Ginko Biloba is a popular Chinese herb whose use dates back over 3500 years. Coming from the world’s oldest tree, the ginkgo tree, this herb can treat nearly anything including memory problems, depression, headaches, dizziness and tinnitus.
Ginko is full of antioxidants and also includes bioflavonoids making it a powerful healing herb. In fact, some say that it has more antioxidant activity then vitamins E, C and beta-carotene and it seems to be very effective in treating diseases that affect the eyes, brain and cardiovascular systems such as cataracts, macular degeneration, Alzheimer’s disease, strokes and diabetic retinopathy. The bioflavonoids help protect the blood vessels and can help to fight cardiovascular disease.
Another component that is unique to this herb is something called terpene lactones which can help increase circulation to the brain by causing the blood vessel walls to dilate and relax. In fact, the increase in blood flow in circulation is quite impressive with one study reporting a 57% increase among those who took herb regularly.
Ginko Biloba also can help reduce clotting because it has a natural blood thinning effect which is why anyone who is on blood thinner such as Coumadin should talk to your doctor before taking Ginko.
The average dosage for this herb is 120 mg to 360 mg a day. You want to buy an extract of that is standardized to 6% terpene lactones and 24% flavone glycosides. In cases of Alzheimer’s disease you may want to up the daily dosage to the high-end. The thing about taking Ginko however, is that you need to commit to taking it for a few months before you decide whether it helps you or not since many people only report seeing improvements after about a month. There are very few reported side effects, in fact less than 1% reported only mild digestive upset and sometimes headache and defeat us.
Ginko biloba is useful in treating attention deficit disorder, Alzheimer’s or a decline in memory, circulatory diseases, high blood pressure, depression, PMS, impotence, ringing in the ears, declining vision and stroke. Be sure you check with your doctor before taking this herb since it does have a thinning effect on the blood.