So I have been researching various adaptogenic herbs and medicinal mushrooms, trying various herbs for myself to see if they can actually do what people claim in books and online.
Just today, I received my first order of Gynostemma tea from an organic distributor in Thailand called Bioherby.
At first I was worried since the company seemed legit, but my order slip was so fast and vague (Worldwide Shipping 2 days!, was the option for delivery... from whom? how do I track the parcel?) and their FB group had fishy sounding reviews.. But hooray! A sigh of relief! All my concern was for nothing as I sit here, tea in hand happy to be sharing this post with you all.
SO why am I so excited about some tea?
Well, if you have ever tried any adaptogens for any significant length of time, you'll know what they can do for you. Sleep improves, stress goes down, immunity goes up, deep reserves of energy seem to be at your disposal when they usually burn out. You feel younger, more capable and the everyday strains become more manageable and clear.
I had amazing experiences taking Chinese Herbs like He Shou Wu, which acts on the liver and kidneys, but affects the whole body when taken consistently overtime. There are no known toxicity issues, so it can be taken safely throughout life. I even wrote an article about it here when I first came to Steemit. Others like Astragalus, Reishi, Cordyceps and various 'Superfoods' enhanced my health by giving me easily digested, concentrated sources of nutrients, proteins and trace elements many of us are lacking with our standardize diets and profit driven food system. Combining both tonic herbs and a healthy diet were like two wings of a bird I could ride to heights of health I had only read about previously.
I even recently started to try and learn about Rhodiola. A plant I had never heard of til recently but now can't understand why everyone hasn't heard of it. It is very subtle, but the affect on mood, mental focus, clarity and overall energy make it seem like it would be one of the best alternatives to Ritalin or Prozac in the plant kingdom. The testimonials on Youtube run directly counter to the tiny bit of info available on Wikipedia.
And so it was along these swirling lines that I came to hear of Gynostemma or Jiaogulan tea. Sapponins are the active component that help your body in innumerable ways when consumed regularly. Ginseng, the rock star of the Chinese Herbal system, has about 20.... Gynostemma has about 4x that and is considerably cheaper and easier to take. If you ever had a cup of green tea and enjoyed it. Chances are you'll like Gynostemma, but will enjoy far more benefits than what Green Tea alone can provide. And given the price of more famous medicines like Reishi or Ginseng, it's nice to be able to get the same effects, cheaper and more easily through a tea you might actually ENJOY drinking, instead of trying to keep a straight face slurping down odd potions that have been brewing on the stove for hours on end. (Sip) Mmmm, that's better.
Feel free to do your own research and while I have no financial ties to the company, I just thought I would share my experience thus far, and encourage others to get into plant medicine, diet, nutrition and expand their own personal understanding of the natural world, how we can relate to it better and find ways we can both mutually benefit from greater involvement with it. Finding plant medicines you can grow yourself or find readily available online or in your climate is an excellent step towards empowering yourself with practical knowledge that can treat and prevent diseases and the diseases of our times (stress, depression, ADD etc)
Here is their website if you wanna have a look. I chose to go with them due to their organic operation and location.
https://www.bioherby.com/
Maybe someone in Thailand can go visit them and do an article showing their farm and operations. I'd read it!
Here is the link for the Tea also!
https://www.bioherby.com/organic-jiaogulan-tea-extract-gynostemma
Cheers! (sips tea)
Feel free to add your own experiences, corrections or additions you wish were mentioned.