Traditionally, when hunting a-ta-li-gu-li, the first three plants are passed by. The fourth is taken, after the medicine person gives a prayer, addressing it as the "Great Adawehi", and asking perpission to take a small piece of it's flesh. After digging it from the ground, a bead is dropped into the hole, and the hole is filled, leaving the bead as payment to the plant spirit. The ceremony is not repeated for any other ginseng picked that day.
Cherokees, as well as Chinese and Koreans, have been using A-ta-li-gu-li for hundreds of years. Wild American ginseng, (Panax Quinquefolium, can be used by anyone, though Chinese herbalists have told me that the Siberian ginseng should only be used by those over thirty years of age. If you use Siberian ginseng, it should be in a schedule of three weeks on and two weeks off.
GINSENG VS. CAFFEINE
ANNABOLIC:
Ginseng is Anabolic.
It builds energy in the body at the same time increasing
health and vitality. This is a constructive process which
breaks down food into natural sugars which can easily
be used by the body's cells.
CATABOLIC:
Caffeine is a catabolic. It builds energy in the body
at a heavy price. This is a destructive process that
involves the breakdown of nutrients stored in the body.
In the long run it can wear you out.
ANTI-STRESS:
Regular ginseng use has been found to help build a
resistance to stress. Ginseng can help to relieve the
typically overburdened adrenal glands and release
the nervous system from tension.
NERVES:
Regular caffeine use can produce anxiety. The symptoms
of many coffee drinkers are the same as those of people
under continual stress. Irritability, agitation, nervousness,
rapid breathing, trembling hand and muscle twitches,
all can be the result of too much coffee.
BRIGHTER MINDS:
Much hopeful research is demonstrating ginseng's
ability to stimulate mental clarity, accuracy and
awareness. Results have included fewer errors at
work, better focus in school, and a general increase
in optimism and activity.
MENTAL DULLNESS:
Mising the morning cup of coffee can bring on the typical
reaction of dullness and languor. Caffeine generally
removes mental awareness by draining nerve energy and
causing a crashing energy lag.
BOON TO HEALTH:
The natural benefit of herbs, and especially ginseng,
is their ability to help cleanse the blood. The normal
function of the kidneys is also to filter the blood.
Because of the air, water and food pollution, your
kidneys can use all the help they can get.
KIDNEY IRRITATION:
This is why coffee can make one head for the bathroom.
Prolonged use of coffee can agitate the kidneys. Caffeine
also contributes to the build-up of toxins in the blood.
HEALING HERB:
Ginseng has been shown to aid in the healing process.
Traditionally used as a stomachic and aid to digestion,
it can help to restore broken body cells.
ULCERS:
Drinking coffee causes an irritation to the stomach lining
and can contribute by degree to the destructive pain of
gastric ulcers.
HEART HELP:
Scientists have found that ginseng can help lower blood
pressure in people suffering from high blood pressure and
increase blood pressure in those withlow blood pressure.
Using ginseng regularly can ease nervous tension and the
resulting strain on the heart.
HEART DISEASE:
Rising blood pressure, higher nervous tension,
irregular heartbeats and the increase in blood cholesterol
all spell out serious trouble for the heart. All these are
stimulated by the regular use of caffeine. One recent study
showed a double incidence of coronary heart attacks among
people drinking five cups of coffee a day.
SUGAR CONTROL
Using ginseng has been found helpful for both diabetics
and those suffering from hypoglycemia for its ability to
help regulate sugar levels in the blood. Thus ginseng
works to restore the harmony and balance of good health.
DIABETES AND HYPOGLYCEMIA:
These are both serious and common diseases cused by an
inability of the body's natural mechanism to regulate
sugar in the blood. Coffee can increase the level of blood
sugar in diabetes and lower it in hypoglycemia. this is
exactly what is unwanted and can invite a blood sugar crisis.
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