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Boswellia, anyone tried it?

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Posted 12/4/2009 10:32 AM (GMT -5)
I pulled up a search on alternatives to prednisone and this is what I came up with, It looks like clinical studies have been done in Germany and look promising. It is an herbal therapy I guess, I have found quite a few websites that talk about it and none of them are cooky companies trying to sell some amazing cure for tons of money.

University of maryland medical center website lists it as a complementary treatment for crohns disease, http://www.umm.edu/altmed/articles/crohns-disease-000043.htm And many other sites popped up in my search of "boswellia". They say it works for inflammation and pain much like NSAIDS but with out the liver and stomach side effects.

My question is has anyone had experience with it? Good, Bad, No effect?? What about the dosing? UMMC said "1,200 mg three times per day for up to 8 weeks", wholehealthmd said "300 mg (standardized to contain 60% boswellic acids) 3 times a day )". Bidmc.org said "A typical dose of boswellia is 300 to 400 mg 3 times a day of an extract standardized to contain 37.5% boswellic acids. Some studies have used dosages as high as 1,200 mg 3 times daily.)" Other sites said it had not been studied for more than 12 weeks. Many herbs you are supposed to take for a couple weeks then stop for a week or 2. Is this one of those? Would you take the theraputic dose for 8-12 weeks then the recomended dose on the bottle?
I found some at puritans pride (http://www.puritan.com/herbal-supplements-005/boswellia-standardized-extract-250-mg-013226?np=1&searchterm=boswellia&rdcnt=1) that is standardized to 65% Boswelliac acid (162.5mg) It says take one capsule 3-5 times a day and not to exceed recommended dose. I got lucky it was on sale buy2 get 3 free 5 bottles for $19.98, 500 capsules for $20. worth the trial in my opinion. I just looked it up again and now it is 5 bottles for $31.98. Swansons had many products but only one was standardized to 65% and it was $8.39 for 60 tabs. All of these appear to be marketed for joint health, and or arthritis type pain.

Help I am confused!!!!
I have been unable to find any bad information, harmful side effects, or drug interactions for this treatment. I expect my order to arrive next Wed, Any information on this would be very appreciated.
Posted 12/4/2009 5:11 PM (GMT -5)
I tried boswellia without much advantage. I was not trying it for gut symptoms though - my problems are mostly related to joint aches and pains. I also don't think that I used as much as is recommended. The dosing is a bit hard to sort out because of the different strengths of the extracts being used. I would go with the amounts suggested on the labels.

I see that some manufacturers only suggest taking it for a period of time. That may be to avoid lawsuits, but before you make boswellia part of your diet, you need to verify that it is not going to be a problem. You can check for drug interactions on Drugs.com: http://www.drugs.com/drug_interactions.html

