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Green Tea Fasting
Green tea fasting burns body fat, heals the gut, balances the microbiome, and lowers bodily inflammation. Fasting is the best way to activate autophagy and undergo a cellular deep cleaning, and drinking green tea during a fast ramps up autophagic processes even more. Learn about green tea fasting with this complete guide.
Article by Stefan Burns - Updated July 2022. Join the Wild Free Organic email newsletter!
Fasting and drinking green tea pair together exceptionally well. Fasting (aka not eating food) activates the protective healing state of autophagy throughout the body, increasing cellular breakdown of old and dying cell while simultaneously repairing cellular structures and creating the conditions for the growth of new healthy cells. Activating autophagy is a key step in healing from many illness and diseases.
Meanwhile green tea decreases appetite while increasing fat metabolism. Simultaneously green tea fasting burns body fat, heals the gut, resets the microbiome, and lowers inflammation throughout the body. Drinking green tea while fasting is a very effective way to synergize the health effects of both for maximum healing and restorative potential.
In this article I discuss the health benefits of fasting and green tea independently, the science of how each works, how they can be combined together for maximum effect, and my experience in performing a 48 hour green tea fast.
Together the digestive system and microbiome are the foundation of health from which everything else is dependent on.
The Holistic Gut Health Guide contains all the information you need to identify and understand the gastrointestinal and microbiome problems you may have while also providing you the most effective natural methods you can use to heal your gut. No gut health problems are unsolvable, give yourself every possible advantage along your gut health journey by reading an implementing the advice shared in the Holistic Gut Health Guide.
Some of the information in the Holistic Gut Health Guide isn’t common knowledge but when implemented it is highly effective in healing the gut and shifting the microbiome towards symbiosis. Give yourself every possible advantage along your gut health journey by reading an implementing the advice shared in the Holistic Gut Health Guide.
What is Fasting?
Fasting is abstinence from food and drinks. Most fasting is done wet, whereas dry fasting is done without even drinking water. In the absence of nutrients from food, fasting triggers a large metabolic shift, dramatically increasing fatty acid oxidation from body fat as muscle and liver glycogen becomes depleted, and after 48 to 72 hours ketones are produced to keep the brain running happily. In this catabolic zero-calorie state, fasting activates protective cellular mechanisms which safeguard lean body mass while preferentially burning visceral body fat (1). By mildly stressing the body via nutrient deprivation, fasting slows the process of aging, can heal chronic disease, and heals the digestive system (2) all because of the increased level of autophagy (3).
Autophagy is the cellular process in which unnecessary or dysfunctional cellular components are removed and possibly recycled. Autophagy is always happening throughout the body, but during a fast it ramps up dramatically in scale and scope, akin to a deep spring cleaning. The protective cellular mechanisms of autophagy is one of the main reasons fasting has such powerful therapeutic effects on human metabolism, the immune system, disease, and healthspan.
Fasting can be done for various lengths of time and to different degrees of restriction. Fasting is most commonly practiced intermittently, on alternate days, or over longer durations. It is really important with fasting that adequate water is consumed everyday; 1 gallon a day being recommended. A lot of water that our body uses comes from the food we eat, so with the removal of food, if water intake is kept the same, then dehydration will occur.
While fasting only drink pure spring water or water that is filtered of all contaminates like chlorine and fluoride. Again the goal with fasting is to be extremely discretionary with the chemicals entering into the body, as every chemical has an impact on metabolism and will be used or filtered in some way.
Health Benefits of Green Tea
Green tea is a liquid beverage created from the leaves and leaf buds of Camellia sinensis, a small evergreen tree native to East Asia. Tea leaves can be processed differently to create green, black, yellow, white, oolong, and fermented teas. Green tea is made from tea leaves that haven’t undergone heavy oxidation like with black tea, and because of this the caffeine levels are lower in green tea and the polyphenol count is higher.
Freshly collected green tea leaves
Polyphenols are plant compounds that have many health benefits, and there are thousands of different types of polyphenols. In tea the dominant polyphenols are catechins, the most abundant being epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG). Other beneficial flavonoids such as quercetin are also present in green tea leaves. Green tea antioxidants like EGCG are anti-inflammatory and activate metabolism.
Green Tea Health Benefits:
Green tea can reduce belly fat (4)
Green tea can lower blood pressure (5)
Green tea can help with acne (6)
Green tea is good for skin (7)
Green tea can normalize blood glucose (8)
Acutely experiencing these health benefits from tea drinking is dose dependent, requiring quite a few cups to notice. Over time with consistent green tea consumption as part of a healthy diet, these health effects will holistically manifest.
Besides consistent usage, there are other strategies that can be employed to enjoy the health benefits of green tea more potently. First, using a high quality tea is paramount. Most green tea you buy at the store is heavily oxidized and contaminated with pesticides (11) which negates many of the health benefits you’d drink the tea for. Second, drinking green tea on an empty stomach or while fasting will ensure the green tea EGCG and other catechins won’t be buffered out and can strongly exert their anti-inflammatory effects on the digestive system, liver, kidneys, and throughout the body.
For green tea fasting you’ll want to use a high quality tea free of oxidation and contamination. When fasting and precisely limiting what enters into the body, using a fresh high quality green tea is all the more important. The fresher and more potent the green tea, the stronger the appetite suppression and fat burning effects experienced.
Green Tea Amplifies Fasting
Green tea works synergistically with fasting because it helps reduce appetite, increase fat oxidation, and increases energy expenditure (12). The caffeine, L-theanine, and catechins such as EGCG found in green tea blend to create a unique effect. The caffeine and catechins stimulate the sympathetic nervous system (fight or flight response), which reduces appetite while increasing thermogenesis in the body. Green tea catechins lower ghrelin (13), a hunger hormone while increasing energy expenditure by up to 4% over a 24 hour period (14). Fat oxidation is also measurably increased by pairing caffeine and green tea catechins together (15). Fasting places the body into a catabolic state of autophagy and fat burning, and green tea amplifies this effect while also making the fast easier to adhere to by reducing appetite and hunger.
Fasting is a parasympathic activity which relaxes the body, whereas green tea activates the sympathetic nervous system which is stimulatory. This apparent mismatch is brought into harmony by L-theanine, an amino acid naturally found in green tea. L-theanine noticeably reduces stress and anxiety (16) and increases relaxation via stronger alpha brain wave activity (17, 18). It is for these reasons that green tea fasting is such a powerful therapeutic technique. The L-theanine is also what makes green tea a great meditation and sleep aid.
Green Tea for Gut Health
One of the main reasons to perform a green tea fast is to improve your gut health. Fasting heals the tissues of the gut and resets the immune system located there, and green tea boosts these effects thanks to its high concentrations of polyphenols. Polyphenols strengthen tight junctions (19), diversify the microbiome (20), and function as a digestive aid (21). Green tea polyphenols are responsible for these benefits, and through these cellular effects green tea can reduce bloating, constipation, IBS, leaky gut, and other gut maladies. Drinking a peppermint green tea blend is especially effective in helping to restore normal gut function during or outside of a fast.
Fasting can be used to reset the digestive system and microbiome, and green tea will amplify the effects of this by supporting healthy gut flora like Lactobacillus spp and Bifidobacterium spp while having antimicrobial effects on microorganisms considered harmful (22). A well diversified and balanced microbiome reduces bloating, calms the digestive system, and ensures good motility (aka regular bowel movements), factors which translate to real world benefits such as better energy and more stable emotional well being.
I have a lot of experience with fasting for digestive health and detoxing, and I wanted to see if adding green tea to a longer fast would synergistically aid the fasting process by:
Smoothing out the energy swings of fasting
Act as an appetite suppressant
Exerting anti-inflammatory gut healing and detoxifying effects
At the end of the article I share my experience performing a 2 day green tea fast, but before that let’s learn about the different types of fasting and how to choose a good green tea.
Types of Fasting
Many different fasting protocols exists, each having their own unique benefits. Shorter fasts are easier to complete than longer fast, and because they are shorter in duration their effect on health will be less than that of a longer fast. We’ll start with the easiest type of fast to complete, the 16 hour intermittent fast.
Intermittent Fasting
Intermittent fasting (IF) is a 16:8 protocol where on some schedule, typically everyday, fasting is done for 16 hours followed by an 8 hour window where eating is permitted. Intermittent fasting is a good protocol for improving body composition (23) as it can make sticking with a lower calorie diet easier while simultaneously improving nutrient partitioning. If resistance training, eating in a caloric surplus while intermittently fasting will improve build muscle, keep fat accumulation low, and optimize hormones.
Green tea intermittent fasting is one way to boost the metabolism while simultaneously helping to heal the digestive system. If starting an intermittent fast at 6 pm, the addition of green tea in the morning around 8 am further boosts fat oxidation and keeps appetite low until lunch time.
24 Hour Fasting
A 24 hour fast is eight hours longer than an intermittent fast, and in my experience is best scheduled from dinner to dinner. With the last meal before the fast at 6 PM, by 6 AM the next day the fast is already halfway completed. All the benefits of IF are observed with a 24 hour fast, with the added benefit that the digestive system has more time to heal before the next meal. When food is constantly being consumed, the gut is under stress to digest. Digesting food 24/7 and keeping the immune system on high alert for pathogenic organisms constantly allows for no time to rest and repair the digestive system. A twenty four hour fast is long enough for the digestive system to heal and partially regenerate up to 20% with new epithelial cells.
A 24 hour fast is a short enough time period that anyone can easily survive it with few if any complications, but 24 hours is a long enough period of time without nutrients for microorganisms. When the microbiome needs a quick reset and balance, fasting for 24 hours is an easy way to do so, and drinking green tea throughout makes it even easier.
A 24 hour fast is also a great experiment to perform if wondering how food cravings and physiological hunger differ in their psychological effects. A microbiome used to feeding on quick digesting junk food will release neurotransmitters causing food cravings once it begins to experience starvation. Except for rare situations, the human body easily carries enough bodyfat to stay energized for 24 hours without food, and therefore physiological hunger shouldn’t be experienced during that time window, so a 24 hour fast is a good way to learn how to identify and curb food cravings.
