Comment · Mon, March 2, 2020
Doubts about Gotu Kola's potential side effects
Original post in this thread
faxmulder · 4 points
Hi folks,
M34, normal-weight, bloodworks (overall parameters and hormones) fine, except low vit D and LH levels (the latter probably caused by low-grade varicocele).
I'd interested in trying Gotu Kola for my issues, i.e. focus, brain fog, mild anxiety and repetitive checking/OCD behaviours, dry skin, cold hands.
I've seen that GT is often advised for "being more in the present", thus I believe it could be useful in my situation.
My current daily stack is: multivitamin, resveratrol, curcumin, vit D, chlorella, N-Acetyl Glucosamine, polygala, agmatine, magnesium, grape seed extract and ornithine (for deeper sleep).
Pre-workout stack: PanaMax ginseng (cycled with rhodiola and cordyceps), alpha GPC, dynamine, citrulline, taurine and forskolin (I'm considering adding also carnosine/beta-alanine).
I have a few questions:
* Do you see any potential bad interaction or overlap by adding Gotu Kola to my daily stack?
* GT's effects on libido and testosterone production: I've seen a reference on Examine and some scary stories about testicle shrinkage :-/
* Is it okay to take agmatine daily, or would it be better to take only on workout days?
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Tha…
What they were answering
edefakiel · 1 points
Yes, I agree. The evidence against its use is weak. Is the evidence in favor of its use much stronger? To the best of my knowledge, there hasn't been researched thoroughly in humans.
u/MisterYouAreSoDumb
Centella asiatica has a ton of research on it.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3116297/
http://nopr.niscair.res.in/bitstream/123456789/7855/1/NPR%206%282%29%20158-170.pdf
https://europepmc.org/article/med/3042688?javascript_support=no
https://www.thieme-connect.com/products/ejournals/html/10.1055/s-2003-42791
https://www.ajol.info/index.php/ajtcam/article/view/57068
Of if you just want double blind placebo controlled human studies:
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0378874107006411
https://www.hindawi.com/journals/ecam/2011/579467/
https://www.hindawi.com/journals/ecam/2013/238454/
https://europepmc.org/article/med/7936334
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/000331978703800106
The evidence for the beneficial effects of gotu kola is significantly more prevalent than any evidence of its possible side effects. Pair that with the length and breadth of its history of use, and the evidence is overwhelmingly skewed in the positive direction.