With Natural Medicines Sometimes Less is More

The model of western civilization often creates the dynamic of “more is better”. We strive for more money, more possessions, more tasty foods. But the laws of nature do not always operate this way. In some situations, such as the example of certain nature-based medicine, less is more.

Microdosing psilocybin is a key example of this phenomenon. While there is value in large “heroic doses”, as Terrence McKenna called them, taking smaller doses of psilocybin can have profound cognitive and mood-altering effects.

Studying how psilocybin affects neurogenesis (creation of new brain cells)  in mice, researchers found that small doses allowed the animals to learn 5 times faster than the large dose. The animals learned much quicker when they had a microdose of psilocybin versus a large “heroic dose”.

This principle isn’t only applicable to psilocybin mushrooms. Other tools in nature respond in such a way.

For example, the adaptogen rhodiola rosea amplifies immune health and increases focus up until a certain dosage (600 - 700 mg) where it does the opposite. This is why we included a precise dose of rhodiola rosea in our Purpose formula. This is also applicable to caffeine of which many of you are intimately familiar. Even if higher doses of caffeine might feel great, the anxiety and arousal actually decrease cognitive performance.

The more we can live within the rules and boundaries of Earth’s complexities, the better off we will be as a species and as individuals. There are certain rules of nature we have forgotten, which hold intuitive wisdom. Let’s return to these truths even when the world is pushing us towards something else.