48 Hour Fasting
A 48 hour fast is two 24 hour fasts done back to back. A 48 hour fast isn’t much harder than a 24 hour fast and the reward is worth the extra effort. After about 36 to 48 hours liver glycogen becomes completed depleted and ketosis begins. Ketosis is a metabolic state that occurs in response to low glucose availability, such as during fasting or with a very low carbohydrate diet. During ketosis, ketones are produced from fat and used as an energy source for the brain. A 48 hour fast takes you right to the edge of ketosis and will better adapt the metabolism to the use of both dietary fat and body fat for energy which is highly desirable.
Without any food, from the 24 to 48 hour mark the microbiome will experience a significant die off. Pathogenic and commensal microbes which don’t work synergistically with their human host are most affected, whereas symbiotic microorganisms survive in greater numbers during this period of nutrient depletion. Upon re-feeding with healthy food, the microbiome with bounce back quickly, now containing a greater diversity and percentage of symbiotic microorganisms. 48 hours is also a longer time for the gut to be undisturbed with digestion, and more cellular healing can take place, up to 40%.
72 Hours or Longer Fasting
Longer periods of fasting like a 72 hour fast, seven day fast, and multi-week fasts all have their own unique benefits. A 72 hour fast will take you 1+ days into ketosis and body fat will begin to be used as the primary fuel source of the body.
It’s here that I must mention what may happen once body fat becomes a primary fuel source. One reason many people accumulate excess body fat is because they are ingesting too many environmental toxins from the food they eat, the water they drink, and the air they breathe. The body already being overly stressed from other lifestyle factors decides to delay the processing of these toxins by sequestering them in body fat. Though the toxins accumulated in body fat will slowly cause chronic health problems, their immediate effects aren’t experienced. When body fat begins to be burned due to fasting, if toxins have accumulated in this body fat due to lifestyle and environmental factors, then flu-like symptoms might be experienced as the toxins are processed and expelled from the body.
Because of this, depending on your state of health, fasting for longer than 48 hours can cause you to begin experiencing the effects of eliminating accumulated toxins from your body, leaving you temporarily feeling sick. While feeling sick is never fun, this is fundamentally a good thing because when locked in body fat these toxins can cause chronic health issues over time, and when processed during fasting, autophagy helps to mitigate the acute damage toxins cause during release and expulsion. If toxins have accumulated in the body, there is no easy way around the problem, fasting being the safest way possible to eliminate them from the body. If experiencing any odd flu-like symptoms during a longer fast, heat therapy like sauna usage will help to protect the body from the toxins being expelled from the body and hasten their exit.
A seven day fast will burn a lot of body fat, and if done safely, longer fasts are an excellent way to rapidly experience body recomposition and reduce the health risks from being overweight or obese. With a seven day fast, major organs of the body like the liver will be deep into autophagy cleaning up cellular damage, and the size of these organs will actually reduce. Upon refeeding, cellular proliferation in these tissues skyrockets from the replenishment of growth factors. A 72 hour fast will also trigger stem cell regeneration of an old damaged immune system (24), which has wide implications for the treatment of immune system disorders. With long fasts it is important to be especially mindful of how you feel and implement the necessary recovery practices as needed.
After having gone though a large detoxification process, it is very important to break a fast with high quality food free of chemical contaminants like dangerous pesticides.
How to Break a Fast
The length of the fast determines how mindful you should be of your first meal after the fast. I recommend breaking a fast with a small salad (zero dressing) with a side of lightly roasted squash like zucchini These vegetables will be easy on the stomach and feeds the microbiome in a helpful way. With a 24 hour dinner to dinner fast, after this meal you can have breakfast like normal the next day, or perhaps a small snack of pumpkin seeds or walnuts later in the night.
For a 48 hour fast, break the fast with the same salad and zucchini meal, and after 1-2 hours either have another light meal, having a healthy breakfast the next morning. A 72 hour fast can be broken the same as a 48 hour fast, and fasts longer than 3 days will require 1-3 days of mindful eating to ease the gut back into digestion. After the first refeed meal, drink 24-32 oz of water to flush the digestive system with liquid again and to prevent any possible dehydration post-fast.
As touched on, food quality is paramount, especially after a fast. Use every green tea fast as a catalyst to increase the overall quality of your diet. To reduce your exposure to chemicals and low nutrient quality foods, shop for the following:
Non-gmo and organic. Ideally biodynamically grown
Whole and unprocessed
Grass-fed, pasture raised (for meat and eggs)
Not packaged in plastic
These recommendations hold true for the green tea you’ll use during a green tea fast. Since most store bought green tea is of low quality, you want to nourish your body during a fast with only the best green tea.
Choosing the right Green Tea
The biggest recommendations I can give regarding green tea usage are as follows:
Be mindful of total caffeine intake. While green tea doesn’t contain as much caffeine as coffee (40-60 mg vs 100mg per cup), after a few cups of tea it does begin to add up. Caffeine is a stimulant and exerts changes on adenosine receptors in the brain and is best used responsibly. To learn more about caffeine read my Caffeine Usage and Tolerance Reset Guide.
Pesticide exposure. Tea is a very popular beverage, and most tea is grown the same way much of the world’s food supply is, with mass amounts of chemical pesticides. While green tea polyphenols help heal the gut and diversify the microbiome, pesticides like glyphosate do the opposite, degrading the barriers of the gut and killing the microbiome indiscriminately. It is important for this reason to only use high-quality tea grown without pesticides, which has the added benefit of supporting growers who use regenerative organic farming practices.
Oxidation. Depending on how tea is processed, distributed, and stored, the level of oxidation it has experienced can vary dramatically. Minced tea leaves in breathable tea bags which were exposed to variable temperatures and light end up at the store heavily oxidized. These tea products are also typically the most contaminated with pesticides too as the overall food quality standards followed are poor. Once green tea polyphenols become oxidized, they exert little to zero beneficial effects on the body.
Those usage recommendations narrow the selection of desirable green teas by a lot unfortunately. Most tea products available at a grocery store are of low quality.
Luckily there exist many different tea suppliers online who sell regenerative organic green tea free of pesticide exposure. My favorite supplier is Mountain Rose Herbs. Simply bring water to 170 F (75) and steep the green tea leaves for 5-8 minutes and enjoy a cup of perfection.
When time is short or hot water isn’t available then I recommend the use of cold-brew extracted tea crystals. Pique Tea sells green tea crystals in small convenient packets which easily dissolve into hot or cold water. Pique tea sources from regenerative organic green tea farmers throughout Asia to make their tea crystals.
Pique tea packets make sticking with a fast easier because if low energy, nausea, or a food craving hits, at home or on the go, it is very simple to mix a packet into a cup water and enjoy a flavorful zero-calorie beverage, mitigating the issue due to the unique health benefits of green tea.
Matcha Green Fasting Tea Review: 10/10
The matcha green tea has excellent flavor and can be enjoyed as soon as it is stirred in. The polyphenols in the matcha tea are very high, which is great for healing the digestive system, but big gulps can be slightly nauseating for some, so sip slowly.
Ingredients:
Proprietary green tea blend
Ceremonial grade matcha
Organic peppermint
Details:
Caffeine: 48 - 72 mg
Antioxidants: 294 - 441 mg
L-theanine: 27 - 40 mg
Ginger Green Fasting Tea Review: 10/10
The ginger green tea has a unique pleasant flavor thanks to the ginger and other ingredients. The ginger will soothe an upset stomach. The caffeine and L-theanine found in green tea makes it slightly energizing in a calm focused way.
Ingredients:
Proprietary green tea blend
Ginger, orange peel, lemon peel, licorice root, peppermint
Details:
Caffeine: 33 - 39 mg
Antioxidants: 218 - 327 mg
L-theanine: 15 - 23 mg
Use the coupon code WILDFREEORGANIC for 5% off at Pique Tea.
How to Brew tea
For hot tea, bring water to 170 F and either pour over tea leaves for steeping or stir in tea crystals. An easy way to know your water is at 170 F is when small bubbles begin to form at the bottom of the kettle. At 180 F steam begins to form. Using water hotter than 170 F (75 C) is more likely to make the green tea bitter in flavor. Steep for 5-8 minutes.
My Green Tea Fasting Experience
Doing a green tea fast was surprisingly easy. The first 48 hour fast I did as a vegetarian left me a little light headed at times. At the time I wasn’t eating enough fats from sources like avocado, dairy, and olive oil, and my protein intake was lower.
At the time of this 48 hour green tea fast, I was vegetarian already for 4 months. This time with the addition of green tea to the fast I didn’t run into any of the low blood sugar level problems from before. I made sure the last meal I had before the green tea fast contained plenty of fat and fiber, which certainly was a contributing factor to how easy this two day fast was. The last meal was nutrient dense and digested nicely for a long time. The addition of drinking green tea everyday also boosted my morning and afternoon energy levels by increasing usage of body fat for energy.
When fasting for longer there is sometimes a strong desire to eat food at the end of the first day. With this green tea fast I did I noticed this desire was eliminated. The addition of green tea helped to quell my appetite while increasing fat oxidation. It is my experience that when green tea fasting you are less likely to break a fast due to food cravings than if you had been fasting without green tea consumption.
Green Tea Fasting Journal
I started my fast at 7:30 pm after dinner. The meal you have before a fast is important in determining how your fast will play out, so it is very important to eat a healthy meal of unprocessed foods with plenty of satiating fiber and fat. My dinner was a grain bowl consisting of a bed of brown rice, black beans, quinoa, and tempeh, with roasted butternut squash, avocado, chia seeds, and a Lebanese garlic spread on top. In addition to the grain bowl I also had a small salad of homegrown kale and swiss chard drizzled with honey.
A grain and vegetable bowl is a good last meal to eat before starting a fast
Throughout the 48 hour fast my body was digesting the meal above from start to finish, and with no new food coming in, the digestive system and microbiome is encouraged to extract as much out of the meal as possible. If you were to eat a highly processed meal with acellular carbs before a fast (like spaghetti or bread), the fast will be much more difficult as the food will be completely digested much faster. Processed foods digest much faster and will cause greater swings in energy, which can lead to food cravings and unhealthy eating behaviors.
