Comments on: Why You Shouldn’t Take Ginseng (or Any Chinese Herbs)

By: Darryl

Darryl — Sun, 01 Aug 2021 18:14:45 +0000

A chinese doctor told me that a long time ago about high blood pressure. I have had 2 heart procedures and take prescribed blood pressure medicine. When younger I thought I could try anything I had read about. Not so anymore! Great advice!

By: Erik

Erik — Wed, 31 Jul 2019 04:08:52 +0000

I took red ginseng which aggavated qi stagnation for me. I was on my mid 20s and I think Chinese does not recommend ginseng for young males on good health on a continuing basis. The stagnation felt like pressure and like having too much energy which manifested as rage and heat. Also the dampness stagnated my digestion with excess fluid and mucus, reducing appetite and causing indigestion.

By: Sifu Anthony Korahais

Sifu Anthony Korahais — Thu, 30 May 2019 13:40:16 +0000

In reply to Jenny. I'm glad it was helpful! Your situation is far more common than you might think. In fact, you're the reason I wrote this article!

By: Harpreet Mudhar

Harpreet Mudhar — Tue, 28 May 2019 14:14:25 +0000

Hi.sifu

But if martha took the ginseng AND did qigong to get the energy or traffic jam of qi moving would that be good for her?

Im taking ginseng thought it helps anxiety

By: Jenny

Jenny — Mon, 27 May 2019 06:16:55 +0000

I would like to thank you so much for this post, which I found after hours of searching for why an herbal supplement I was taking for over a month was possibly causing a tremendous amount of anxiety, irritability, and a perpetual headache (Gaia Herb’s Adrenal Health Jump Start, for the record). The formula may work wonders for some people, but did the opposite for me. (I was feeling great before taking it and only looking to “feel even better”.) As I researched the ingredients in more detail, it seems most likely that I’ve been reacting negatively to the ginseng that’s in the blend and that it has stimulating properties that are too much for me. I stopped taking this supplement two days ago and already feel a LOT better (no headache today, anxiety — which I’ve never suffered from for the most part — completely gone). Your article is a great reminder (and wake up call) to use herbs under the watchful eye of a trained practioner as oppose to self-diagnosing and taking a supplement (however well made and well sourced it may be) with a ‘cocktail’ of herbs that could cause all kinds of negative reactions. Thank you!

By: Jenna

Jenna — Tue, 16 Oct 2018 10:09:51 +0000

Thank you for writing and sharing on this topic. It seems it is rarely talked about but with herbalism gaining acceptance in the mainstream so is the misinformation. Chinese herbalism is based on the energetics of the herbs and the current state of an individual creating balancing to restore harmony. It worries and saddens me to hear false information and so much cookbook herbalism. I do think herbs could be better regulated.

By: dimmak herbs

dimmak herbs — Fri, 06 Jul 2018 10:43:35 +0000

Wonderful post you have great knowledge about herbs thank you for sharing such a knowledgeable post. I use Chinese natural herbs as they are much more effective and naturally made the main reason for using natural herbs is they have no side effects. Now I’m hoping for much more helpful posts in future!

By: Donna Ellis

Donna Ellis — Mon, 12 Mar 2018 12:20:59 +0000

Great article and very good advice. We do actually learn tongue and pulse diagnosis in Medical Qigong however. At least courses that follow Jerry Alan Johnson’s curriculum. Thanks, as always, for your insight and passion for Qigong! I love your articles and what you bring to the table. Namasté

By: Jocelyn

Jocelyn — Mon, 19 Feb 2018 17:32:39 +0000

I wish I had seen this advice earlier.

I was really stressed and a friend suggested I take ashwagandha (an Ayurvedic herb).

But my liver was weak and I experienced great fatigue and numbness in my extremeties abs race from it!

Fortunately it happened in the second time so I discontinued it completely with no permanent damage.

By: austin judge

austin judge — Tue, 25 Apr 2017 09:02:18 +0000

My favorite thing I when people tell me they’ll figure it out themselves. I’ve studied tcm and herbalism is my main branch but I had to laugh at a friend who I recommended see a tcm pro (since I’m not licensed) and his reply was “just tell me the name of the herb and I’ll Google research it and find a supplier” lol whats even more bothersome is he does this with everything without regard for doses, diagnostics or any safety for himself. His mentality is “if you can do it I sure as he’ll can it cant be that hard”.

In all honesty I do use herbs myself but I pay close attention to even the most subtle changes and know my body very well do to both having health issues in the past and internal training I do now but I always tell people never copy me.

I love how you brought up how people just buy and use what they see on tv (like dr.Oz show). It’s funny that they take all these herbs but pay little attention to diet and the many ways the drain there jing so it’s pretty much pointless in the end.