The cost floored me and I didn't know what to ask for at the counter cause they didn't have it on display. Talk about naive! One thing I do know is that it is a little too dry. I'll look in this thread - there is bound to be a cure for dryness and I am sure I used to know it. Apple or something like that.

The smokes still make me spinny and I am only toking about 3 or 4 puffs a time(no filter) - I 'think' my thinking(that's a goodun) improved when I smoked almost the whole damn thing to the butt. - 'though that opinion can only be subjective at this stage.

Medicine! It don't always taste good.

 

[dant]

Hi Jacksun

I can certainly relate to your experience. The same happened
to me after a long absence. I had vertigo and spun around
a bit but after awhile it abates. I am not saying it goes away
completely, as it depends on how much one smoke and over
doing it brings it back. So, perhaps one needs to learn to
regulate intake by "listening" to your body, or so it seems.

Smoking as I write, and "I think, therefore I am", or so I think!

 

[henry]

Jacksun, you can rehydrate the tobacco and it will smoke much smoother. Put enough for a few days in a container than can be sealed. I use a plastic food container. Take a paper towel and moisten it. Then lay it across the top of the container and seal the container with the top. Leave it for 24 hours.

It may take some experimenting to see how much water to use. It depends upon how much tobacco you have and how moist you like it.

But if you continue to have these reactions, it may mean that your body doesn't need it. A number of members have found that when they do the EE breathing regularly, they need fewer cigarettes.

 

[wanderer]

The Cs talk about a "profile" for those who would benefit from smoking. It would be nice to know more about what that profile is. If it's a slow metabolism and difficulty maintaining a proper weight then I certainly fit! I recently quit for a few months without any difficulty or physical withdrawal symptoms, just a feeling now and then that this would be a perfect time for smoke. I also felt a decrease in mental function that never went away. Then the day came where I was in the midst of a really stressful situation and couldn't resist running out and buying a pack. It really helped me calm down (this was before EE) and I was a smoker again.

I'm considering quitting again because of the mucus that it causes. I'm a singer and have decided to get serious about it again, mucus is a problem. I'm going to try snuff, but I'm not sure what additives are in it, so that might not be a healthy alternative. Snorting is a good way to ingest something that targets the brain, I think.

A quick Google doesn't bring up anything scary. Wikipedia says "Users of smokeless tobacco products including snuff are believed to face less cancer risk than smokers, but are still at greater risk than people who do not use any tobacco products" with a reference to a Lancet article. Maybe the snuff market is too small for the bad guys to bother with.

Maybe now, with EE, smoking isn't necessary.

 

[Justin]

Today I have tried my first cigarrete,

There is a store near me which sells American Spirits, and I decided to start with the yellow package(the light version), it was a very interesting observation!

Before lighting the cigarrete up, I felt scared, and I was thinking about lung cancer and all of those mental programming that has been installed in our minds.

After I inhaled the first time, the fear dissapeared and I suddenly felt like a tough guy(hey look at me , I am smoking , I am tough guy'') , LOL! , it was really an interesting observation to see how several programs suddenly started to surface when I was smoking this.

After a few more inhaling I started to feel less tired, energetic and light in the head, this lasted for 10 minutes, but I also feel like that I really don't need smoking, but I will experiment with this package of American Spirits and see how my body responds, I started smoking , because I had an urge to smoke for some time, I think this has been related to some stress from previous weeks.

I will see how my body responds to this.

Hi Bo, American Spirits are generally stronger than comparable popular brands. I think it's because they contain more tobacco per cigarette. If you find the light version too strong, there is also an American Spirit Ultra-Light than comes in a yellow and white box. Since you are just experimenting it might not matter much...just wanted to let you know in case you decide to buy more.

Thanks for the EE Guide/FAQ! I found it very helpful :)

 

[Voyageur]

Galahad posted;

I have heard that the American Spirit products are no longer distributed in Canada, that once existing supplies on hand at the distributors run out, that is it.

This is disconcerting news :(; does anyone know why and are there any alternatives above the 49th Parallel?

Also, while at a conference this past week we had a Respiratory Specialist present on silicosis, asbestosis and lung functions physiology to clear the lungs of particulates as such. The Dr. was quick to vilify smoking as it was statistically a catalyst in patents suffering the effects of the prior two inflictions. However, upon post discussion, he clearly admitted that Nicotine and Tar were not the causes and revised his original assertion, pointing out that it is the chemical soup the manufacturers blend in. It was interesting that he did not at first qualify the distinction and generalized, painting cigarettes with the same brush; only upon questioning did he revise the distinction between the effects, but the damage was done, the participants heard what they wanted to hear.

 

[henry]

Well, the latest, latest news is that they are back on the market in Canada. But that is second-hand. So maybe there is no reason to despair. :)