14 hours into my green tea fast (9:30 am) in the morning of the next day, I experienced a bit of stomach growling but no hunger. I brewed a hot cut of matcha that quieted my stomach down and boosted my energy.
20 hours into my fast (3:30 pm) I had yet to experience any energy swings. I had a cup of the ginger green fasting tea at 2:30 pm and everything remained calm and focused.
25 hours into the fast (8:30 pm) I was getting ready for bed and did some meditation beforehand. It was very easy to slip into a calm deep meditative state, and I attribute this to the green tea fasting.
34.5 hours into the green tea fast (6:00 am) I woke up. L-theanine in green tea has been found to improve sleep quality, and I certainly noticed this as I slept better than normal and woke up refreshed. Once up on day two everything felt good even after not eating for over 34 hours.
37 hours into my fast (8:30 am) I had a cup of passion fruit green tea which was delightful and kept my energy levels stable.
45 hours into my fast (4:30 pm) I went for a 3 mile walk which was of no difficulty. A couple hours earlier my energy had started to dip slightly, which I attribute to transitioning away from glucose metabolism to ketosis. By the end of my walk my normal energy levels had resumed, and while I didn’t have a ketosis test on hand to confirm I was in ketosis, having fasted many times I was confident that I was beginning to transition into ketosis.
48 hours after starting the green tea fast I consumed my refeed meal which was a small salad, butternut squash, and some mushroom pho with rice noodles. Once food hit my palate I became really hungry and after the meal pictured below I also had a few tablespoons of cashew, almond, and walnut nut butter. This fast was the easiest and most successful fast I have done to date, and I attribute this to the addition of high quality green tea.
Here is the meal I broke the 48 hour green tea fast with. Mushroom pho, a mixed green salad, and butternut squash
9.5 hours after breaking the green tea fast I woke up with a slight headache, went back to sleep, and when I woke up again later the headache was still lingering. I attribute the headache to two things. First, I did not drink enough water on day 2, and after breaking my fast with a too salty bowl of mushroom pho (which is what made it sooo good), the salt dehydrated me further. I should have consumed on day two before and after the refeed meal. Second, transitioning from carbs to ketosis to carb-based metabolism all in 12 hours might have caused some energy metabolism difficulties for my brain. If I could go back I would have eliminated the carbohydrate-rich mushroom pho from the refeed meal and saved it for breakfast the next day.
A couple of days after the fast everything was normal but digestion and sleep were much improved. I also had less cravings for heavily processed acellular carbs like gluten-free breads and noodles. Now I’m pretty content munching on nuts, seeds, and dried fruit for snacks rather than day dreaming of less healthy options.
Final Recommendations
Based on my experience with both fasting and green tea fasting, I prefer green tea fasting hands down. Drinking green tea throughout the fast made it much easier and improved my digestion and balanced my microbiome to a greater degree than fasting alone would have.
Fasting to activate autophagy and to heal the digestive system are two of the most powerful ways the body can be radically healed and transformed from a state of disease and suffering to one of radiant health. Healing the gut can take time, but with the right fasting protocol like the FoodFast Method, the process can be increased tremendously. Add in supplements like green tea, elderberry, and piperine (from black pepper) and gut health can be improved even faster.
If suffering from chronic inflammation, a weak immune system, constant digestive upset, skin conditions, brain fog, or are overweight or obese, green tea fasting is the fastest way I know of to radically transform health and heal from these maladies. After having done a 38 hour green tea fast, I can confirm it was an easy enjoyable process that improved my digestion, increased my fat metabolism, and even improved my sleep.
IMPORTANT - Please only attempt a fast if you are ready, physically and mentally, to go through a period of no food consumption. If this will be dangerous to you, please do not attempt this. All information, content, and material of this website is for informational purposes only and are not intended to serve as a substitute for the consultation, diagnosis, and/or medical treatment of a qualified physician or healthcare provider.
If you read all the way here then it’s clear to me that you’re ready to do what it takes to finally restore your digestive system and gut microbiome back to healthy and optimal function.
I wrote the Holistic Gut Health Guide to help you accomplish exactly this! It contains all the information that you need to understand the gastrointestinal system, gut-brain axis, and microbiome in-depth, and the Holistic Gut Health Guide also educates you on the natural methods you can holistically use together like fasting and herbalism to transform your health from the inside out.
I’m so excited to be able to help you along your gut health and overall wellness journey with the Holistic Gut Health Guide! Please contact me with any questions you have and wishing you the best.
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Medical Disclaimer: All information, content, and material of this website is for informational purposes only and is not intended to serve as a substitute for the consultation, diagnosis, and/or medical treatment of a qualified physician or healthcare provider.
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Health Benefits Of Elderberry
Elderberry is known for it's ability to help fight viral infections, though it has numerous other health benefits too. Elderberries are very high in flavonoids known as anthocyanins, and anthocyanins help heal the digestive system, improve blood glucose parameters, better partition nutrients to muscle away from fat, and of course help fight viral infections. Learn more about elderberry!
Article by Stefan Burns - Updated September 2022. Join the Wild Free Organic email newsletter!
Elderberries are known for their many health effects, most notably for their ability to fight the cold and flu, and they have been used medicinally for thousands of years. Elderberries are harvested from Sambucus, a flowering plant found throughout the world in temperate and subtropical regions that can form large shrubs or small trees. Uncooked elderberries and all other parts of the plant are poisonous, but when the berries are cooked the cyanides are nullified. Elderberries contain notable amounts of vitamin C, vitamin B6 and iron.
Elderberries have many health effects because of their rich concentration of anthocyanins (1). Elderberry syrups, powders, and extracts have powerful effects on the gut, help reduce the length and severity of colds and the flu, and might have muscle building and fat burning effects by improving nutrient partitioning.
Elderberry for Cold, Flu, and Covid Viruses
The common cold is causes by the rhinovirus, the flu is caused by the influenza virus, and SARS-CoV-2 is caused by a coronavirus. Common symptoms of all these virus include fatigue, aches and pains, temperature increases, upper respiratory issues, and digestive issues such as diarrhea and vomiting. The common cold is the least severe of the three, with influenza and coronaviruses being worse, potentially life threatening.
Whereas pathogenic bacteria, fungi, and parasites will attack human tissues, viruses attack the immune system directly, which is what makes them so troubling. When the body is stressed, the immune system becomes stressed, and now weakened, the chance of getting a viral infection goes up dramatically.
“All disease begins in the gut”
If you get infected, typically through the digestive system or the lungs, the immune system now ramps up production of antibodies and cells to protect itself from a fast replicating pathogen. Other pathogenic microorganisms which before were being held in check add to the stress by exploiting the hosts weakness. It can become a downward spiral if left unchecked.
One way to fight back against this unfortunate turn of events is by using elderberry! Elderberry reduces cold duration by 50% and the severity of symptoms by 50% or more (2), and elderberry was found to substantially reduce upper respiratory symptoms when sick (3). Elderberry flavonoids bind to and prevent H1N1 infection in vitro (4), and compare favorably to the known anti-influenza prescription medications like Tamiflu (5). Elderberry can also be taken as a preventative to support and strengthen the immune system due its unique natural pharmacology.
Viral infections are often treated with over the counter drugs, antibiotics, and antiviral medications which can have bad side effects and long term health consequences. Because of the covid-19 pandemic, mainstream scientific researchers are starting to better understand the relationship between diet and nutrition, inflammation and oxidative stress, and the immune system (6). What makes elderberry such a powerful natural medicine is because it’s rich in flavonoid phytochemicals, specifically anthocyanins, which exert potent anti-oxidants and anti-inflammatory effects throughout the body which strengthen the immune system via interactions with the gut. To understand more lets learn about anthocyanins and the digestive system.
Elderberry is Rich in Anthocyanins
Anthocyanins are favonoid polyphenol phytonutrients (plant pigments) that can range in color from red, blue, purple, or black.
Elderberry is very high in anthocyanins due to its dark purple to black color, and 66% of the phenolic components of elderberry juice are anthocyanins. Anthocyanins are biologically desirable because they have strong antioxidant effects. Foods rich in anthocyanins include elderberries, blueberries, raspberries, purple cauliflower, black “forbidden” rice, black beans, among many other foods that have red, purple, and black coloration.
Elderberry has an anthocyanin profile that differs from other berries, which includes cyanidin-3-glycoside, cyanidin-3,5-diglucoside, cyanidin-3-sambubioside, and cyanidin-3-sambubioside-5-glucoside. The high concentration of cyanidin-3-glycoside (C3G) is unique, as cyanidin-3-glycoside is a relatively rare anthocyanin, and C3G has unique and desirable physiological effects on the body.
Upon consumption, anthocyanins have a tough time reaching the blood stream because they are rapidly metabolized by the digestive system. Like turmeric and curcumin, the beneficially health effects of elderberry are primarily felt by the bodily tissues that metabolize them. Once ingested, some of the anthocyanins are metabolized by the epithelial cells of the digestive system, and for the anthocyanins that make it through to the bloodstream, elderberry anthocyanins are incorporated by endothelial cells, the cells which make up the inner lining of blood vessels. As anthocyanins are transported, more and more will be absorbed until some finally reach muscle or brain tissues.
Like curcuminoids, anthocyanins that are micro-emulsified into lipid-micellar structures are able to penetrate deeper in the body and can exert their effects on a wider range of bodily tissues.
In the graph below the bioavailability of elderberry anthocyanins cyanidin-3-glycoside (C3G) and cyanidin-3-sambubioside can be seen over 24 hours.
Plasma anthocyanin concentrations after consumption of 720 mg elderberry anthocyanins. Sample size of four elderly women. The point at 24 hr represents all three lines
For C3G, a peak plasma concentration (Cmax) of 42.5 +/- 4.5 nmol/L is reached at the 1 hour mark. The half life is ~100 minutes, and most anthocyanins from elderberry are excreted after 4 hours.
Overall, anthocyanins appear to be absorbed in their unchanged glycosylated forms in humans (7).
