Here’s an homage to one of the original Star Trek movies. I was never a trekkie but did enjoy that one.
Anyway, not really here to talk about Star Trek but a different Khan altogether…
This 3-star review comes in from Rodger Lamber for Thor’s Hammer.
“Not too sure of this yet. Either my co workers make me irratable or the Cistanche might make me irratable like Ghengis Khahn lol”
Besides getting a laugh, why do I share this one? Because it brings up an important topic I haven’t talked too much about.
And that is that herbs can increase irritability and even anger. Since we’re talking emotions there’s a lot of complexity here.
First off, let me say that it may not be the Cistanche specifically. Thor’s Hammer also contains:
Most of these herbs are powerful yang herbs. (See this article for more on the topic of yin vs. yang.)
Many are also hot. (See this article for hot vs. cold.)
We’ve all heard about ‘roid rage. Too much of a good thing (aka testosterone) can cause some issues. Not just testicular shrinkage, but explosive outbursts.
Some of our customers worry about having too much testosterone and it making them angry. Just know that the opposite can sometimes be the case.
Men with low testosterone are more likely to be human walking mats, that build up resentment over time which at some point finds an outlet in an explosive, even violent outburst.
Consider this. Do you think the young men shooting up schools and shopping malls are high or low testosterone males?
As with all things that right balancing is important.
Here is my personal experience. Our Tongkat Ali powder is a bit too strong for me. If I take a full dose I get a mild headache. As you might imagine, along with that I’m more irritable too!
In Chinese medicine they would talk about this as liver yang rising.
Don’t forget that the liver has to process pretty much every single thing that you put in your body. It also has to process so much of what the body itself produces, including the sex hormones.
And since it is not a reductionist system just looking at chemicals, the Chinese model sees the liver as the seat of anger.
So why exactly is this happening?
Maybe the liver is backed up in waste to process and that’s a bit too much thrown on top. Maybe the liver is backed up in irritability and that’s a bit too much thrown on top. Maybe I’m just overall running hot and this puts me over the edge.
Let me be clear. This hasn’t always been the case. When I first started using Tongkat Ali in my late 20’s it worked wonders for me.
But it’s not the one right now. Not at our normal dose.
If you find similar things are happening for you, with Tongkat, Cistanche, Thor’s Hammer or something else then I’d recommend backing off.
You can try a lower dose.
(One thing I have found now is that I can get the benefits without the drawbacks by using a lower dose with the VIP Tongkat Spagyric Tincture.)
You can also skip the herb and move onto something else.
You could also formulate with the herb to balance out its effects. That’s a bit beyond the scope of this article though.
This is some food for thought in working with herbs to find what works for your best.
If you have experiences like this, please share them in the comments below.
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Robert Dziuban says
I just posted a comment and said the I used Banyan Botanicals website to take a “cleanse”.
What I meant to say is I took their “Dosha Quiz” to identify my dominant Dosha.
Robert Dziuban says
Hey Logan , regarding the above article on anger and the liver I’ve had some experiences which I hope can help someone else.
Macrobiotic’s teaches that anger is the negative emotion associated with the liver.
Ayurveda teaches that the liver is the seat of “Pitta” Dosha.There are many Ayurvedic websites that have a quiz to identify our individual “Dosha” make-up.
My dominant Dosha is “Pitta” and I found some herbs that made me very angry and had to stop taking them;the way it was explained to me is that being”Pitta “ dominant means we are already “hot”so we need to watch anything else we do that increases that heat ; excessive exercise,hot climate,foods, herbs, etc.
It’s about identifying our constitution and present day condition and balancing that with life style, foods , herbs , etc.
Banyan Botanicals is the site I used and took their cleanse.
With all their herbs they go into detail about the specific effects that herb has and for example if the herb is “heating “then say something like” may aggravate Pitta”.I found this tool to be of great help to me.Obviously if I feel angry for a period of time I’ll look to cooling herbs to get myself back in balance and relax-it really works!
By the way I’ve taken your “ Cistanche” for about 10 days or so and it does not cause anger in me;from my experience I don’t think it’s heating!
By the way your “Cistanche “ has noticeably improved strength throughout my body and improved my immune system; I can also feel the effects sexually.I just turned 76 yrs old and finding “Cistanche “ and what it is giving me is a great improvement in the quality of my life I thought was gone!
Thank you,
Bob Dziuban
Logan Christopher says
Thanks for sharing Bob. I’m Vata-Pitta so that fits for me to some degree as well. Don’t know if you’ve seen it but did an article on hot vs. cold herbs here. https://lostempireherbs.com/hot-vs-cold-herbal-temperature-dynamics/
jlargemarge says
Excellent info. I’ve often caught myself getting frustrated, flustered and secretly wanting to be ” slap happy ” with people. I’ve noticed this with pine pollen. Most likely I’ve combined other herbs with it. I’m being more aware now what I’m combining and when I need a break. I tend to feel the effects working quite easily. It seems like Herbs that increase energy tend to work the opposite such as Black Ant . I feel lethargic. But feel the biggest head rush with Deer Antler. But that effect has lessened with time. I’m getting better at listening to my body and try to let my body adjust to one herb at a time before adding another. All in all it’s increased my quality of life and budget accordingly to always be putting herbs in my body for the last few years , but committed Moreno in the last year. Thanks E H.
Donald Douzart says
I have your Thor’s hammer,an I was wondering if I such take a 1 Tbspoon or 2 Half a Tea spoon
Logan Christopher says
The recommended dose is from one teaspoon to one tablespoon. Start on the lower end and see how that works for you. If it doesn’t, or you want more, than go for the higher end.