Teacher plants — Indigenous Peruvian-Amazonian dietary practices as a method for using psychoactives

Berlowitz, Ilana; O’Shaughnessy, David M.; Heinrich, Michael; Wolf, Ursula; Maake, Caroline; Martin‐Soelch, Chantal

doi:10.1016/j.jep.2021.114910

Cited by 12 publications

(12 citation statements)

References 60 publications

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“…As the name suggests, the Amazonian dieta entails a strict nutritional regime for the time of the treatment (only plain vegetable foods; no salt, sugar, spices, oil, etc. ), as well as the maintenance of certain rules (e.g., prohibitions on certain foods, sexual abstinence) for some weeks after the treatment (for further detail on Amazonian dietary practices in conjunction with psychoactive plant medicines, see [ 88 , 89 ]).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Indigenous-Amazonian Traditional Medicine’s Usage of the Tobacco Plant: A Transdisciplinary Ethnopsychological Mixed-Methods Case Study

Berlowitz

Torres²,

Maake

et al. 2023

Plants

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Harmful usage of tobacco is a global public health problem associated with adverse health effects and addiction. Yet, in the Peruvian Amazon, the native region of Nicotiana rustica L., this plant is used in remarkably different manners: it is considered a potent medicinal plant, applied in liquid form for oral ingestion to treat mental health problems, a common and ancient healing practice in this region. Using a transdisciplinary field research approach with mixed ethnopsychological methods, this work aimed to report for the first time a case study in this context. The intervention took place in the Peruvian Amazon (Loreto) and involved ritual tobacco ingestion in a weeklong retreat-like frame, administered by a specialized traditional Amazonian healer. The patient was a 37-year-old woman with diagnosed mood, anxiety, and attention deficit disorders, as well as a chronic somatic condition. We applied qualitative experience-sampling during and quantitative symptom assessments pre- and post-treatment. Our findings offer a detailed description of the experiential therapeutic process during the treatment week and suggest clinically relevant improvements in patient well-being. This work is significant in view of the globally prevalent harmful uses of tobacco and the current scientific trend of revisiting herbal psychoactives (e.g., cannabis, psilocybin) for their therapeutic potentials.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Indigenous-Amazonian Traditional Medicine’s Usage of the Tobacco Plant: A Transdisciplinary Ethnopsychological Mixed-Methods Case Study

Berlowitz

Torres²,

Maake

et al. 2023

Plants

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“…Psychedelics can form part of a health-promoting diet, as demonstrated by the application of psychoactive plants in Peruvian-Amazonian traditional healing (Berlowitz et al, 2022). These entheogenic wellness practices are largely undertaken with natural products derived from fungi, plants, or animals (mainly amphibians), as opposed to synthetic molecules.…”

Section: Psychedelics Nutrition and The Microbiome-maintaining Wellne...mentioning

confidence: 99%

A long trip into the universe: Psychedelics and space travel

Lerer¹,

Varia²

2022

Front. Space Technol.

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Prolonged periods in space have potentially deleterious physiological and psychological effects. Ensuring the physical health and mental well-being of astronauts will inevitably supersede the need for technological innovation, as the major challenge in long-duration space travel. We propose a role for psychedelics (psychoactive fungal, plant, and animal molecules that cause alterations in perception, mood, behavior, and consciousness) and in particular psychedelic mushrooms to facilitate extended sojourns in space. Psychedelics research is in the midst of a renaissance and psychedelics are being explored not only for their therapeutic potential in psychiatry but also for their ability to promote neuroplasticity, modulate the immune system and reduce inflammation. Psychedelics may be to long-duration space travel in the 21st century, what citrus fruits were to long-distance sea travel in the 18th century—breakthrough and facilitatory. The human intergalactic experience is just beginning and it would be wise to consider the benefits of ensuring that astronauts undertaking potentially perilous space voyages benefit from our planet’s rich psychedelic heritage. There is also some justification for considering the application of psychedelics in the processing and integration of the profound and spiritual experience of deep space travel.

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“…Uno de estos es el DMT (dimetiltriptamina), responsable y propulsor de los sueños. Cuando se duerme, la glándula pineal segrega pequeñas cantidades de este neurotransmisor, y eso ayuda a que se pueda observar visiones a través del mundo onírico (Berlowitz, et al, 2021;Perkins, et al, 2021).…”

Section: Aspecto Medicinal Del Uso De Ayahuascaunclassified

“…De hecho, esta planta ritual no es la única empleada en las culturas precolombinas. Se puede identificar una constante relación entre los efectos de diversas sustancias psicoactivas y la comunicación con el mundo sobrenatural, además de los beneficios medicinales que algunas de estas contienen (Berlowitz, et al, 2021;Weis, et al, 2021).…”

Section: Introductionunclassified

Ayahuasca: significados entre la historia, la medicina y la cultura

2022

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El presente ensayo pretende una aproximación hacia la comprensión de los significados del término “ayahuasca”, como parte de los fitónimos de los pueblos amazónicos. A pesar de sus atributos socioculturales, este término abarca diversas especializaciones a nivel del léxico, considerando también la cosmovisión de los pueblos nativos en la que se encuentra inscrita esta planta. La metodología que se utilizó fue cualitativa, de tipo descriptiva y de carácter transversal. Se abordaron distintos campos disciplinares en la reflexión del alcance de su uso y significado cultural. Los apartados se relacionan con los aspectos históricos, rituales, medicinales y lingüísticos. Todo ello conduce a una mirada interdisciplinaria, que permite observar las múltiples dimensiones del término, sus atributos en la comunidad y las transformaciones de su significado en distintos espacios geográficos.

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Teacher plants — Indigenous Peruvian-Amazonian dietary practices as a method for using psychoactives

Cited by 12 publications

References 60 publications

Indigenous-Amazonian Traditional Medicine’s Usage of the Tobacco Plant: A Transdisciplinary Ethnopsychological Mixed-Methods Case Study

Indigenous-Amazonian Traditional Medicine’s Usage of the Tobacco Plant: A Transdisciplinary Ethnopsychological Mixed-Methods Case Study

A long trip into the universe: Psychedelics and space travel

Ayahuasca: significados entre la historia, la medicina y la cultura

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