Elderberry Improves Digestive Function
Because elderberry contains a lot of flavonoids like cyanidin-3-glycoside and is rapidly absorbed by the the gut, elderberry has potent health effects for the gut. The gastrointestinal tract is the physical barrier that stops the diffusion of foreign materials from the lumen from entering into the circulatory system. The lumen is the soup of microorganisms and digestive fluids always slowly moving through your gut. With a properly functioning gut, only fully digested macronutrients like carbs, fats, and protein, along with small chemicals like micronutrients and phytonutrients, can pass through the intercellular tight junction shield and into the blood stream via guided mechanisms.
Cross-section view of epithelial cells of the digestive system. The tight junctions are where the membranes of the cells press up against one another. Notice the villi up top and how the lumen can filter through them.
Impairment of epithelial tight junctions is associated with various diseases caused by inflammation and immune system stress. This stress is created when partially digested foods and potentially pathogenic microbes enter into the blood stream, requiring cleanup by the immune system but now over a much larger area as compared to just the lining of the digestive system.
Dietary flavonoids, which is what elderberry is rich with, reduce oxidative stress and help to heal the epithelial tight junctions of the digestive system (8). Anthocyanins have been directly shown to improve intestinal barrier function and regulate the gut microbiome in mammals (9). When tight junctions are repaired, the barrier between microbiome, nutrients, and body tissues is reestablished, and normal function can resume. The immune system is still very active with the gut under healthy circumstances, but when the digestive system is compromised, the immune system needs to ramp up and better protect the circulatory system, a much larger and more diffuse area that covers the entire body. As a metaphor, no longer is the fighting solely at the trenches, but it is spread out through the countryside, and civilian casualties begin to occur.
Overtime, this increase in the duties of the immune system is chronically stressful and can lead to disease. To reduce the stress to the immune system and to all the other tissues of the body, the digestive system needs to be strong and intact, forming an impenetrable barrier between the microbiome and the rest of the body.
If you have gut problems like IBS, IBD, chron’s disease, celiac disease, or you just know your digestive system functions poorly, considering using fasting to reset your digestive system. Fasting has very powerful healing effects on the gut and throughout the body, though it is not to be done lightly. Short 24-hour fasts are easier and can also be used to understand and curb food cravings, an important distinction to understand which will improve your food choices and health. Overall elderberries are excellent overall for gut health.
Elderberry for Improved Nutrient Partitioning
Elderberry anthocyanins that make it into the bloodstream are then absorbed to some degree by endothelial cells, which like with the gut, increases protection against oxidative stress (10). In the bloodstream, anthocyanin-rich elderberry extracts enhance glucose and oleic acid uptake into human skeletal muscle cells (11), and anthocyanins, more specifically cyanidin-3-glycoside, increase fat burning and decrease fat storage through altering gene expression (12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18). Over time these effects of anthocyanins improve blood glucose markers, saturate muscle tissue better with glycogen, and can heal dysfunctional fat cells.
Overall, once anthocyanins are in the bloodstream they can be considered nutrient partitioners. They aren’t nutrients themselves, but they direct carbs and fats preferentially to muscle and skeletal tissue rather than adipose or visceral fat tissue.
The dosages required for anthocyanins to exert strong nutrient partitioning effects are quite high, and this is still an area that requires more human research.
Elderberry Sources
There are a ton of elderberry products out there, and below are my favorites which I have used and recommend.
Elderberry Juice
Elderberry Juice from Biotta is available in a lot of different grocery stores and has a great flavor. This product is pasteurized and the heat sensitive nutrients will have been destroyed.
Elderberry Lozenges
Therazinc Elderberry Lozenges by Quantum Health. These lozenges can be found nearly anywhere and at the first thought that I might be getting sick I reach for one of these. The combo of zinc and elderberry is great for fighting infections, and caught early can reduce the length and severity of the infection.
Elderberry Powder
Lost Empire Herbs has a 64:1 Full-Spectrum Extract Elderberry Powder, and their extract contains 13-18% anthocyanins. This is the most potent elderberry option of the list, and if you really want to experiment with how high-dosage elderberry makes you feel, this is the elderberry supplement I recommend.
Elderberry Tea
Dried Elderberries like those sold from Mountain Rose Herbs can be steeped in a tea using water anywhere from 170 - 212 F (75-100 C). Water temperature on the lower end of that range will degrade less anthocyanins and for better extraction more time is required. Steep dried elderberries for 10 minutes at 75 C for best effect.
Elderberries from Nature
Should you choose to prepare elderberry juice or syrup yourself, rather than to purchase a supplement, remember that the berries must be properly dried or cooked, since raw elderberries can cause nausea or in large amounts cyanide toxicity. Only ever use the berries — the rest of the plant is poisonous and should not be consumed in any form.
Elderberry Dosing
If using the Therazinc Elderberry Lozenges, the following dosing protocol can be used:
1 lozenge daily for general health and immune preventative effects. The lozenge can replace a daily zinc pill like from a zinc balance supplement.
3 lozenges daily while experiencing a viral infection, take one lozenge morning, afternoon, and night. This will provide throughout the course of the day 21 mg zinc and 108 mg elderberry powder. The bigger impact here will be from the zinc, not the elderberry.
If using the more potent Lost Empire Herbs 64:1 elderberry powder, the following dosing protocol can be used:
350 mg (1/8 tsp) powder daily for general health and immune preventative effects.
1 gram daily for viral infections. One serving (1/8 tsp, 350 mg) taken morning, afternoon, and night will keep the anthocyanin levels elevated throughout the body.
4 grams daily for glucose improving nutrient partitioning effects, spaced out as 1 gram every four hours (8 am, 12 pm, 4 pm, 8 pm).
If using elderberry tea using the following dosings:
General Wellness - 1 Tbsp steeped in 8 oz of 75 C water for 10 minutes
Viral Infection - 1 Tbsp steeped in 8 oz of 75 C water for 10 minutes morning, noon, and night.
For daily preventative strengthening to the immune system elderberry and dandelion is a powerful combination, combine them into a herbal tea and enjoy their many synergistic health benefits.
Reduce your Chance of Getting Sick with Elderberry
Elderberry can reduce your chance of getting sick, and if you do get sick, elderberry can also be used to shorten the duration and reduce the severity of the viral infection. As a natural remedy, elderberry won’t damage your liver like regular cold and flu medications.
Elderberry will always help but it’ll never completely heal you
Elderberry is just a supplement, it can never truly heal you. To heal at a deep level other considerations beyond a “magic” powder are required. Are you…?
Eating a healthy diet
Drinking plenty of water
Minimizing exposure to sick people
Sleeping every night
Mindful of stress
Exercising (weights, calisthenics, yoga, running)
Washing your hands when dirty
Aware and considerate of your emotions?
Keep some elderberry lozenges in the cabinet and drink elderberry tea as often or needed as desired. Elderberry is a great preventative herb, fantastic for health if used regurarly.
References:
Ulbricht C, Basch E, Cheung L, et al. An evidence-based systematic review of elderberry and elderflower (Sambucus nigra) by the Natural Standard Research Collaboration. J Diet Suppl. 2014;11(1):80-120.
Tiralongo E, Wee SS, Lea RA. Elderberry Supplementation Reduces Cold Duration and Symptoms in Air-Travellers: A Randomized, Double-Blind Placebo-Controlled Clinical Trial. Nutrients. 2016;8(4):182.
Hawkins J, Baker C, Cherry L, Dunne E. Black elderberry (Sambucus nigra) supplementation effectively treats upper respiratory symptoms: A meta-analysis of randomized, controlled clinical trials. Complement Ther Med. 2019;42:361-365.
Roschek B, Fink RC, Mcmichael MD, Li D, Alberte RS. Elderberry flavonoids bind to and prevent H1N1 infection in vitro. Phytochemistry. 2009;70(10):1255-61.
Zakay-rones Z, Thom E, Wollan T, Wadstein J. Randomized study of the efficacy and safety of oral elderberry extract in the treatment of influenza A and B virus infections. J Int Med Res. 2004;32(2):132-40.
Iddir M, Brito A, Dingeo G, et al. Strengthening the Immune System and Reducing Inflammation and Oxidative Stress through Diet and Nutrition: Considerations during the COVID-19 Crisis. Nutrients. 2020;12(6)
Milbury PE, Cao G, Prior RL, Blumberg J. Bioavailablility of elderberry anthocyanins. Mech Ageing Dev. 2002;123(8):997-1006.
Suzuki T, Hara H. Role of flavonoids in intestinal tight junction regulation. J Nutr Biochem. 2011;22(5):401-8.
Li J, Wu T, Li N, Wang X, Chen G, Lyu X. Bilberry anthocyanin extract promotes intestinal barrier function and inhibits digestive enzyme activity by regulating the gut microbiota in aging rats. Food Funct. 2019;10(1):333-343.
Youdim KA, Martin A, Joseph JA. Incorporation of the elderberry anthocyanins by endothelial cells increases protection against oxidative stress. Free Radic Biol Med. 2000;29(1):51-60.
Ho GT, Kase ET, Wangensteen H, Barsett H. Phenolic Elderberry Extracts, Anthocyanins, Procyanidins, and Metabolites Influence Glucose and Fatty Acid Uptake in Human Skeletal Muscle Cells. J Agric Food Chem. 2017;65(13):2677-2685.
Sasaki R, Nishimura N, Hoshino H, et al. Cyanidin 3-glucoside ameliorates hyperglycemia and insulin sensitivity due to downregulation of retinol binding protein 4 expression in diabetic mice. Biochem Pharmacol. 2007;74(11):1619-27.
Guo H, Ling W, Wang Q, Liu C, Hu Y, Xia M. Cyanidin 3-glucoside protects 3T3-L1 adipocytes against H2O2- or TNF-alpha-induced insulin resistance by inhibiting c-Jun NH2-terminal kinase activation. Biochem Pharmacol. 2008;75(6):1393-401.
Tsuda T, Ueno Y, Aoki H, et al. Anthocyanin enhances adipocytokine secretion and adipocyte-specific gene expression in isolated rat adipocytes. Biochem Biophys Res Commun. 2004;316(1):149-57.
