Cistanche
What is Cistanche?
Benefits of Cistanche
In Traditional Chinese Medicine, cistanche is prescribed for a range of conditions including chronic renal disease, impotence and female infertility.
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More than 100 compounds have been isolated and identified from cistanche. The major active compounds responsible for cistanche's hormone regulation properties are called phenylethanoid glycosides (PEGs).
Research has shown cistanche extract increases testosterone and progesterone levels by inducing testicular steroidogenic enzymes. Although these studies were conducted in mice, the results showed comprehensive benefits that included increase sperm count and sperm motility plus a decrease in abnormal sperm.
How Can You Utilize Cistanche Tubuolsa?
Cistanche tubulosa helps increase testosterone synthesis. This will help improve fertility, as is referenced in ancient uses of this plant too. Furthermore, as we age, testosterone levels drop and Cistanche tubulosa can correct for this, and thus have a youthfulness promoting effect as is also mentioned in traditional uses.
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The increase in testosterone levels is profound with Cistanche tubulosa, but it does it in a gentle way, by enhancing the biochemical pathways in our body that are used for producing testosterone.
Furthermore, Cistanche tubulosa also balances this testosterone elevating effect with a growth hormone increasing effect. This is not something that is often seen in testosterone enhancers, and because growth hormone has a pleasant calming effect, it takes the aggressive edge off of the testosterone elevating effects. This makes Cistanche a great daily “tonic” for optimizing hormonal profiles without drawing too much attention to itself.
Cistanche Male and Female Benefits?
Male Benefits:
Cistanche increases testosterone production, further benefits of cistanche for men is that it improves the functions of the testes, increasing sperm count and production of male hormones. Male hormone levels and sperm counts have been on a precipitous decline for decades now and cistanche is a natural supplement that can help reverse this trend.
In the bedroom, cistanche increases the size, strength, and duration of erections and also reduces the latency period in-between erections.
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Female Benefits:
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Cistanche reduces chronic fatigue syndrome, otherwise known as adrenal fatigue. Chronic fatigue syndrome is caused most often by a dysregulation of the HPA axis, brought on by excess stress, poor sleep, a bad diet, and other lesser factors. Chronic fatigue syndrome can effect men and women, but typically women are more likely to develop chronic fatigue syndrome for a variety of reasons.
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By improving energy metabolism, endurance, and immunity, cistanche is a powerful supplement that can be used to help fix a dysregulated HPA axis and overcome chronic fatigue syndrome. Click the button below to learn more about adrenal fatigue and what steps can be taken to overcome it. Just as cistanche is a potent aphrodisiac for men, so to is it for women.
Cistanche Dosage
The beneficial health effects of cistanche manifest nicely at dosages of 100 mg - 500 mg of an extracted powder used daily.
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For a raw powder, the concentration of active ingredients will be less and therefore a higher dose of 500 mg - 2 grams should be used to achieve the same effect. The dose chosen within that range will depend on an individual’s bodyweight, their individual physiology, and the potency of the effect they desire.
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When first using cistanche, start with the lowest dose and only after some time has passed should the dose be increased if desired.
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How Long does it take for Cistanche to Work?
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Cistanche is best used consistently for 2+ weeks in order to fully benefit from its effects. When used acutely for just 1-3 days a larger dose will be required to feel the effects, and even then the effect size will be smaller than if cistanche is dosed consistently for 2+ weeks.
The effects of cistanche build up and really begin to be noticeable at the 10+ day mark depending on how sensitive one is to the herb. Speaking from personal experience in supplementing with cistanche many times now, I notice that the testosterone boosting effects of cistanche really begin to manifest after 1-2 weeks and it continues to increase steadily from there. It takes 1-2 weeks for cistanche supplementation to begin to noticeably improve exercise performance, and it’s around this time as well that the effects of higher testosterone levels are also noticed (increased confidence, stronger, better erections, etc).
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Cistanche Side Effects?
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Cistanche tubulosa extract orally administered at 26.4 g/kg to male and female mice and kept for 8 days caused no abnormalities, fatal events, or autopsy abnormalities. No issues were observed when dosing 0.65-1.30 g/kg cistanche daily for 30 days to rats.
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Examining potential long term toxicity, Cistanche tubulosa extract was orally administered to male and female rats at 1.65 g/kg per day and kept for 180 days. No abnormalities, fatal events, or autopsy abnormalities were recorded.
Furthermore, no abnomalities, fatal events, or autopsy abnormalities were observed when a Cistanche tubulosa extract was orally administered to male and female beagle dogs at 1.50 g/kg daily and kept for 180 days.
This data was collected by Oryza Oil & Fat Company out of Japan, and when converted to Human Equivalent Doses (HED) based on body surface area we arrive at the following dosages:
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2.15 g/kg Cistanche HED - acute toxicity study (mice)
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0.85 g/kg Cistanche HED - 180 day toxicity study (dogs)
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0.25 g/kg Cistanche HED - 180 day toxicity study (rats)
When multiplied by individual bodyweight, the human equivalent dose for a person is very large at 10+ grams, an amount that far exceeds the typical dosing recommendations, and therefore is not recommended to try but does give confidence that cistanche has a strong safety profile with very little chance of negative side effects occurring at the much lower dosages recommended.
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In terms of practical side effects that may be experienced, a large dose may cause digestive discomfort and since cistanche increases testosterone levels, it may cause alterations to mood and aggression. Additionally cistanche as a vaso-relaxant reduces blood pressure and should not be taken if an individual’s blood pressure is already on the low side (<80/60).