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How Does This Ayurvedic Herb Supplement Improve Wellness?
CLINICAL AYURVEDIC REVIEW
Dong Quai's acrid (bitter, pungent, hot) and aromatic nature may be compared to other carrot-family herbs such as ajwain and lovage (Levisticum officinale). Dong Quai is like a carrot in sweetness and nourishment, but much spicier. Dong Quai's sharp, estrogenic, moistening nature is used to tonify cold, weakness and frailty, especially in women and convalescing clients. Like maca, its sweetness, combined with acrid nature, makes it an invigorating harmonizer.
Nourishes Blood, and Promotes Flow
Dong Quai promotes blood flow to the pelvic basin, used to promote menstruation and relieve menstrual blood congestion. Its blood moving nature is also helpful in reducing swelling, and resolving abscess. Dong Quai has been shown to increase production of red blood cells.
As a pungent aromatic, Dong Quai is a natural stimulant-relaxant. Its pungency stimulates the heart while aromatic nature opens up vessels allowing for smooth flow of blood. The vasodilating effect calms hypertension and migraine headaches. Like scallions, the heat of Dong Quai calms the heart muscle in tachycardia.
Where blue cohosh is drying and stimulating, dong quai is moistening and relaxing. Both build estrogen
Relaxes Nervous System, Calms Spasms
Aromatic herbs are generally analgesic and relax smooth muscle tissue - helpful in asthma, colic, and painful periods due to spasm. Like lavendar, and chamomile, this relaxant effect eases nervous tension, anxiety, and insomnia.
Relaxes Immune System
Dong Quai calms the immune system, an unusual property (prabhav) for herbs that are stimulating. It has been shown to reduce hypersensitivity (Holmes). While cilantro is a cooling immune relaxer, Donq Quai is hot.
Its sweetness moistens the intestines, while the stimulating heat flushes constipation.
Compare With
Like maca, it is a heating & nourishing tonic.
Like cilantro, it is carrot family immune relaxant.
Like blue cohosh, it is an acrid, estrogenic emmenagogue.
Like ashwagnandha, it is a warming blood builder & adaptogen.
Like cloves, it is an aromatic muscle relaxant.
Like Vaca or Ajwain, it is penetrating & spicy.
SUGGESTED USE
1 dropper full 2x/day or as directed by your practitioner.
Functional Ayurveda helps you assess imbalances through 20 main biocharacteristics
(gunas).
Aggravating these characteristics weakens your body and causes imbalance.
By knowing which characteristics are habitually imbalanced in your body, you will be able to identify and correct imbalances before you get sick.
Every characteristic has an opposite which balances it (i.e. hot balances cold).
You restore balance by favoring diet and lifestyle choices that increase the opposite characteristic.
Taste is used to sense the most basic properties and effects of food.
Each taste has a specific medicinal effect on your body.
Cravings for food with certain tastes indicate your body is craving specific medicinal results from food.
Taste is experienced on the tongue and represents your body's reaction to foods.
Sweet taste causes physical satisfaction and attraction whereas bitter taste causes discomfort and aversion.
Kapha should use less sweet taste while Vata and Pitta would benefit from using more sweet taste.
One of the first signs of illness is that your taste and appetite for food changes.
The six tastes are sweet, sour, salty, pungent, bitter, and astringent.
Do you crave foods with any of the tastes below?
According to the biocharacteristic theory of medicine,
people tend to get sick, over and over again, due to habitual causes and imbalances that are unique to the person.
Your body type summarizes this tendency, showing you the 'type' of conditions and imbalances that frequently challenge your health & wellness.
Using body type, you can also identify remedies likely to improve your strength and resiliency.
Your body type identifies physical and mental characteristics as well as your personal strengths and weaknesses.
The calculation of your body type is based on your medical history.
The 3 functional body types
(doshas),
are Catabolic (Vata), Metabolic (Pitta), and Anabolic (Kapha).
Catabolic individuals tend to break down body mass into energy. They are easily stimulated, hyperactive, underweight and dry.
Metabolic individuals tend to burn or use energy. They tend to be rosy-cheeked, easily irritated, focused, driven, and easily inflamed.