Tsuda T, Ueno Y, Kojo H, Yoshikawa T, Osawa T. Gene expression profile of isolated rat adipocytes treated with anthocyanins. Biochim Biophys Acta. 2005;1733(2-3):137-47.
Tsuda T, Ueno Y, Yoshikawa T, Kojo H, Osawa T. Microarray profiling of gene expression in human adipocytes in response to anthocyanins. Biochem Pharmacol. 2006;71(8):1184-97.
Tsuda T, Horio F, Uchida K, Aoki H, Osawa T. Dietary cyanidin 3-O-beta-D-glucoside-rich purple corn color prevents obesity and ameliorates hyperglycemia in mice. J Nutr. 2003;133(7):2125-30.
Grace MH, Ribnicky DM, Kuhn P, et al. Hypoglycemic activity of a novel anthocyanin-rich formulation from lowbush blueberry, Vaccinium angustifolium Aiton. Phytomedicine. 2009;16(5):406-15.
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Other Articles on Herbalism, Nutrition, and Natural Supplements
Health Benefits of Panax Ginseng
Asian ginseng is one of the most popular herbal supplements in the world. Panax ginseng has been used for millennia in Eastern traditions as a medicinal herb for its health-giving properties. It’s proven to be safe, and modern scientific research has now proven many of it’s widely known health benefits such as reduced risk of cancer and a strengthened immune system.
Article by Stefan Burns - Updated November 2021. Join the Wild Free Organic email newsletter!
You’ve probably heard of ginseng before, either American, Asian, or Chinese ginseng. Asian ginseng, also known as panax ginseng is one of the most popular herbal supplements in the world, and for good reason. This medicinal herb has been used for millennia in Eastern traditions for its health-giving properties. It’s proven to be safe, and modern scientific research has proven many of it’s already known health benefits such as reduced risk of cancer and a strengthened immune system. Read on to learn how you can incorporate panax ginseng into your wellness routine in order to improve your health!
What is Ginseng?
Raw ginseng root
To establish the health benefits of ginseng, it’s important to understand the plant genus.
Ginseng is a root plant found in temperate climates across the globe. There are three sub-types: Korean ginseng (P. Ginseng), Chinese ginseng (P. Notoginseng) and American ginseng (P. quinquefolius). All three types of ginseng are used medicinally. Korean ginseng is also known as panax ginseng, and this type of ginseng is the focus of this article.
Panax ginseng is the most thoroughly studied of the three types of ginseng, and therefore the safest in terms of dosing recommendations. American ginseng is relatively well-studied, and Chinese ginseng is far less common in both the environment and the medical literature. All three species of ginseng appear to have potent health benefits if taken appropriately, from reducing cancer risk to improving subjective well-being.
Ginseng reduces Inflammation and lowers risk of Cancer
Panax ginseng is a powerful antioxidant (1), especially after extraction and concentration of ginsenosides (the active ingredient). To accomplish this, the root is processed and the active components are extracted using ethanol. The other health effects, namely lower inflammation and reduced risk of cancer, appear to work downstream of it’s ability to increase all three main antioxidant enzymes (OD, glutathione peroxidase, and catalase). Antioxidants are important for human health because they reduce inflammation.
The process of oxidation (redox), where a chemical loses electrons, releases free radicals (hydrogen ions). Free radicals are highly reactive and can lead to chain reactions that may damage the cells of organisms. This is the root cause of chronic inflammation.
The study cited above used dermatitis patients as the trial group. Dermatitis is an inflammatory skin condition. Antioxidant products like ginseng have the potential to reduce symptoms for a wide range of inflammatory conditions, and also for conditions with inflammation as a secondary side effect.
Inflammation is also a main driver of cancer (2), and panax ginseng has been studied to notably reduce colorectal, ovarian, pancreatic (3), and overall cancer risk (4).
Ginseng strengthens the Immune System and lowers Blood Glucose
One of the best ways to test the immune-boosting qualities of a research compound is to test it on cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy, and ginseng has been studied under these conditions and was shown to alleviate adverse affects from chemotherapy (5). Chemotherapy significantly inhibits immune function because it destroys many cells that are necessary for proper immune function. The study, which administered ginseng to cancer patients that received chemo treatment, found that the group taking ginseng had notably improved immune function once the treatment was completed.
Stop viruses with ginseng
Immune-boosting products like ginseng and elderberry aren’t only good for those with cancer, and it’s believed those beneficial effects from the ginseng can still be useful for preventative health. Year round or even just seasonally during the winter, or for those who get sick with the common cold or flu more frequently than normal, ginseng is a supplement to take for a trial run. These products are also typically known and recommended to people in fields of work that expose them to increased pathogens, like schoolteachers, doctors, or those in public service.
Ginseng has powerful immune regulating effects, and it also has the ability to beneficially assist the circulatory system. As you can see the postive effects of panax ginseng are wide ranging. By boosting the circulatory system, ginseng is able to lower blood glucose levels (6), for most a very good thing) an increase blood flow (7).
Ginseng improves Mood, promotes Calm, and enhances Sleep.
It’s been known for over one thousand years in Traditional Chinese Medicine that panax ginseng can improve mood in humans with mood disorders, but modern medicine is just now catching on to studying these more subjective health markers. Ginseng can be especially effective for those with depressive disorders since the product is a minor stimulant and a tonic. And even though ginseng is a mild stimulate, it helps bring about a sense of calmness (8).
Knowing panax ginseng helps with depression is worthwhile because it’s better to use natural medicine to solve health problems at their onset. This is important because mental health drugs tend to be some of the most addictive and laden with side effects. You never want to reduce your health to improve one other.
Panax ginseng not only improved general mental health, but also aided social functioning in those struggling with socializing. These issues are uniquely connected for each individual. Elderly Koreans with Alzheimers reduced their rate of cognitive decline with ginseng (9), and ginseng helps improve sleep quality (10), which everyone knows is vital to proper brain health and function.
Keep Ginseng in your Cupboard
When you’re more likely to get sick, periods of high stress, traveling, and to help improve your mood and well-being, ginseng is helpful to have on hand. Especially with a cold or flu, the sooner you can begin supplementing with panax ginseng, elderberry, and zinc the more symptoms will be damped and duration of the sickness will be reduced.
Ginseng can be taken daily safely for up to a few months. As a holistic health supplement, panax ginseng can be taken to improve health while factors like diet, exercise, sleep, and sun exposure are improved. Keep taking the below recommend dosages of ginseng until you feel better. For daily preventative health 200 mg once a day up to 3000 mg spread out for acute uses are safe. Store all supplements somewhere cool and dry and the ginseng supplement should stay good for a long time.
My Recommended Ginseng Supplement
There are two factors I consider when choosing a supplement brand: whether the company tests their products and whether the product is based on research. Illuminate Labs does both. They’re a supplement manufacturer that shares all of their test results on their website which is unheard of. They also share all of the medical research papers that went into their product formulation. The Illuminate Labs ginseng extract supplement is my favorite panax ginseng supplement it’s great knowing that what I use is safe and tested.
References
Hong CE, Lyu SY. Anti-inflammatory and Anti-oxidative Effects of Korean Red Ginseng Extract in Human Keratinocytes. Immune Netw. 2011;11(1):42-9.
Coussens LM, Werb Z. Inflammation and cancer. Nature. 2002;420(6917):860-7.
Yun TK, Choi SY. Preventive effect of ginseng intake against various human cancers: a case-control study on 1987 pairs. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev. 1995;4(4):401-8.
Yun TK, Zheng S, Choi SY, et al. Non-organ-specific preventive effect of long-term administration of Korean red ginseng extract on incidence of human cancers. J Med Food. 2010;13(3):489-94.
Cheng Lin. Ginseng alleviation of adverse effects from radiotherapy or chemother apy in liver cancer patients. Shanghai Cancer Hospital, Shanghai Medical University, Shanghai 200032. 1989-02
Luo JZ, Luo L. Ginseng on hyperglycemia: effects and mechanisms. Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. 2009;6(4):423-7.
Jovanovski E, Jenkins A, Dias AG, et al. Effects of Korean red ginseng (Panax ginseng C.A. Mayer) and its isolated ginsenosides and polysaccharides on arterial stiffness in healthy individuals. Am J Hypertens. 2010;23(5):469-72.
Reay JL, Scholey AB, Kennedy DO. Panax ginseng (G115) improves aspects of working memory performance and subjective ratings of calmness in healthy young adults. Hum Psychopharmacol. 2010;25(6):462-71.
Heo JH, Lee ST, Chu K, et al. An open-label trial of Korean red ginseng as an adjuvant treatment for cognitive impairment in patients with Alzheimer's disease. Eur J Neurol. 2008;15(8):865-8.
Kitaoka K, Uchida K, Okamoto N, et al. Fermented ginseng improves the first-night effect in humans. Sleep. 2009;32(3):413-21.
Three Ways to Inhale Cannabis
Learn the physiological, psychoactive, and health differences in smoking, oil vaporization, and flower bud vaporization of cannabis. For new cannabis users, a helpful guide gently introduces you to the medicinal and psychoactive effects of cannabis.
Article by Stefan Burns - Updated November 2021. Join the Wild Free Organic email newsletter!
Until the advent of vaporizers, there was only one way to inhale cannabis flower for recreational and/or therapeutic effects, through combustion. Inhaling smoke from burning plant matter can be dangerous (more on that below), though with smoking cannabis the risk of developing lung cancer appears to be the same as if you didn’t smoke. Once vaporizers were developed, there existed three methods for inhaling cannabinoids.
Vaporizers are a type of device which heat up a small chamber, just like an oven except much smaller, to a temperature of the users choice. Vaporizers are limited in their top temperature range, unable to reach the temperatures required for combustion of plant matter. In the context of cannabis, vaporizers heat plant material without igniting it. At different temperatures below combustion, terpenes and cannabinoids vaporize out of the flower and phase change into their gaseous state. Typically vaporization is used for cannabis, but other herbs such as chamomile, lavender, and even tobacco can be also be vaporized.
That process is true for what could be called a dry vaporizer. There are also oil vaporizers, which we will refer to as wet vaporizers.
