Posted by bobman on June 20, 2010, at 14:04:40
In reply to Re: im also rejecting meds..., posted by bulldog2 on June 20, 2010, at 8:10:17
> I am much older than you and have had years to try just about everything. I find most of the above to be vodoo science. You criticize psychiatry for their method well there is no method in alternative medicine. Let's do some double blind scientic testing to see if these things really work. All of the above is faith based. Obviously you are very young and don't have years of experience to see what works and doesn't. Now you tell us about being drug free for a certain finite length of time. Let us see in 20 years what the story. You lecture those who have been through the school of life.
Who did I lecture? Someone asked me for my experience. As for "voodoo science", well it isn't. Centella asiatica has a few dozen medical studies behind it, both in humans and rodents, and curcumin is probably the most well researched Eastern herb.
In fact, on a mg/kg basis, curcumin is more effective than imipramine (~20% more effective) for mood, and has been shown in doses between 10-140mg/kg to be neuroprotection against toxic insult, and at lower doses (10-20mg/kg p.o in rodents) significantly neurogenic, specifically with neurite outgrowth and neural progenitor proliferation; there are quite a few studies on curcumin's role in the brain. If this had been made by Wyeth, you'd be singing its praises, because the research behind indicates that it is a far more potent, cognitively enhancing as opposed to numbing, substance than SSRI's or Tryciclics.
Gotu kola has fewer studies, but has been shown to improve cognitive performance of both elderly people and young adults. In rodents, it has been shown to enhance dendrite arborization and branching by ~169% and 259% at 4ml/kg and 6ml/kg over a 6 week period.
Ashwagandha is also fairly well studied in rodents. I'm not sure what kind of medical evidence it has in humans, but the rodent studies are very impressive.
Meditation in at least one study has been shown to have a direct impact on cognitive performance. It was longitudinal study, I can dig it up if you can't find it. It has been shown to have essentially the same neurogenic benefit as cardiovascular exercise does, although it is probably a qualitatively different kind of benefit.
Acetyl L-Carnitine is also well enough studied to know that these effects exist. In vitro on hippocampal slices, the effect is unmistakable. In vivo, to my knowledge very little has been done on the subject, although I believe there are some animal studies.
Anyways, I'm sorry that you went through life without finding a solution, I truly am, but if you're going to make strong accusations, back them up with something. I couldn't possibly imagine that you'd be able to tell if your neurons were sprouting 2x as many dendrites. I just don't see that as possible. That's why I turn to studies to examine the effect. Personally I can tell you that turmeric, ashwagandha, and gotu kola make me feel balanced and healthy in a very rough time, and that since starting these 8 months ago, my memory and cognition seems better, especially with regards to working memory, which is better than it was prior to starting lamictal & other meds several years ago. I memorized 260 digits of pi in about 1.5 hours, or 150 in 30 minutes. That's more than I could have ever done before.
Like I said, if you don't believe this stuff works, why don't you take a look at the research behind it. Best of all, it is just food. These are all plants that are integrated into the cuisine of Asians, and they certainly don't consider them to be "voodoo". So I feel free of the bounds of our medicine, but mentally healthier than I was before integrating them into my diet.
poster:bobman
thread:951199
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20100615/msgs/951612.html