Anabolic individuals tend to store energy as body mass. If they store too much energy, they could gain weight easily and have congestion. Anabolic people tend to be stable and grounded.
Herbs or spices with volatile essential oils that present strong aromas. Aromatic oils shock, refresh and numb tissue, with the end result of relaxing, opening and clearing stagnant fluids in tissues.
Geriatric conditions typically involve low agni / metabolism, poor circulation, weakness & debility, muscle weakening, poor digestion, a drop in sex hormones, and connective tissue degradation in bones & skin.
Medicinal Benefits, Uses & Herbal Actions of Dong Quai
Experiences are Personal
Experiences vary according to the person and constitution. Individual results may vary.
The list of herbal-actions below has not be approved by the FDA and should not be used to treat a medical condition.
Stimulates the release of gas. Helpful for bloating or cramping abdominal pain. Propels food downward. Carminatives typically expel gas by relaxing the muscles of the intestines.
Anticholinergic herbs block the action of acetylecholine. This affecgs many systems of the body, including relaxing smooth muscle spasms and dilating bronchial tubes. Many anticholinergic herbs are nightshades that can be fatal if used incorrectly.
GABA, or gamma-aminobutyric acid, reduces nerve excitability. It is the body's primary inhibitory neurotransmitter. Thus, it promotes relaxation, calm, and sleep.
Fibrosis of an organ is often a progressive leading to organ failure (i.e lungs, liver, kidney). While vulneraries usually help restore collagen, antifibrotic herbs often clear collagen. Aka fibrinolytic.
Expectorants help you eliminate mucus from the lungs. These herbs often work by increasing the quantity of mucus, or thinning the mucus. Expectorants are indicated when phlegm congests the lower respiratory tract.
Herbs that promote stabilization of physiological processes and homeostasis. Adaptogens increase the body's ability to resist the damaging effects of stress and promote or restore normal physiological functioning.
An herb that literally calms the heart. These herbs are helpful in the treatment of anxiety, sadness, depression, or other emotional imbalances in the heart. Related to the Chinese Herbal Category 'calms spirit.'
An antioxidant is a molecule that inhibits oxidation. Oxidation is a chemical reaction that can produce free radicals that lead to a chain reaction causing damage or death to cells. Antioxidants terminate these oxidation reactions.
An herb that inhibits clotting, dissolves clots, thins the blood, or destroys platelets, therefore reducing the tendency of blood to form clots. They are useful in cardiovascular disease, clots, and stroke. Aka anticoagulant.
An herb that produces more blood cells in the body, or otherwise improves blood cell quality or hemoglobin content. Helpful for anemia and other types of deficiency.
A vasodilator is an herb that widens the blood vessels by the relaxation of smooth muscle cells within the vessel walls, thereby increasing circulation systemically or to a local area.
Scrapes fats / cleanses blood vessels by 1) purging bile, 2) strengthening the liver's ability to metabolize fats, 3) by increasing uptake of cholesterol in the liver, and 4) by inhibiting fat cells.
Herbs which stimulate menstruation. Emmenagogues are used for scanty menstruation, to relieve menstrual pain, and improve blood flow in the pelvic area and uterus.
An herb that tonifies and strengthens the uterus. Helpful for menstrual difficulties and fertility. Often herbs that increase ojas, but also circulation to reproductive system.
Dong Quai may be beneficial for these symptoms. The suitability of any herb supplement for a condition is highly dependent on the individual.
Please see your doctor before using this herb supplement to treat a medical condition.
Here are some potential herb drug interactions. Please see your health care provider for more information.
Analgesic: If the mechanism of pain relief is narcotic, do not combine with antihistamines.
Blood-thinner: Patients on warfarin (coumadin) and other anticoagulants, or who have clotting difficulties, should take special caution to only use blood thinners under the supervision of a medical doctor.
Hepatoprotective: Anything that strengthens or cleanses the liver can clear drugs mroe quickly, requiring a higher dose.
Hypolipidemic: May magnify the effect of cholesterol lowering drugs.
Hypotensive: Herbs that lower blood pressure can magnify the effect of blood pressure reducing pharmaceuticals.
Muscle-relaxant: Do not combine muscle relaxants with antihistamines.
* These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration.
The information and products on this website are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any
disease.