There exist big differences in the health and psychoactive effects of cannabis that is inhaled from either a combusted, wet vaporized, or dry vaporized source.
Dry Vaporization
Dry vapes heat up materials like herbs or cannabis flower to the point where various compounds in those herbs sublimate out into an inhalable vapor. Examples of compounds that vaporize at various temperatures from cannabis material would include water (100°C, 212°F), terpenes like A-Pinene (155°C), and cannabinoids like THC (tetrahydrocannabinol, 157°C) and CBD (cannabidiol, 170°C).
While the plant matter loaded into a vaporizer might change in color and texture, dry vaporizing does not combust any plant matter, as the minimum combustion temperature of 230°C (445°F) is never reached.
One of the big advantages of dry vaporization is almost all the cannabinoids and terpenes are preserved. When cannabis or other herbs are combusted, the high temperatures destroy most of the cannabinoids and terpenes, while also creating smoke, tar, benzene, carbon monoxide and other known toxic compounds (1)
When cannabis is dry vaporized, 95% of the total mass of the vapor consists of cannabinoids, with the other 5% consisting primarily of water vapor and terpenes.
As far as we currently know, the only risk to dry herb vaporization is the inhalation of hot air. Typical vaporizers, like the Fury Edge by Healthy Rips allow the user to adjust the temperature from 320°F - 430°F (160°C to 220°C). If you are concerned about the risk inhaling heated vapor, there are several ways to cool down cannabis vapor significantly by using glass accessories or water bubblers.
Note - Don’t use a dry herb vaporizer that doesn’t have a 100% food grade isolated stainless steel & glass only vapor path. Heating and inhaling plastic fumes is not good for your health.
Wet Vaporization
Wet vapes heat up oils to the point where the oil vaporizes, turning into a gas, ready for inhalation into the lungs. Wet vapes typically are sold in smaller pen form factors in which oil cartridges can be easily attached or swapped for use. Wet vapes can heat oils from 270°C to 420°C (520°F to 790°F), well within the combustion range.
For those concerned about the risk of severe lung disease, the risk appears to stem from improperly manufactured cannabis or tobacco oil cartridges which are cut with vitamin E acetate. It’s been found that some off-the-street cartridges cut costs by adding less cannabinoids, resulting in a recognizably less viscous oil, so then vitamin E acetate is added to increase the viscosity of the oil to make the end product appear higher quality.
Cannabis oils typically have two different solvents they use to suspend cannabinoids and terpenes in, propylene glycol and liquid carbon dioxide. Propylene glycol is a byproduct of both the petroleum and biofuel industries. If the propylene glycol is derived from biofuels, then it will be contaminated with herbicides, insecticides, and fungicides. These chemicals, the most well known being glyphosate, pose a serious health threat when inhaled, and might be partially responsible for rapid lung disease we see with oil vaporizer use.
If you decide to purchase cannabis oil, either in larger quantities for a high-quality vaporizer or in a cartridge format, make sure to only purchase cannabis oils which use CO2 for the solvent and not propylene glycol, as propylene glycol carries a larger health risk. CO2 can still be derived from contaminated sources.
Keep in mind that intensive refining is needed to create cannabis oil from cannabis plant matter. Cannabis is known for the wide range of therapeutic compounds the plant creates, and a blend of distilled cannabis compounds cannot match the therapeutic potential of the cannabis plant itself. Wet vaping purposely and misguidedly skips out on what is known as the Entourage Effect (2) in order to cut cost and provide a cheaper product to the end user.
Wild Free Organic only recommends dry vaporization for all health and recreational uses of cannabis. Oil vaporization, either of cannabis or tobacco, presents a serious health risk.
Combustion
Combustion is when plant matter is ignited and burned in order to produce smoke. Smoke is a combination of compounds, from water vapor to organic pollutants and carbon monoxide. The combustion of cannabis versus vaporization has been researched by many, and while vaporization appears to be safe, combustion of cannabis creates and releases over 100+ different compounds, with only ~12% of the total mass of the smoke consisting of cannabinoids. Studies and anecdotal evidence show that dry herb vaporization eliminates the delivery of toxic byproducts associated with the use of smoked cannabis.
Vaporization also gets you more high, and we know Jimi here would have appreciated that! Since cannabinoids are not destroyed during vaporization unlike combustion, you can feel the entourage effect from the cannabinoids and terpenes from less cannabis material than you would need if smoked (3).
The high from combusted cannabis is different though, due to the fact that many of the toxic compounds found in smoke also can exert psychoactive effects such as drowsiness.
Choose Cannabis Vaporization instead of Combustion
There are reduced respiratory effects for cannabis users who choose vaporization over combustion (4), and this is very important to consider for your long term health and wellness. Dry herb vaporization is the healthiest way we know of other than oral consumption (which is different than inhalation mechanistically) to enjoy the therapeutic and/or recreational effects of cannabis.
Whether you’re new to cannabis or a regular user, a dry-herb vaporizer like the Fury Edge is a great cannabis and yes, even health investment. There is a common misconception that cannabis usage is unhealthy, but it is a merely a tool like any other that can be used for good or bad. I encourage the responsible usage of cannabis.
Cannabis usage for me, through the practice of cannabis yoga, enabled me to discover and connect to my body in ways I didn’t know were possible. Cannabis usage brought to me conscious awareness of the endocannabnoid and bioelectrical system which we all possess.
Dry vaporization is a 180-degree experience compared to traditional smoking. Here are twelve advantages of dry vaporization of cannabis over smoking:
No Coughing - Without the smoke, cannabis vapor is easily inhaled and at lower temperatures is highly unlikely to cause a fit of coughing. Only lung bursting hits might cause you to cough.
No Mess - Grind up some herb and load up the vaporizer chamber or dosing cap and that’s it. No worrying about ash or disgusting bong water. Overtime cannabinoid resin is created in the chamber or glass pathway, and this is easily cleaned with rubbing alcohol. Dosing caps like you can use with the Fury Edge make cleanup very easy.
No Munchies - Cannabis vaporization is much less likely to cause the infamous “munchies”. THC-V, a cannabinoid that vaporizes at high temperatures has an appetite suppressive effect. A strain that contains a lot of THC-V is Durban Poison.
Smoother High - Dry vaporization lifts you up and floats you back down, whereas smoking cannabis drops you into a mental valley that needs to be climbed back up. With dry vaporization you can enjoy the sensation but continue to function as normal.
No smell - Vaporization produces steam, not smoke. Any scent from the vaporizer is negligible so there is no worrying about anything smelling like cannabis, or you yourself smelling dank.
Zero Drowsiness - Vaporization of cannabis flower isn’t dulling and doesn’t cause drowsiness like smoking will. In fact your brain activity might accelerate, so be wary of vaping too late in the evening.
No waste - When vaporizing cannabis flower, nearly all the cannabinoids are extracted from the bud and none are destroyed by the heat of combustion. With vaping a lot goes a long way.
Inexpensive - There is an upfront cost to a quality dry-herb vaporizer like the Fury Edge, but since cannabis usage compared to smoking is 1/4 to 1/5 as much for the same effect, expect to save lots of money in the long run. Use less bud and get more out of it.
Normal Function - Vaporization provide a nice buzz, and connects you to your body more intuitively, but normal activities and though patterns are still the same as ever. Unless someone is very discerning, or you make it obvious, no one will suspect you might be high.
Reduced Paranoia - With smoking cannabis it is much more common to be left having feelings of paranoia, fear, or anxiety. With dry vaporization these negative feelings are typically replaced with the feeling of euphoria. Be aware that heavy long-term usage might still cause some symptoms of anxiety.
Better Relaxation - After vaping some flower, it’s easier to kick back, unwind, and let go of things. Cannabis vaporization is great way to relax and enter a parasympathetic (rest and digest) state.
Stop When you Want - With dry vaporization is is fairly easy to end a high when wanted. Drink more water, take a shower, or eating some food all do the trick. With smoking, the high ends when fat cells soak the THC up, which can take a while.
There are still limits to vaporization and what is safe. You should not do any activities which place you in a greater state of danger or operate heavy machinery. Use common sense and be sensible, safe, and sober when it is the responsible thing to do. For individuals under the age of 25, wait until your brain fully develops before any experimentation with cannabis, it’s not worth the risk of long-term brain alterations.
As a first time user, it’s normal to be scared of the potential psychoactive effects of cannabis. With vaporization, the process is smooth and not scary. Start with a small amount of 1:1 (THC/CBD) flower or 1:1 blend and only vaporize to the lower temperatures. Trust yourself and your body.
Cannabis Vaporization Guide
First Time: Start with a cannabis-infused tea! Cannabis teas, or a small 1:1 edible are a very gentle way to first experience the effects of cannabis while also maintaining a good connection to your sober mental state. I personally use Kikoko teas, which have great flavor and have various levels of cannabis infusion. Their Sympa-Tea is a great cannabis product for your very first time use containing 20 mg of CBD and 3 mg THC per serving, and their Positivi-Tea is a bit stronger and more uplifting at 10 mg THC and 5 mg CBD.
Second Time: To feel the effects of cannabis stronger and faster, I recommend dry vaporization next, starting with a 50/50 mix of CBD and THC cannabis. Start vaporizing at 345°F and halfway through your session (most vapes have a session timer) increase the temperature to 365°F to vaporize out more and different cannabinoids.
Third Time: After experiencing the effects of cannabis dry-herb vaporization at lower temperatures, I recommend trying a THC dominant strain and increasing the temperature of your vaporizer beyond 365°F. I find the temperatures of 380, 405, and 420°F all provide nice differences in feel and effect.
For Experienced Users: 1 hour before vaporization, apply CBD lotion on your forehead, nape of your neck, and navel. Ingest a 5-10 mg cannabis brownie. After an hour, vaporize a small amount of cannabis flower, do not rush into this. Since cannabinoids have been applied topically, ingested, and vaporized, the effect can be quite strong. It was when I used cannabis in this method that I experienced a transformative connection and understanding of the bodies bioelectrical system. I could feel the electricity!
