'Opiate of the masses'

Morag

Maybe not but it seems that those who are regular incense huffers may have had a good side benefit over the years. Could it be the lessening of incense in masses has been part of killing off the feel good factor

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080520110415.htm

Burning Incense Is Psychoactive: New Class Of Antidepressants Might Be Right Under Our Noses

ScienceDaily — Religious leaders have contended for millennia that burning incense is good for the soul. Now, biologists have learned that it is good for our brains too. An international team of scientists, including researchers from Johns Hopkins University and the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, describe how burning frankincense (resin from the Boswellia plant) activates poorly understood ion channels in the brain to alleviate anxiety or depression. This suggests that an entirely new class of depression and anxiety drugs might be right under our noses.


"In spite of information stemming from ancient texts, constituents of Bosweilla had not been investigated for psychoactivity," said Raphael Mechoulam, one of the research study's co-authors. "We found that incensole acetate, a Boswellia resin constituent, when tested in mice lowers anxiety and causes antidepressive-like behavior. Apparently, most present day worshipers assume that incense burning has only a symbolic meaning."

To determine incense's psychoactive effects, the researchers administered incensole acetate to mice. They found that the compound significantly affected areas in brain areas known to be involved in emotions as well as in nerve circuits that are affected by current anxiety and depression drugs. Specifically, incensole acetate activated a protein called TRPV3, which is present in mammalian brains and also known to play a role in the perception of warmth of the skin. When mice bred without this protein were exposed to incensole acetate, the compound had no effect on their brains.

"Perhaps Marx wasn't too wrong when he called religion the opium of the people: morphine comes from poppies, cannabinoids from marijuana, and LSD from mushrooms; each of these has been used in one or another religious ceremony." said Gerald Weissmann, M.D., Editor-in-Chief of The FASEB Journal. "Studies of how those psychoactive drugs work have helped us understand modern neurobiology. The discovery of how incensole acetate, purified from frankincense, works on specific targets in the brain should also help us understand diseases of the nervous system. This study also provides a biological explanation for millennia-old spiritual practices that have persisted across time, distance, culture, language, and religion--burning incense really does make you feel warm and tingly all over!"

According to the National Institutes of Health, major depressive disorder is the leading cause of disability in the United States for people ages 15--44, affecting approximately 14.8 million American adults. A less severe form of depression, dysthymic disorder, affects approximately 3.3 million American adults. Anxiety disorders affect 40 million American adults, and frequently co-occur with depressive disorders.

coffee_cake

that's great, i love burning incense

mostly because it just smells nice, though...

Penn

If there's one thing I miss about being an altar boy, it's getting paid after weddings and baptisms. At that age, that was pretty big money.

If there's two things I miss, the smell of incense would be the second.

cavedave

“Scientists don’t know what they are talking about when they talk about religion. Religion has nothing to do with belief, and I don’t believe it has any negative impact on people’s lives outside of intolerance. Why do I go to church? It’s like asking, why did you marry that woman? You make up reasons, but it’s probably just smell. I love the smell of candles. It’s an aesthetic thing.”

Taleb

marienbad

I'm incensed at them keeping this a secret all these years

robindch

Sharrow wrote: »

[...] regular incense huffers may have had a good side benefit [...]

Possibly, but you'd need to balance the benefits against the elevated risk of cancer from the particulates produced by the candles:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/4026537.stm
http://www.independent.ie/national-news/catholics-risk-cancer-from-church-candles-144258.html

Galvasean

Hooray for incest!

Beruthiel

You might have to re-read the OP Gal....


So the reason I'm usually in good form is because I'm forever burning cinnamon candles and incense.

Sarky

So religions use mind altering drugs to make mass feel better?

I am shocked. Flabbergasted, even.

Galvasean

Beruthiel wrote: »

You might have to re-read the OP Gal....

I meant what I said, and I said what I meant.
An elephant's faithful, one hundred percent.

Beruthiel

Galvasean wrote: »

I meant what I said, and I said what I meant.

You just might have to change your tagline to Sick Puppy then.

Corkfeen

Galvasean wrote: »

Hooray for incest!

You made me laugh but I'd feel wrong thanking the post. So where can get some psychoactive incense? We can pass around incense instead of a bong......... :P

Galvasean

Beruthiel wrote: »

You just might have to change your tagline to Sick Puppy then.

Or 'Biblical Literalist'?