Available Articles: |
 Back
to Main |
GINKGO
The best-studied and most popular herb in Europe, ginkgo is prescribed more than 5 million times per year in Germany alone. Numerous well-controlled studies have shown it can improve blood flow to the brain and the extremities, and alleviate vertigo and ringing in the ears. In the United States it's often advertised as a smart pill. There's only one catch, says Purdue University herb expert Varro Tyler: "If you have a normal brain, it won't improve your cognitive functions whatsoever. But if you're elderly and are suffering some memory loss, ginkgo is probably worth a try."
Evidence of its safety is well-founded. In a six-month study of 8,505 patients, only one in 250 suffered any side effects -- generally a stomachache, headache, or rash -- and these problems went away quickly even with continued use.
And in a 1997 study researchers followed 309 patients in various stages of dementia, including that caused by Alzheimer's disease. Half of the patients took ginkgo three times a day; the others took a placebo. At the end of a year, 27 percent of the ginkgo users showed modest improvements in memory and social behavior -- the equivalent of a six-month delay in the progress of their mental deterioration. Only 14 percent of the patients taking a placebo did that well. That's pretty close to the results seen with drugs conventionally prescribed for Alzheimer's disease.
The bottom line:
You may have to use ginkgo for six weeks before noticing a difference, says Robert McCaleb, president of the Herb Research Foundation. The dose ranges from 120 to 240 mg daily. According to herb experts, the most effective ginkgo formulations are those extracted from the leaves using a strictly controlled process developed in Germany. The standardized dry extract is widely available in such products as Gingkoba, BioGinkgo, and Ginkgold.
|
|
|