About the Potential Side Effects
If at any point you experience paranoia or other unpleasant effects, ground yourself with a meditating posture and breath deeply to find calm. Eating a light meal, a luke-warm shower, or sleeping can also help.
The potential negative side effects of cannabis are much more common with combustion. Additionally the use of THC exclusive strains without CBD to balance can exacerbate negative symptoms such as paranoia and dizziness. Some people are also predisposed to not being able to handle higher amounts of cannabinoids. You can heavily reduce or eliminate the potential negative side effects of cannabis through dry vaporization over combustion (no toxic compounds, no carbon monoxide inhalation, etc) and also by mixing CBD dominant strains into your mix. CBD helps to balance out the endocannabinoid system and promotes calming relaxing effects. I personally use mix CBD with THC strains almost every time I use cannabis.
Disclaimer - If you’re under the age of 25 do not consume cannabis in any way. Since cannabis interacts with the brain and body so thoroughly, use of this herb can cause deviant psychological and physiological changes at young ages (5). Wait until roughly the age of 25 when your brain structure is probably fully developed before considering using cannabis. There have been studies showing long term usage of cannabis can change patterns of brain activity at all ages, be responsible with your usage. The science here is still unclear so an abundance of caution is recommended, and daily use is discouraged.
Updated September 2020
References
Loflin M, Earleywine M. No smoke, no fire: What the initial literature suggests regarding vapourized cannabis and respiratory risk. Can J Respir Ther. 2015;51(1):7-9.
Russo EB. The Case for the Entourage Effect and Conventional Breeding of Clinical Cannabis: No "Strain," No Gain. Front Plant Sci. 2018;9:1969.
Spindle TR, Cone EJ, Schlienz NJ, et al. Acute Effects of Smoked and Vaporized Cannabis in Healthy Adults Who Infrequently Use Cannabis: A Crossover Trial. JAMA Netw Open. 2018;1(7):e184841.
Earleywine M, Barnwell SS. Decreased respiratory symptoms in cannabis users who vaporize. Harm Reduct J. 2007;4:11.
Wilson W, Mathew R, Turkington T, Hawk T, Coleman RE, Provenzale J. Brain morphological changes and early marijuana use: a magnetic resonance and positron emission tomography study. J Addict Dis. 2000;19(1):1-22.
The Cistanche Cholesterol Protocol for Boosting Testosterone
Cistanche is a herb found growing in deserts that has testosterone boosting properties. When paired with dietary cholesterol, natural testosterone production is amplified. By supplementing with cistanche and eating more eggs, in five weeks I boosted my free testosterone by >50%, built muscle, and increased strength. In this article I outline the exact cistanche supplementation protocol I used.
Article by Stefan Burns - Updated February 2022. Join the Wild Free Organic email newsletter!
Cistanche is a parasitic plant found in deserts and used in Chinese medicine. Cholesterol is a building block for many hormones found throughout the body. Cistanche has testosterone boosting properties, and is documented in reducing blood cholesterol levels. Combining cistanche supplementation and cholesterol consumption creates an androgenic environment in the body that increases the production of sex hormones like testosterone, improves reproductive health, builds muscle and strength, and increases exercise performance.
Cistanche phelypaea
I performed an experiment where I supplemented with powdered cistanche daily while simultaneously increasing my dietary cholesterol consumption in order to see how it affected my free testosterone levels, rate of muscle growth, and strength with key compound barbell lifts. My results were dramatic, most notably I experienced a >50% increase in free testosterone levels in one month by supplementing with cistanche and cholesterol, but before seeing the full results of my experiment and what I call the CC Protocol, let’s dig into the science which led me to be intrigued in the first place into the androgenic and anabolic potential that combining cistanche and cholesterol has.
Cistanche and Cholesterol Science
To understand the powerful combination of cistanche and cholesterol, first the science of cholesterol must be understood.
Cholesterol is a Hormone Building Block
Steroidal hormones (produced by the body) are all derived from cholesterol. Steroid hormones influence metabolism, immune functions, inflammation, fluid and salt balances, development and maintenance of sexual characteristics, and regulate the bodies ability to withstand illness and injury.
The liver produces cholesterol for use in creating hormones, and cholesterol can also be acquired through diet with foods like pasture raised eggs.
To start the steroid hormone creation process, cholesterol is altered via an enzyme reaction to synthesize pregnenolone, the “master” steroid base molecule from which other hormones are created.
Notice the similarities between cholesterol and testosterone. Purples areas highlight the differences where there are elemental changes. Black = carbon, white = hydrogen, red = oxygen.
Cistanche the Androgenic Herb
Cistanche is one of the few herbs that can increase androgenic hormone levels, making you more manly, whereas there are many herbs and plants that we known of which increase estrogen levels throughout the body. Cistanche’s androgenic effects begin through it’s influence on cholesterol. Cistanche improves cholesterol transport throughout the body, reducing cholesterol levels in the blood even with a high cholesterol diet (1). Simultaneously, cistanche raises testosterone levels (2), improves time to fatigue, improves endurance, and reduces muscle breakdown (3).
Many of these effects are because cistanche is a vasorelaxant (relaxes the vascular system, lowering blood pressure), improves glucose tolerance, and reduces glucose elevation after meals (4). Typically steroidal hormones increase blood pressure, so these blood pressure lowering effects are a positive health benefit of cistanche supplementation. Additionally, the blood glucose improving effects of cistanche hint at better nutrient partitioning, a beneficial effect for improving lean body mass and reducing the creation of body fat.
It is important to note that high dosages of cistanche has shown differing effects on the liver. One study showed that cistanche can cause mild hepatic edema (2) (swelling of the liver), while other research has shown cistanche to be liver protective (4). There is conflicting information on the safety of cistanche as it relates to liver health, and this is likely due to differing study design. Cistanche does affect the liver to some degree because the production of steroidal hormones mostly occurs in liver. If male hormone levels are unbalanced they optimal wellness is not possible. Symptoms of low testosterone including depression, fatigue, decreased bone mass, increased fat mass, and an increased risk of anemia. If suffering from low testosterone levels, increased natural production of steroidal hormones can dramatically change ones life.
Overall cistanche has been deemed to be safe for human use at dosages below 10 grams per day, but out of an abundance of caution, I would not recommend using cistanche if you have preexisting health conditions, especially those of the liver. If you are healthy, when you first use cistanche, supplement with it for only for 30 days in a row and with no more than 2 grams per day. These are the conditions of the experiment that I ran and therefore of the CC Protocol.
The Wild Free Organic herbal page on Cistanche has much more information.
Supplementation of Cistanche and Cholesterol
Cistanche can be supplemented through a powder or extract, more details on this below.
The easiest way to add more cholesterol to the diet is through increased egg consumption.
For most people, dietary cholesterol isn’t bad as it raises good HDL cholesterol (5), and daily egg consumption promotes favorable shifts in HDL lipid composition (6). High-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol helps remove other forms of cholesterol from the bloodstream, and higher levels of HDL cholesterol are associated with a lower risk of heart disease. Additionally, higher HDL leads to more testosterone (7).
Can Cistanche Really Boost Testosterone?
The experiment I undertook by pairing cistanche supplementation with increase cholesterol consumption was conducted to answer the following question:
How will body fat, lean body mass, free testosterone levels, and strength in major compound lifts change in response to an increasing caloric intake, high volume resistance exercise utilizing progressive overload, a dramatic bump in dietary cholesterol, and daily supplementation of the herb cistanche.
My results from this protocol were incredible. In five weeks I added 5 lbs (2.25 kg) of lean body mass, boosted my free testosterone levels by 52%, increased my strength across the board on major compound lifts, and only increased my body fat levels by 0.7%. I was 27 years old at the time. Remember, the sample size for this experiment was N=1 (me). My results from this experiment were my own, and your results will vary from running the same or modified CC protocol.
The CC Protocol
The two main variables of this experiment were the daily addition of 2 grams of cistanche and at least 6 egg yolks (~1000 mg cholesterol). The idea was that the cistanche supplementation (via limited research available) would stimulate the body to produce more androgenic hormones, and the dramatic increase in cholesterol consumption would support the creation of these androgenic hormones like testosterone.
The cistanche I used for this experiment I purchased from Lost Empire Herbs, a 8:1 dual extract which contains echinacosides greater than 20% and aceteosides greater than 6%. Since then I’ve used the cistanche from Nootropics Depot which is more highly standardized in echinacosides and acetosides at >50% and >10% respectively. Echinacosides and aceteosides are the main phytochemicals responsible for the health benefits of cistanche, so an extracted standardized product will be more powerful in effect than an unextracted raw powder.
Since the extraction from the Nootropics Depot cistanche is greater than the product I used, less is needed for the same effect, more information on dosing at the end of the article.
Variables I manipulated:
I increased my daily caloric intake from 3500 calories to 4000 calories, increasing calories by roughly 100 each week.
I kept my macros fairly consistent at ratios of 35% carbohydrates, 45% fat, and 20% protein. These macronutrient percentages at times fluctuated by a couple percentage points week to week.
I increased my weekly weight lifting tonnage by about 25%. Tonnage is the total weight lifted, in this case from all exercises combined. Tonnage increases were from a combination of heavier weight and higher reps.
I consumed a post workout shake containing 600 calories, 19 g carbs, 42 g fat, and 36 g protein. The shake consisted of 8 oz coconut milk, 6 raw egg yolks, 30 grams hydrolyzed whey, and 3 grams of creatine monohydrate. Before this 5 week experiment I was not drinking a protein shake post-workout.
I consumed 1 g (1/2 tsp) cistanche (a desert plant) morning and night. Method of delivery was mixed with 1/2 shot glass of apple cider vinegar taken on a relatively empty stomach. Before this I had never used cistanche. The use of ACV was simply for overall digestive benefit.
Variables I did not manipulate, instead keeping consistent:
I consumed the same pre-workout shake before and during the experiment.
I slept 7-8 hours a night.
I kept my NEAT consistent (8).
Food quality remained consistent. Calories were adjusted upwards, but the majority of the food consumed was whole and unprocessed.
Now let’s see the data I collected from the experiment.
