As Ayahuasca is a hallucinogenic substance, its effect on the body is more on the mental aspect than the physical part. It is not known to be addictive and no one has died ingesting Ayahuasca to date.
You start to feel the effect of the Ayahuasca substance in about 15 to 60 minutes after ingestion. The peak of the effect will happen between 60 to 90 minutes after ingestion and might last another 2 to 6 hours. After effect can often last for about 1-8 hours tops. Of course, this will depend on the dose you have taken. A large dose will undoubtedly be more potent than the small dose. If a user ingests too much of the substance, he will just probably black-out and forget the entire experience. There have been no reports of anyone dying of overdose but theoretically and maybe in rare cases, allergic reaction to any of the ingredients from the substance can be fatal.
Physical Effects of Ayahuasca
Since Ayahuasca is a combination of substances, any effect it will have on the body will depend on the combination of substance used. It has been observed that it has purgative properties. It induces vomiting and sometimes diarrhea that will normally induce the body to clear itself with worms and other parasites. After the vomiting, the person usually feels he or she has been purified from inside out.
It has also been observed that most cultures that use Ayahuasca have some strict dietary controls before ingesting the substance. These diets are said to reduce nausea and the vomiting you experience. But the real reason is that it makes the body much easier for the substance to be ingested by the body. Aside from vomiting, other physical effects would be slight buzzing in the ear, tremors, profuse sweating, giddiness and slight increase in blood pressure and heart rate.
Mental Effects of Ayahuasca
It is described as a substance that creates the most profound of all psychedelic experiences. The substance has powerful hallucinogenic alkaloids that induce the experience. The use of other additives makes up different types of effects, but the most affected sense is vision during these psychedelic experiences. They describe their experiences as having long sequences of dream-like imagery. This can be translated to manifestations of spirit helpers, demons and deities, geometrical pattern and tigers, birds and reptiles. They believe that they can see events at a great distance. They also experience sensations of flying and even of their own death. With these kinds of experiences, it explains why they used it for religious purposes. There have been no known long term effect on mental health when it comes to continuous use of Ayahuasca.
It is also worth mentioning that there is a study that says Ayahuasca is very good at curing depression, addiction and anxiety disorders. The only great concern in the use of Ayahuaca is a hypertensive crisis brought about by the raising levels of tyramine in the blood. Hypertensive crisis might lead to hemorrhaguc stroke, rapture of pre-existing aneurysm, and myocardial infraction that can all result to death of the user.
