Damiana and Cistanche Deserticola

Hey gang. Just a quick question. I’ve been taking the Damiana and Cistanche since October 1st. Are these supplements that should be cycled? Is there a “rule of thumb” with cycling supplements??

Probert1 said:

Hey gang. Just a quick question. I’ve been taking the Damiana and Cistanche since October 1st. Are these supplements that should be cycled? Is there a “rule of thumb” with cycling supplements??

Click to expand...

@oldandlively old can you help him out here

Probert1 said:

Hey gang. Just a quick question. I’ve been taking the Damiana and Cistanche since October 1st. Are these supplements that should be cycled? Is there a “rule of thumb” with cycling supplements??

Click to expand...

Let's break things down. I know of the two, but not in ultra details. The main question is, "Are you taking any other supplements and medication beside these two?" We just want to know the possible interaction and suppression between these and the supplements you're taking. Do include any herbal and manmade chemical drinks. What we believe is harmless may not be.

Based on the available research data, damiana has a very low level of phyto-toxicity, so, we shouldn't be worrying about overdosing ourselves. Based on the estimation, it's around 5g/kg of body weight. That's extremely low. However, this doesn't mean you should rule out interaction at play, even at 1g/kg of body weight. Since it has an anti-aromatase, it can cause a fluctuation of estrogen and testosterone in the body. How it plays within your body is anyone's guess. It can also play a strange role in causing your body weight to fluctuate as well as it has a CYP3A4-metabolic profile.

As for cistanche, phyto-toxicity is even lower than damiana, which is up to 8g/kg of total body weight per day. However, it does have a bit more known adverse effects than damiana. If you have medical conditions, such as high blood pressure, seizure, blackout, floating spots, bad bowel movements, and a quite a hell of a list, just be very careful in using it. It also has a warning that it can block medication absorption, and reduce sugar breakdown that can make you fat if you like to eat sweet. It can cause a sudden low blood pressure and result in dizziness if you take too much and for too long. Do be careful that it can cause neurolgical conditions, like brain hemorrhaging, epilepsy, stroke, and even constant bleeding without clotting. It's not well studied, but these scenarios were reported from those who take too much.

Rule of thumb, since both have similar phytochemical profiles that do the same thing, and of course, can do bad things in high concentration over time. These phytochemicals are bioaccumulative, meaning, they keep building up inside your system until your body can't control or get rid of them. Phytochemicals of concerns are terpenoids, thymol, monoterpenes, and phenolic glycosides. A little worrisome iridoids and acteoside that normally use to suppress inflammation, antioxidant, and anti tumor agent, but over time, the concentration levels do build up.

Take home points are, if you're going to use them, you can use them for a week, and switch to the other. You should drink lots of water when taking these two. Urinating will help to remove excess concentration as waste rather than allowing the waste concentration to accumulate and cause issues down the road. Cycle out the concentration by eating healthy, and make sure the body have sufficient Vit C, D3, K, Mg, Fe, and I (natural iodine).

This is why I ask if you're taking other supplements.

Those are the only 2 supplements I take at the moment. I am on 5 meds for my heart. (Heart attack 2019)
If I understood you correctly are you saying for example, take damiana only for a week and skip the Cistanche for that week then do the reverse the following week?? Rinse and repeat?

Probert1 said:

Those are the only 2 supplements I take at the moment. I am on 5 meds for my heart. (Heart attack 2019)
If I understood you correctly are you saying for example, take damiana only for a week and skip the Cistanche for that week then do the reverse the following week?? Rinse and repeat?

Click to expand...

Correct. But do be careful with cistanche since it the phyto-chemicals do block the body from absorbing the medication you're taking for heart reinforcement, like antiplatelet agents and ACE inhibitors. I would say use damiana for 4 days on, maybe 5 days, and 2 days on cistanche.