The Benefits of Mucuna
The amazing herbal adaptogen that is mucuna pruriens is well known for its wide range of tonifying, strengthening and all around beneficial properties. Perhaps it is best known as a potent herbal aphrodisiac. This Indian herb is known by many names, some of which are cowitch, cowhage, velvet beans, sea beans, buffalo beans, Kapikachu, Atmagupta and many more! From the website www.secrets-of-longevity-in-humans.com we read about the many benefits:
Traditional properties:
- Sweet, bitter and hot
- Balancing to all three doshas! (a rare quality even amongst herbal adaptogens, ginseng and gotu kola are also known for this)
- Very potent at increasing libido for both men and women
- Treats leucorrhoea (vaginal discharge), menorrhagia (excessive menstrual bleeding) and spermatorrhoea (involuntary ejaculation) which are all signs of leakage of Jing/Ojas, which is the foundational essence of health
- Used to build muscle in those who are weak
- Helps women increase lactation when breastfeeding
- Prevents and or lowers the effects of poisonous snake bites
- Treats Parkinson’s disease
- Treats depression
- Treats insomnia and generally deepens sleep
- Helps digestion without increasing pitta (fire)
Scientific properties:
Mucuna pruriens contains 40mg/g of a compound called L-DOPA which is a direct precursor to the neurotransmitter dopamine. Dopamine works as one of the best natural hgh releasers (human growth hormone) by stimulating the pituitary gland to increase it’s production. High levels throughout life of the body’s own natural growth hormone (not hormones from the synthetic injections) is known as a major key for human longevity.
Dopamine also increases other youth hormones such as testosterone (it must be mentioned that these increases are never throwing the endocrine system out of balance, merely improving levels which tend to decrease over time in the average person). These resulting increased levels of these hormones from the use of mucuna pruriens extracts, powders and/or raw herbs explains its association with increasing libido, fertility, lean muscle mass, reducing signs of aging such as wrinkles and body fat, increasing bone density and even boosting overall energy levels.
L-DOPA from mucuna pruriens has been shown to be safer and more effective for controlling Parkinson’s disease than the pharmaceutical drugs Levodopa and Carbidopa. This is because the vast array of other chemical constituents that accompany L-DOPA in the unprocessed plant also play a role in its ability to manage Parkinson’s disease. Since Parkinson’s is in large part a deficiency of the neurotransmitter dopamine, this adaptogenic herb is crucial for anyone looking to manage this disease. It also looks to be very promising as a treatment for recovering drug addicts and people suffering from depression related illness, since these people have deficiencies of the neurotransmitters serotonin and dopamine (which the velvet beans contain and help balance in the human body).
David Wolfe, who sells Mucuna on his health website, www.longevitywarehouse.com writes: Mucuna is most known for containing a very powerful neurotransmitter pre-cursor called L-Dopa. What is L-Dopa? L-Dopa is an amino acid that converts into Dopamine. Dopamine is depleted by stress, stimulants, legal and illegal drug abuse, and alcohol. David Wolfe Foods™ Mucuna contains an extraordinary 15.8% L-Dopa!
Mucuna Pruriens has long been used in Ayurvedic medicine to support a variety of health concerns. Please do your own research into the historic and current uses of Mucuna.