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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 12 of 12. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by Sigismund on December 4, 2007, at 14:46:26
It sure is an interesting herb.
Not part of Ayurveda but Indian folk medicine with a range of actions as long as your arm.
Coleus forskoli has the most challenging taste of any herb I've encountered.
Like Hydergine, it increases Cyclic AMP.
I'm interested in anyone's reaction to it
Posted by zenhussy on December 4, 2007, at 18:51:11
In reply to Forskolin, posted by Sigismund on December 4, 2007, at 14:46:26
used to use single tincture in combo w/ other tinctures years ago. the herbs were effective as long as they were taken regularly.....ah foolish youth and the ol' "I feel better so I can stop taking meds/herbs now" routine.
your description of the taste is dead on.
hard to single out any one tincture/herb as doing the trick as there were 3 or 4. seemed effective while taken 4x/daily back then. this is when dinosaurs roamed, etc.
Posted by TenMan on December 7, 2007, at 7:33:34
In reply to Forskolin, posted by Sigismund on December 4, 2007, at 14:46:26
Forskolin works well for me. I get a nice stimulating effect that is best described as pure energy and not stimulating in the adrenergic or dopaminergic sense. I realize that may not make sense but I don't know of anything to compare it to. It is anxiolytic and stimulating at the same time while not very mood brightening.
The herb has many effects on the body due to it's cAMP boosting effects. Thyroid and Testosterone increases have been reported, and while I've never tested the herb itself with blood work anecdotally I believe it to be doing both of these things in my body. After a week or so of continuous usage I get a noticeable increase in core temp and my sex drive is boosted.
Another nice benefit of forskolin that I've directly verified is a decrease in resting blood pressure, mine tends to run on the slightly high/normal side, and a decrease in resting heart rate. I workout 4-5 times a week with a mix of aerobic and anaerobic exercise and my resting HR before forskolin would typically be around 65bpm and after it sits around 58bpm.
I cycle forskolin, simply because I don't know what effect constant cAMP stimulation will have on the body long term in cycles of 12 weeks on 4 weeks off. Overall it's a very useful herb and I plan to continue using it indefinetely. My dose is 80mgs. a day of the 90% extract.
Ten
Posted by bleauberry on December 11, 2007, at 20:06:00
In reply to Re: Forskolin, posted by TenMan on December 7, 2007, at 7:33:34
What dose do you take? What is the extract standardized to, 10%?
It apparently might be good for losing weight. I really want to try it, but I am real skinny to begin with. What do you think, do you notice any weight loss with it? Do you suspect it has the potential for that? I am not wanting to lose any more weight. Too skinny already. But I do want all the benefits I've read about forskolin.
Posted by Sigismund on December 12, 2007, at 22:45:54
In reply to Re: Forskolin » TenMan, posted by bleauberry on December 11, 2007, at 20:06:00
I would have liked to have been able to reproduce the list of actions of coleus.
There's so many that it makes me wonder if some of them might be problematic for some people.
Posted by TenMan on December 15, 2007, at 9:38:00
In reply to Re: Forskolin » TenMan, posted by bleauberry on December 11, 2007, at 20:06:00
> What dose do you take? What is the extract standardized to, 10%?
>
> It apparently might be good for losing weight. I really want to try it, but I am real skinny to begin with. What do you think, do you notice any weight loss with it? Do you suspect it has the potential for that? I am not wanting to lose any more weight. Too skinny already. But I do want all the benefits I've read about forskolin.Hey Blueberry
Forskolin is indeed an effective weight management tool, and Sabinsa the pioneers of this herb for that use hold a patent on it with several studies to back up the claims.
Some things to note:
Forskolin stimulated cAMP leads to a rise in intracellular ampk (activated protein kinase) which is muscle sparing and causes the body to favor fatty acids for fuel. The studies done on forskolin have shown a protein sparing or even building effect while body fat is decreased. This means that generally any weight loss with forskolin will be fat and the effect may be weight neutral or even positive if enough muscle is created to replace the fat.
Forskolin has appetite inducing effects for myself and over the time that I have taken it my body weight has remained stable but I have noticed a subtle hardening effect with noticeable fat loss in my chest and stomach.
The only way you will know if the herb is right for you is to try it yourself but overall I think the effects for you will be weight nuetral with a slight bias towards decreased body fat. This is a desirable effect in my opinion.
Good luck.
Posted by Sigismund on December 15, 2007, at 13:58:43
In reply to Re: Forskolin, posted by TenMan on December 15, 2007, at 9:38:00
The list of technical actions is 2 pages long, and anyway not all are relevant to the actions of forskolin.
The medicinal uses list is much shorter....
*Hypertension.
*Congestive heart failure, cerebrovascular disease (vasodilation) -not in cases of low blood pressure.
*Ischaemic heart disease and thrombosis (antiplatelet effect).
*Glaucoma (topically and possibly internally).
*Ashthma, chronic obstructive airways disease (bronchodilation).
*Digestive insufficiency.
*Possible uses for weight loss, psoriasis, poor fertility, mild hypothyroidism.
Posted by tealady on December 17, 2007, at 15:53:00
In reply to Re: Forskolin, posted by Sigismund on December 15, 2007, at 13:58:43
I'm interested in trying this, where do you buy it from?
Thanks
Posted by Sigismund on December 17, 2007, at 23:05:52
In reply to Re: Forskolin » Sigismund, posted by tealady on December 17, 2007, at 15:53:00
Hi Jan
One way to get it is from Mediherb in bottles of various sizes.
You know, from herbalists, and it will be called coleus forskoli.
But if you do that you will have to taste it, and it is a difficult taste.
So maybe the best way is to buy it online in capsules of extract, in which case it will be called forskolin?
I have heard conflicting things about it. That bloke who wrote "The Zone" said it was his number one herb, because of the Cyclic AMP thing.
But then Life Extension started making caveats about it for (I think) its use in heart failure, suggesting it could worsen things.
And I wonder why it was not used in Ayurvedic Medicine.
Posted by clipper40 on December 24, 2007, at 15:06:18
In reply to Re: Forskolin, posted by TenMan on December 7, 2007, at 7:33:34
Does it give you more motivation?
Posted by TenMan on December 31, 2007, at 9:26:03
In reply to Re: Forskolin » TenMan, posted by clipper40 on December 24, 2007, at 15:06:18
> Does it give you more motivation?
No, no increase in motivation that I can gather. For me it's just a feeling of increase in mental energy without any mood elevation, increased interest or emotion.
Posted by clipper40 on December 31, 2007, at 18:20:55
In reply to Re: Forskolin, posted by TenMan on December 31, 2007, at 9:26:03
This is the end of the thread.
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