For years, ginkgo biloba has been one of the most popular dietary supplements for brain health around. Ask my mother. For as long as I can remember, she would rarely leave the house without taking her "memory pills." Well, sorry mom, but you're going to have to find something else to keep that brain from aging. Because according to a new study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, researchers have found no evidence that the herb reduces the normal cognitive decline that comes with aging. These findings come out just over a year after another study found that the herb doesn't prevent dementia and Alzheimer's either.
My mom is not alone, however. Ginkgo has been used for more than 1,600 years to promote mental acuity, and Americans spent $107 million on the herb in 2007 alone. In its place, try exercising your mind a little by learning a new language or doing crossword puzzles. Like they say, if you don't use it, you lose it.
Wow...I have never taken Ginkgo, but I have thought about it many times.
ReplyDeleteBTW...Love your blog Jen!
Hey Jen:
ReplyDeleteone thing to remember is that when pharmaceutical companies and labs do tests on herbs, they often use only the part that they feel is the effective part. So, instead of using the plant as a whole, they use only the leaf or the stem or the flower. This has a huge effect on their negative findings. Also, it is important to know who is funding the study and if it is a double blind placebo study (if that is not indicated, it probably is not).
Because herbs cannot be manufactured, they offer very little profit for corporations. A strong point to remember when reading results from these sort of studies.