Here is a short information page on Boswellia: PDRhealth.com

Your library might have a book like: Herbal - Drug Interactions and Adverse Effects: An Evidence-Based Quick Reference Guide ~ Richard Philp author
Posted 12/5/2009 5:47 AM (GMT -5)
I have not tried Boswellia however, I am taking fish oil and probiotics as well as green tea and multi vitamins and for the first time in 12 years I am in remission.
Posted 12/5/2009 6:37 AM (GMT -5)
Boswellia or Dhup or sambrani is used to ward off insects, prevent chicken pox in children. It is not that widely used now. Try turmeric.
Posted 12/5/2009 8:26 AM (GMT -5)
Thanks everyone, I guess I will try it and start with a dose somewhere in the middle and see how it goes. I have been reading alot about turmeric lately but have yet to try it. I have been taking fish oil, probiotics, oregano, green tea, calcium+D, and a B vitamin supplement, I am feeling better but can't get off of the prednisone. I am hoping the Boswellia will help me accomplish that. I have also just ordered a book "The inflammation free diet plan" by Monica Reinagel. I really know nothing of the book but I guess she developed a system to rate food based on their inflammatory properties or something, and you use it kind of like the weight watchers system, trying to stay within a certain point range. I am also going to try the Marshmallow and slippery elm. I know I am nuts and probably wasting more money but I am soooo not ready to go on 6mp and/or Remicade which is what my GI is pushing. Hopefully next year will be a brnd new year, symptom free :D
Posted 12/5/2009 10:29 AM (GMT -5)
I just googled it and the turmeric too. They both sound beneficial. I tried bee pollen and bee propolis once but I don't think I gave it long enough to see any benefits. I know there is someone on here who is all natural in her meds. I can't think who it is though. Maybe someone will read this and be able to let you know.
Posted 12/5/2009 10:36 AM (GMT -5)
I hope you will get on some type of maintainence meds. They really are needed with this disease. JMHO
Posted 12/5/2009 10:58 AM (GMT -5)
I am on Lialda right now for the past few weeks, can't say it's doing much, I actually think I have felt better on the days I have forgotten to take it, I took the asacol for over 2 years and it really did nothing according to the way I felt and blood work as well. But after 4 months of not being able to convince me 6mp or Remicade was the way to go my GI settled on Lialda and so I took it to shut him up for a few more months on my quest for something more natural and less scary. I am feeling better lately and down to 30mg prednisone again but the past few days I have sounded like a gurgling coffee pot again. However it is probably my fault, I cannot tolerate sugar well and bought a snickers bar with almonds the other day and made a banana nilla wafer pie plus ate half a box of wafers as I made the pie. And of course I made 4 pies for thanksgiving as well. Stupid me, it is just so not fair to have to give up some of the most basic pleasures in life, especially for someone like me who loves food!
My old GI used to frequently test my CRP and ESR as a way to see how I was doing as far as my meds and such, They were always way way high, this GI however doesn't use these tests he says he goes by how I "feel". Is it common or uncommon for Dr.s to use these tests frequently?
He just did a scope followed by a CT scan in July because I was so messed up they had to stop the scope because he was affraid to proceed. (Sad thing was I wasn't feeling that sick at the time and on no meds for about 5 months) He mentioned doing another one in November to see what it looks like when I am feeling better. I told him it would have to wait until next year, I cannot afford all of this every couple of months, I think the last round cost me about $600. I don't know, I don't care for this guy anyway, he just has me go in every 2 months so he can get an extra $40 out of me.
Posted 12/5/2009 11:00 AM (GMT -5)
I don't think I have heard of the Bee pollen, what is it supposed to do? I am bad with things, if I don't see a difference in a week or so I usually quit, I need to make myself do everything for at least 30 days, but my pills and supplements already look like an entire meal in the morning, pluss all of the things I just ordered, That should equal 3 square meals LOL
Posted 12/5/2009 2:39 PM (GMT -5)
i've tried but i didnt notice a response. that could be from not using it long enough and/or not at the right dosage or brand. imho dosage is the tricky part with herbal stuff, especially when treating yourself and not under the care of a herbalist or naturopath who know these thing. but then when i took it i was also feeling pretty good...
Posted 12/5/2009 4:07 PM (GMT -5)
The thing that seems to work for me is curry paste. It contains turmeric, but it seems to work as well as or better than the extract. I normally have about a tablespoon of it every day at lunch and sometimes more at dinner. I use the mild Patak's curry paste, but you might need to watch out for the ring of fire effect if you have D and it passes through too quickly.
Posted 12/6/2009 12:52 AM (GMT -5)
cdinhyd:
I just realized there is more than one type of Boswellia, the one I am reffering to is Boswellia serrata, I have easily found information on it both on the internet and some herbal remedy books I found at the library today, it is mainly being used for osteo arthritis but has been studied in crohns and UC, not extensively and not in the US of course but from my information it looks very promising. Here are a couple links about the studies, I still have yet to find any thing bad about this, but really can't believe noone here has tried it.
http://www.mskcc.org/mskcc/html/69149.cfm
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11215357
Posted 12/7/2009 6:44 AM (GMT -5)
We always remember is as Indian frankincense, used in festivities and by mothers against chicken pox in children. Seems like many products come from different parts of the tree.
Posted 12/7/2009 10:33 AM (GMT -5)
CrazyHarry: I am glad to hear someone has atleast tried it for crohns, I have been feeling much better the past few days also so I am not sure if I will notice a difference, hopefully it will help me get off of the prednisone though.