Cistanche Benefits Strength Training
Beyond basic easily acquired data points such as strength improvements in the gym, and body-weight measurements, I also collected body fat and lean body mass data via DEXA and checked my free testosterone levels at the start and conclusion of this five week test. All of this data is outlined below, starting with the most important.
How Cistanche Increased my Lean Body Mass
To test my body fat, lean body mass, and bone mineral content, DEXA scans are the gold standard in ease of use and accuracy. The company I use to perform these tests is BodySpec, a mobile DEXA scanning company that operates in California, Washington, and Texas. For the before and after DEXA scans, I went in under the same conditions. Those conditions were:
DEXA scan at ~7:30 am.
Used the bathroom to poop and pee before the test.
Went into the test fasted, having consumed no food
Consumed ~24 oz of water upon waking up.
The before DEXA scan was actually taken a month before the start of the CC Protocol, with my weight being 180.7 lbs. A month later at the start of the protocol my weight was 181.5 lbs measured via a scale. Considering the error in weight measurements day to day, I believe the 0.8 lb difference is negligible. In the month preceding my experimentation with the CC Protocol, I didn’t have any lifestyle changes.
DEXA data shows that I gained 5 lbs of lean body mass (LBM) in 35 days, adding 0.7% bodyfat to my frame, and bone mineral content (BMC) remained unchanged. The biggest increases were seen in my legs, which I subjected to high volume training, but my upper body also saw significant increases in LBM. I only added body fat to the trunk and android regions of my body.
How Cistanche Increased my Free Testosterone
To test my free testosterone levels, I used Everlywell, an at home testing service which has dozens of different tests available, from hormone tests to micronutrient and STD tests. Their free-testosterone test is saliva based, and only tests free testosterone levels. Ideally I would have gotten a full hormone blood panel that also tested other important variables such as total testosterone, cortisol, estradiol, and more, but for practical reasons I used Everlywell’s at home testing service.
The before and after free testosterone tests were taken under the same conditions, which are as follows:
Taken after a full 8 hours of sleep and wasn’t in a state of stress.
Taken first thing in the morning as they recommend, before the consumption of any fluids.
Taken after fasting for ~10 hours.
Everlywell uses saliva to measure the amount of free testosterone in your body, and while not as accurate as a full blood panel, a price point of $50 for each test makes it a great option for consistently testing your free testosterone levels. Free testosterone is a more direct measure of androgenic potential as it is free testosterone than can attach to androgen receptors and exert an androgenic effect, whereas much of the testosterone in the bloodstream is bound to proteins which limits it’s bioavailability.
In 35 days I increased my free testosterone levels from 94 pg/ml to 143 pg/ml, an increase of 52%. I have had 3-4 blood testosterone tests done prior to these two tests, and never have my free testosterone levels fluctuated by more than 10-15%. I attribute this increase in testosterone to mainly the CC Protocol, with the 1000 mg of cholesterol and 2 grams of cistanche daily working synergistically to raise my testosterone levels.
How Cistanche Boosted my Strength
During this experiment I regained strength I had previously acquired in the past on major compound lifts, but at a lower, leaner body-weight. By the end of the CC Protocol my relative strength was at an all time high. From the start of the CC protocol to the end the following strength changes occurred:
Deadlift
Day 2 - 315# 2x10
Day 7 - 405# 3x3
Day 11 - 335# 3x10
Day 15 - 425# 5x3
Day 18 - 355# 4x10
Day 23 - 435# 3x3
Day 25 - 375# 3x10
Day 31 - 455# 4x3, 1x2
1RM: 420 lbs to 482 lbs (15% increase)
Squat
Day 4 - 345# 1x1, 225# 3x10
Day 8 - 315# 4x3
Day 10 - 275# 3x10
Day 14 - 335# 5x3
Day 17 - 295# 3x10
Day 21 - 355# 4x3, 365# 1x3
Day 24 - 315# 3x10
Day 30 - 375# 4x3, 385# 1x3
1RM: 345 lbs to 408 lbs (16% increase)
Incline Press
Day 7 - 155# 1x7, 1x6
Day 10 - 135# (paused) 5x8
Day 14 - 175# 2x5
Day 17 - 155# (paused) 5x8
Day 21 - 175# 5x5
Day 24 - 160# (paused) 4x8
Day 30 - 185# 3x5
Day 33 - 135# 3x15
1RM: 186 lbs to 208 lbs (12% increase)
Note - 1RM beginning and end values were calculated using a 1RM calculator. The bolded italicized values were the sets I used to calculate the 1RM for each lift.
It’s important to again reiterate I had hit these strength numbers prior in my lifting career. The big difference is how effortless the linear progression over those 35 days carried me back to within 5% of my prior all-time best levels of strength, all while much leaner and weighting less. It happened at a rate much faster than I had experienced before. I do not completely attribute these strength gains purely to central nervous system and muscle memory, and I believe the CC Protocol contributed to at least 50% of the strength increases I experienced in the short time frame I ran the CC Protocol.
How the CC Protocol Changed my Physiology
I relied on my DEXA scans to give me better data on how my body composition changed during the CC Protocol, but there were some obvious physiological changes that occurred during this experiment.
Chest, shoulder, arm, and forearm thickness increased. My abdominal leanness was nearly unchanged. Before the CC Protocol I was struggling to grow a beard, and afterwards my beard hair grew in much thicker. I hypothesize that this is from higher circulating testosterone levels, and some of the free testosterone aromatized into dihydrotestosterone (DHT). DHT is one of the primary agents responsible for driving facial hair growth (9), and also male pattern baldness. The beard growth was a great visual anecdotal evidence to support the Everlywell test results. If you want to grow a thicker beard, the combination of cistanche and cholesterol might be worth experimenting with (as long as you don’t have family history of male pattern baldness).
Boost Testosterone with Cistanche
After reviewing the data from this experiment, I am confident in stating that the combination of cholesterol and cistanche, along with a healthy diet, good sleep, and a well-designed weight training program is an effective protocol for building muscle and increasing strength.
I personally experienced no side effects, minor or major, during this experiment, and it appears to be safe* for young men. With that said, to be extra safe, I wouldn’t run this protocol for any longer than 30 - 40 days the first time around, and I would strongly recommend against doing this if you have any underlying health conditions. This article is for informational purposes and you should consult with a medical professional before supplementing with anything new or making dramatic lifestyle changes.
If you decide to run the CC Protocol, make the most of the experience and make sure to gather as much data as possible, definitely a before and after body composition test, and if you have the cash or insurance, a hormone panel before and after.
Where to Buy Cistanche Supplement?
There are many different sellers of cistanche supplements worldwide which can be seen by visiting a marketplace like Amazon.
Cistanche Tubulosa Powder
My favorite supplier of cistanche is Nootropics Depot. Their cistanche product is highly standardized, containing a minimum of 50% echinacosides and 10% acetoside, overall delivering more echinacosides and acetoside per gram than most other cistanche products. I also like Nootropics Depot’s cistanche product because it doesn’t have a repugnant taste, which is something I have noticed from cistanche provided by other suppliers. The cistanche from Nootropics Depot works well and is reasonably priced.
Dosing Nootropics Depot Cistanche: Dosing is listed on the label at 200 mg though in my experience 2-3x that amount can be taken if desired and it’s still well within the known safety margins.
Start with 200 mg (~1/4 tsp) and after 1-2 weeks if everything is okay and a more powerful effect is desired increase to 300-400mg. Scale from there.
If purchasing cistanche from a Chinese pharmacy ask for Rou Cong-Rong, which is how they refer to cistanche. They may have raw or extracted powders, purchase whichever is preferred and dose accordingly.
Much more information on cistanche can be found on the Cistanche Herb Page.
References:
Shimoda H, Tanaka J, Takahara Y, Takemoto K, Shan SJ, Su MH. The hypocholesterolemic effects of Cistanche tubulosa extract, a Chinese traditional crude medicine, in mice. Am J Chin Med. 2009;37(6):1125-38.
Wang T, Chen C, Yang M, Deng B, Kirby GM, Zhang X. Cistanche tubulosa ethanol extract mediates rat sex hormone levels by induction of testicular steroidgenic enzymes. Pharm Biol. 2016;54(3):481-7.
Cai RL, Yang MH, Shi Y, Chen J, Li YC, Qi Y. Antifatigue activity of phenylethanoid-rich extract from Cistanche deserticola. Phytother Res. 2010;24(2):313-5.
Morikawa T, Xie H, Pan Y, et al. A Review of Biologically Active Natural Products from a Desert Plant Cistanche tubulosa. Chem Pharm Bull. 2019;67(7):675-689.
Herron KL, Vega-lopez S, Conde K, Ramjiganesh T, Shachter NS, Fernandez ML. Men classified as hypo- or hyperresponders to dietary cholesterol feeding exhibit differences in lipoprotein metabolism. J Nutr. 2003;133(4):1036-42.
Andersen CJ, Blesso CN, Lee J, et al. Egg consumption modulates HDL lipid composition and increases the cholesterol-accepting capacity of serum in metabolic syndrome. Lipids. 2013;48(6):557-67.
Freedman DS, O'brien TR, Flanders WD, Destefano F, Barboriak JJ. Relation of serum testosterone levels to high density lipoprotein cholesterol and other characteristics in men. Arterioscler Thromb. 1991;11(2):307-15.
Levine JA. Non-exercise activity thermogenesis (NEAT). Best Pract Res Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2002;16(4):679-702.
Farthing MJ, Mattei AM, Edwards CR, Dawson AM. Relationship between plasma testosterone and dihydrotestosterone concentrations and male facial hair growth. Br J Dermatol. 1982;107(5):559-64.
Disclosure: Wild Free Organic is a member of various affiliate programs and if a purchase is made through one of our affiliate links a small commission is received. This does not affect your purchase price. Visit our disclosure page for more information.
Herbs that can significantly increase testosterone levels exist and are quite effective at helping remedy the symptoms of low testosterone such as low energy and strength, poor libido and fertility, depression and anxiety, reduced confidence and drive, and low muscle mass. Cistanche, tongkat ali, and ashwagandha are proven testosterone boosters that importantly, are also safe for use. Learn more!