Thunder God Vine Extract Review
Thunder God Vine is a natural herb that has been used for over 400 years in Chinese, Japanese, and Korean traditional medicine.
Find out if thunder god vine extract should be used to treat your arthritis, inflammation, and other joint conditions today in our review.
What is Thunder God Vine Extract?
Thunder God Vine Extract is a perennial vine-like plant native to Korea, Japan, and China. It’s particularly popular in ancient Chinese traditional medicine, where it’s been used for over 400 years.
Typically, traditional medicine practitioners will prepare the extract by skinning the root of the thunder god vine. The extract is condensed and reduced into a powder. This powder can then be taken with water to make a tonic, or in encapsulated form.
Benefits of Thunder God Vine Extract
Thunder god vine extract is traditionally used to treat a range of different conditions and ailments.
It’s most commonly used in ancient Chinese medicine to treat conditions that cause inflammation or immune system problems. Practitioners will treat excessive menstrual periods and rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis, and lupus using thunder god vine extract, for example.
More recent scientific evidence has shown that thunder god vine extract can also have anticancer effects – although researchers urge that more research needs to be done before these results are definitive.
Scientific Studies on Thunder God Vine Extract
The problem with thunder god vine extract is that few high-quality studies have been performed on real human subjects. Most of the studies are either performed in rats or in some other animal, or the studies involving humans have a small number of subjects.
One of the most important studies on thunder god vine extract was funded by the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS). That study compared the effectiveness of thunder god vine extract with a conventional arthritis medication (sulfasalazine). Participants reported that they experienced reduced swelling, joint pain, and inflammation after taking thunder god vine compared with the sulfasalazine group.
As you’ll learn below, participants in that study experienced some serious side effects, which is why human trials of thunder god vine extract have been rare.
One of the few other human studies on thunder god vine extract found that applying thunder god vine directly to the skin could provide moderate relief from rheumatoid arthritis symptoms.
Ultimately, most of the thunder god vine extract studies agree on one thing: the extract clearly reduces inflammation throughout the body. Reducing inflammation can have powerful benefits on treating a wide variety of diseases – including arthritis.
Thunder God Vine Extract Side Effects
One of the most unique things about the thunder god plant is that most of the plant is poisonous. The plant skin, leaves, flowers, and skin of the root, for example, are all highly poisonous and can lead to death. The roots, however, seem to be safe for humans to consume.
Because of this, you have to be careful where you get your thunder god vine extract. If the extract is not carefully separated from the skinned root, then you may end up with other leaves, flowers, and plant skins in your medicine. This could lead to toxic side effects.
These side effects have even been reported in high-quality studies where participants only took pure thunder god vine extract. That means there are some toxic side effects related to taking the vine itself – not just by ingesting the leaves and skin of the plant. The NIAMS study linked above, for example, observed the following side effects in participants:
— Diarrhea
— Indigestion
— Nausea
— Upper Respiratory Tract Infections
Some studies have also shown that thunder god vine can lead to hair loss, headaches, menstrual changes, and skin rashes. Keep in mind that these side effects are associated with the thunder god vine extract itself and not the poisonous leaves and plant skin.
How to Buy Thunder God Vine Extract
In 2014, the National Institutes of Health published a report discussing thunder god vine extract. That report said the following about thunder god vine extract supplements:
“There are no consistent, high-quality thunder god vine products being manufactured in the United States. Preparations of thunder god vine made outside the United States (for example, in China) can sometimes be obtained, but it is not possible to verify whether they are safe and effective.”
The NIH also claimed that women who take the herb for 5 years or longer often experience reduced bone mineral density, which is already a problem for those who have osteoporosis.
Who Should Use Thunder God Vine Extract?
Thunder god vine extract is an ancient herb that has shown some evidence as an effective anti-inflammatory compound.
Unfortunately, there are two key problems with thunder god vine extract: first, there have been few high-quality studies performed on human subjects. And second, participants in thunder god vine extract studies typically experience unwelcome side effects, like nausea, skin rashes, headaches, and more serious problems.
One final problem with thunder god vine extract is that the National Institutes of Health claims that there are currently no high-quality thunder god vine extract products being manufactured in the United States. That means if you want to buy genuine thunder god vine extract, then you’ll need to order from manufacturers in China.
You can actually buy it in the US now