Indigo - Qing Dai (1:1 Herbal Extract Granules, 100g)

Update 4/26/25 Been over a year since my review so I thought I’d come back and provide an update. About 3 months into supplementation, the effects began to wane. Before I knew it, the granules stopped working. I tried increasing dose, frequency, even combined with curcumin w/ black pepper but to no avail. Tried to take granules as capsules but that didnt help either. Disappointed, I went off treatment for 6 weeks. In my case, I began looking closely at what I was eating. The blood and skin tests to determine food allergens were turning up flase positives and negatives. 3 tests over three years with varying results, the last one came back with 0 allergens. But my body was telling me otherwise. Through trial and error and indeed a lot of misery, I zeroed in on tree nuts. Removed them from my diet and saw marginal improvement. But what was a real game changer was to combine the granules w/ Kutaj (3x/day, 2400 mg total). Keep in mind this is what worked for me and I am not taking it under medical guidance. Additionally, I started taking 1 clove a day and made sure to chew it in my mouth until almost nothing was left. Additionally, I started eating a small bowl of organic blackberries every morning. These additions overnight put me into remission. And I continued since for the last 2 months. I have also started taking probiotics 2x/day to repopulate my gut w/ healthy bacteria. I still take the granules once every two weeks. I’m only posting here to encourage others not to give up hope in case the granules dont yield the desired result initially. My recovery protocol is homegrown and I’m due for blood work in July. Please do your own diligence before you embark on your own journey. And from I am able to tell, if you have unresolved allergens, your body will not respond effectively to the granules unless the irritant is removed. Good luck and stay positive! I have struggled with IBS-D over two decades and attempted several treatments in an attempt to cure myself. Nothing comes close to Qing Dai. I was a skeptic but after reading reviews decided it was worth a shot. What you should know is everybody is different and likely to respond variably to Qing Dai. When I started about a year ago, I took granules (yikes!) three times a day. Almost instantly, this gave me nausea and headaches. Moreover, it do me much good in the bathroom. I abandoned treatment and forgot about it for 9 months. Another flare meant I was desperate to get into remission. I decided to give Qing Dai another try. Based on previous experience, I took one dose every alternate day. Within a week, I was symptom free! Well formed bowels- something I hadnt seen for decades. Unbelievable! But at this dose and interval, after four weeks, I can say that the pendulum has swung to the other side. I’m chronically constipated and have to strain hard in the bathroom. Will likely space out intervals between doses even further. I realize this is my experience and may not be applicable to everybody. But wanted to share in case you thought if giving it a try but walked away due to unpleasant side effects. Bottomline: you have to listen to your body and adjust dose accordingly. Also, stay on top of blood work periodically to make sure all parameters are in the normal range.

What can I say. This has been a life changer for me. I've had colitis since I was 14, now nearing 40 this one product has stunned me in it's efficacy. After reading some NIH studies regarding qing dai and it's positive effects on digestive inflammation online, I decided to try it for myself, and this is the one I chose. Generally I have 2-3 sustained flares a year that can last months. I started taking this while in the middle of a flare (along with the meds I was on at the time prednisone, and lialda which were not stopping the flare). Within two weeks my flare had dramatically reduced. Within a month I was eating things that I never thought I'd be able to eat again with seeming no ill effects. Two months after starting, I had a colonoscopy that was clearer of inflammation than any I have had in the last 20 years. It's now been almost 5 months since I started taking it, and three months since I have taken any steroid. Not a single hint of a flare so far. No digestive upset. I finally feel as though I can have my life back.. and I feel as though I owe it to this product. If you have colitis/chrons all i can say is try it... It really worked for me, and is worth the try at getting your life back. I generally take about 1gram a day split between morning and evening. It's a purplish powder that kind of has a clay like flavor to it.. I just take it straight, and drink a little water. Not offensive at all.. Very tolerable. **** 04/19 Update: I've been taking this for 2.5 years now. It is the only thing I take. I no longer take steroids, lialda, or any other medicines for my UC. I have not had a single flare since my last review in 2017, and I feel almost normal. I will say though that although this has stopped inflammation in my intestines, it does not affect inflammation elsewhere in the body if the inflammation is systemic. So just be aware of that if your condition is less localized to your digestive system and effects other parts of your body. The great thing is, it has allowed me to adjust my diet and lifestyle in ways not possible before, to minimize other types of inflammation in the body. ****05/20 Update: I was back for my periodic order and felt I'd give another update. It's been 3.5 years now and still flare free. I highly recommend trying this if you have U.C. and have not done so yet. The studies I've read said that it only works for about 30% of sufferers so it's no guarantee, but for those it does work for, I can attest it's worth the try. ****12/24 Update: It's now been 8 years, and I am still flare free. At this point I only take it as needed when a flare presents itself. New research has found that when taken daily long term at amounts of about 2gr, for periods of over 6 months, Qing Dai can increase pulmonary blood pressure and raise liver enzyme levels. Studies have found that you should see improvement in about 2 weeks, and potential remission in about 2 months. After achieving remission, they recommend that you only take it as needed, so as to prevent the potential long term side effects.

I only took one of these, bc I read in the reviews that it could cause some digestive upset. I have UC though, and have also read some studies that it could help put me in remission and we'll, when you have a chronic illness you're always looking for anything to help. I only took one pill and, whew, it was a lot. I had severe lower abdominal cramping and diarrhea - the exact opposite of what I was hoping for. It's been a day since I took and my symptoms have subsided; however, my lower abdomen is still pretty sore from the cramping. It actually scared me, so I will not be taking any more. I wish I could return it, but it's ineligible for return. If you're looking for something to ease symptoms of UC, please be cautious, as I did not have a good reaction to it.