Keeper: Curry paste? Blah, that must be an aquired taste lol. I tried indian food once, everything tasted like curry, don't think I could eat it everyday. Does anyone know of a treatment involving chocolate, that one I could go for!

cdinhyd: I understand this is an extract from the sap of the tree, Apparently there are 2 trees which both use the sap and are both called Frankincense or Olibanum, the herbal book I got from the library lists the other one as Boswellia carteri and says thesap of that tree is also used but it doesnt list for what,

So I guess I will just pick a dose somewhere in the middle to be safe and use that dose for about 6-8 weeks as the studies suggest and then if nothing bad happens I will use the dose suggested on the bottle and see how that goes. Maybe I will also find a Dr. who will test my ESR and CRP to see if there are any changes in my inflamation levels as well as the primary reason for trying it is it's anti-inflammatory properties.
Wish me luck,
Posted 7/1/2017 12:39 AM (GMT -5)
Hello everyone. I ran across this forum looking for information about boswellia. Now that it has been over seven years since anyone has posted about this I would like to know how you are doing now. I have been reading about boswellia working better when paired with turmeric, I've read people who use it take 900mg 2-3 times a day. Two people I talked to developed hives after taking it for 8-12 months. I have looked into different brands who also add other ingredients such as devil's claw or black pepper extract.

Anyone out there using boswellia now?
Posted 7/5/2019 6:58 PM (GMT -5)
Hello... I also came across this forum searching for the benefits of Boswellia. I was inquiring as to whether Boswellia helped heal the gut or simply masked pain symptoms. I understand it does both. I have some insights which might be helpful. I learned that there is a link between psoriasis and crohn's disease... interesting in that both appear to be autoimmune disorders. I was under intense stress for several years settling an estate. I had been taking Tumeric for the health benefits and learned about Boswellia thru Dr. Becker. It was the only thing that gave me complete relief from the painful GI symptoms.

For several years I had been taking Tumeric and Boswellia together for the relief of this gut pain. I stopped taking these bionutrients for several months while I was trying 2/5 intermittent fasting for the health benefits, one of which was the relief of inflammation. I also thought this might reduce irritation to the lining of the Gi. The intermittent fasting helped substantially with the GI issues, but did not completely eliminate the pain. I will begin taking both Tumeric and Boswellia again, however, at lower dosages.

i would share that 2/5 intermittent fasting is something most health conscious people should look into. I believe it has helped my GI issues, but also encourages the body to burn fat tissue (I witnessed results in just one month), as will as stabilize blood sugars (lowers blood insulin), and improved immune response. i had a sunburn that resulted in a small melanoma. I had treated the dark growth with Iodine and saw the resulting crusting and healing, I was ready to see a dermatologist, but after practising intermittent fasting for nearly 3 weeks it rapidly formed a scab and was gone. Not proof, but seems to be in line with decades of research concerning the benefits of calorie restriction and fasting. A note also, that I do not consume fewer calories, only I restrict feeding to 2 meals rather than 3 a day within an 11 hour window. Increase in ketone bodies and fat metabolism or ketosis. Of course one or two days I might cheat but for the most part this is easy to practice, especially when you see how much better you feel and look!
Posted 10/13/2019 6:48 PM (GMT -5)
I'm finding this thread very helpful....my Crohns has been flaring since I had to go off my Stelara(which made me feel like crap) due to breast cancer surgery.
Ive been in ER with awful flares once each week since I was 5 days post op.
Am looking for alternative as my mind and body, other than the darn flares, feels so much better iff the biologics.
I started accupuncture last week as well.
What do you mean by the 2/5 fasting? 2 say fasting....?
Thanks, please excuse my ignorance...I'm learning a ton on here!!
Posted 10/14/2019 11:09 AM (GMT -5)

OP said...
Boswellia, anyone tried it?


Yes I have tried it after seeing several double-blind studies indicating that it can be very effective for IBD. At first I was very pleased because it immediately lessened my joint pains. Unfortunately I now have a sensitive stomach, (compared to just a few years ago when my gut was solid cast iron), and boswellia seems to give me IBS symptoms.

But there is a lot of research on black cumin seed oil and curcumin, which is a concentrated extract from turmeric. I found them to be very effective and you can find them in my signature.
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