I started with a hardware store brand of pure gum spirits of turpentine and it made me feel crappy. Couldn't function kind of crappy. The lady on the information line said it was not food grade. I'm guessing pulp industry by product with residual chemicals contaminating it. I took one teaspoon once or twice and said no more. I researched the stuff and looked for the absolute best I could find. I read reviews here claiming taking Diamond G brand was like a night and day experience compared to hardware stuff. I researched that. They shouldn't be marketing it as pure gum spirits. It may not have residual chemicals in it but it's made from slash and stumps left over from logging.
Real pine gum spirits come from tapped and/or wounded pine trees. There are different compounds at different ratios from tapping vs regular bark and wood. The trees' response to heal produces something special. I found a high-quality true pure gum spirits source. The trees are sacred and traditionally tapped. It has a faint pine smell and that's it. It didn't taste as bold or harsh if that makes sense and there was no chemical taste.
All that being said I still had roughly the same reaction to it. I took a teaspoon a day for 3-4 days before giving up on it. My head was very foggy, I had something akin to a headache, my body felt crappy (I don't know how else to explain it) and I could barely function.
The testimonies here and doctor Daniel's endorsement obviously gave me a ton of confidence but it didn't work for me. My delicate premature organs might have something to do with that. I may have better luck with much smaller doses if I ever get the confidence to try this again.