Really works! Helps with ulcerative colitis flares for me. Pleasantly surprised

I took 1 gram of it in a tea. I got a bad headache and very dizzy. And I threw up. I'm too scared to try it again to make sure it was the indigo that made me throw up. But it did seem to work for a few days even after I threw up. It is powder/granule form which didn't mix well into the tea. The taste is also not great. And my poop seems to be a darker color, kind-of green. I can kind of smell it in my poop too. 1 Month Update: I ordered a capsule version of indigo to try again and it seems to work and hasn't made me throw up. I do get some dizziness which is probably due to the indigo. I will keep this bottle just in case I run out of the other one. The other bottle is capsule form which comes in half gram (500mg) doses. I take one of those everyday. I had some headaches for the first week or so but I started being more careful about things that hive me headaches and I don't really get them anymore. My UC symptoms have gone away a lot. I can tell I still have the ulcers and it might take more time to completely heal. 1.5 Year Update: I still take capsules everyday (500mg). And sometimes my poops gets worse and I get blood in my poop (1-2 days every 3-4 months). I want to try to decrease how often I take it. 2.5 Year Update I did try getting off of it bc of some symtoms I was having. It was okay for like 2 weeks and things started going downhill. I started taking it again at like 1 or 2 months after stopping. I don't take everyday though.. only every other day. I'm working on getting stuff to put my own capsules together for smaller doses. This should help with decreasing my headaches which I get sometimes. Also I want to do it so that I can just take it everyday at a smaller dose. 4.5 Year Update I stopped taking it because I was in a flare up for over a year and it wasn't getting better. And bc I want to try to have kids but wouldn't try while on Indigo. I will keep my bottles of it and the intention to use it again for whenever the meds I'm on now don't work anymore. Right before I got switched, I noticed it was still helping. It's kind of like a safety or a last resort for me.

Purchased the capsule version, which I notice is not in stock all the time. I read Qing Dai can cause stomach upset and headaches. Thus, I ended up also purchasing gelatin capsules and I halved my first doses. I started with a half dose, once per week. Now I am at a half dose twice per week. Personally, I am using these to treat eosinophilia. In some medical journal I read about its usage in bone marrow derived issues. Always one to try alternative things, I gave this one a whirl. I am due for bloodwork the last week of October 2022, so I will update my review at that time. Currently, I use high doses of liposomal C + reishi mushroom to treat eosinophilia and although I lowered it 1000 points (which is great in my book) I cannot seem to keep in the normal range. I am hoping this is the ticket. Normal treatment of hyper-eosinophilia is glucocorticoids or a low dose chemo drug, so I am pretty happy that my current regimen kept me off those. As a "side effect" ... on the days I take the Qing Dai, I notice my overall inflammation goes down. I tend to have more pep in my step and less achiness. I call that a win, so I had to come here and write a review stating it. So far, no complaints or regrets. I was impressed enough, I just told a friend, whose husband suffers from Crohn's, about this stuff.

I have used this for two flares of ulcerative colitis. I used this in conjunction with other things to try to calm the flares - some dietary changes, more rest/sleep. I think this might have helped with the bleeding, but it didn't shorten the duration of the flares, unfortunately. I will say that I tried the qing dai granules as well as the capsules, and much prefer the capsules. The granules didn't dissolve in water, so I ended up tossing the granules in my mouth and then washing them down with water.

After 16 years of Azathioprine, a chemo type drug, with risks of skin and blood cancers, I ceased taking it, along with Lialda. In the midst of a full onslaught of UC from ceasing those, I stumble upon this Qing Dai pill form. Within two to three days of using this, the bleeding stopped completely. Within two-weeks the cramping ceased well enough to where I was able to attend a public sports function with the wife. (Anyone with UC well knows what I’m saying.) About three weeks into using this, I had a major pain rip through my lower right abdomen. It brought me to my knees. Along with following a strict mediterranean diet for 6 weeks, I started these three weeks into the dietary change. I was feeling great, and super excited to have found a natural and responsive alternative to pharma drugs. But this pain attack was vicious. I thoughit was my appendix. I’m still not sure. I ceased the Qing Dai and over the past week (today being 7 days since the episode, the abdominal cramps and those sharp, localized attacks have dissipated fully. The herb is OBVIOUSLY a legit treatment for UC, because I have personally tried and seen the proof. This adverse reaction I hadis so disappointing to me. I looked up any info I could find in studies about this herbal treatment. Even the NIH study admitted its promise as an effective treatment, yet warning of the lack of long-term research for efficacy. But I narrowed my search to appendicitis. I found a single case where it was used in a young boy for UC, and he suffered acute appendicitis that went away when discontinuing the use of Qing Dai. in most studies that listed adverse reactions, abdominal cramps were among the list. Like anything, many people use it with no issue, and certain few suffer adverse reactions. Unfortunately I seem to be one of the few. I plan to lower the dosage from the four per day I was taking to the minimum I can use without having any reactions, if possible, and hopefully still finding long term remission of UC. I would highly recommend this to anyone with UC, and even psoriasis, as Qing Dai has been a powerful treatment for people suffering that skin disease. But proceed with caution as with any medication. Do your research and know the risks or possibilities of adverse affects to look for. If the Treasure of East folks have any advice or wisdom, please offer. I’m all ears.