Though ginkgo biloba has a reputation for helping memory and brain function, the widely popular dietary supplement has yet to prove itself with hard and fast research.
Despite this, in 2007 Americans spent $107 million on ginkgo. When the herb first became popular in the 1980s and 1990s, everyone (researchers and the rest of us) was optimistic about the effects on the brain and thinking ability.
Sadly, the most recent research, appearing in the Journal of the American Medical Association, continues to suggest the dietary supplement does little in the way of helping the brain.
“Early studies seemed to show that there might be some cognitive improvement, but those were typically smaller studies and not as well designed,” explains Joshua Steinerman, MD, an assistant professor of neurology at Montefiore Medical Center in New York. who wasn’t part of the work on ginkgo. “More recent studies, including the GEM study, are large and well controlled, and have showed no consistent positive effect on slowing the rate of cognitive decline.”
Last year a study led by Steven T. DeKosky, MD, the vice president and dean of the University of Virginia’s School of Medicine, showed that the popular herb offered no protection against dementia and Alzheimer’s disease.
Now a new study by the same team of researchers has found no evidence that ginkgo reduces the cognitive decline that comes with aging. Both are part of the larger Ginkgo Evaluation of Memory (GEM) study that’s funded by the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine and the National Institute on Aging.
In this latest work, the biggest of its kind, DeKosky and his team followed over 3,000 subjects between the ages of 72 and 96 for an average of six years. Half the subjects took two, 120-milligram ginkgo capsules a day during the study, and the other half took placebo capsules.
Those who took the ginkgo showed no difference in attention, memory or other cognitive measures compared to those who took the placebo.
Still, if you’re taking the supplement, and having no trouble, should you stop? Not necessarily. The experts point out that this herb has been used for thousands of years to promote mental acuity, and though this research doesn’t support the claims, that doesn’t mean there isn’t something to them.
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Ginkgo Does Not Work – So What Works Continued…
If you do decide to keep taking ginkgo, be sure the dose you take is safe, and that your doctor knows what you’re doing. Buy quality products that use natural ingredients and standardized manufacturing processes… so that you put only the best, purest ingredients into your body.
If you’re interested in other healthy habits to work in to your lifestyle that might help your brain, here are a few to try… alone or most effectively, in combination.
- Exercise your brain with things that simulate it… learning a language, playing brain-teasing games or doing puzzles are all good things to try. Computer or video games like Brain Age and Brain Challenge are another option.
- Exercise your body, according to convincing evidence that shows physical activity targets a part of the brain that’s related to memory and aging. Even a weekly workout is enough to help maintain cognitive function.
- Manage your stress as high levels may actually work to kill nerve cells in some of the key areas of the brain associated with memory. Stress can also accelerate decline in mental function and increase your risk for Alzheimer’s.
- Eat a diet that’s good for the heart – one rich in fish, fruits, veggies and healthy fat may play a role in brain health. There’s a 2009 study in the Archives of Neurology that found those who stuck to a Mediterranean Diet had a 28% lower risk of mild cognitive decline than those who didn’t eat this way.
- Have friends… or make them. A satisfying social life is also thought to hold off, though not reverse, cognitive decline.
Studies on ginkgo will continue as researchers hope to develop a drug to prevent, or cure, cognitive decline. In the meantime, a healthy lifestyle that includes some of the suggestions above is your best bet for a natural way to keep your brain sharp and healthy as you get older.
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