Does Ginkgo Biloba Help With Memory?

Ginkgo Biloba is believed to enhance memory in Traditional Chinese Medicine. Its introduction to Europe and America has been spurred by studies that point to its positive effect on the blood flow to the brain, making it relevant to the treatment of a group of disorders related to blood vessels supplying the brain. With that, there is strong belief among advocates of alternative medicine that it helps in a number of mental illnesses related to aging such as dementia and Alzheimer's disease.

Ginkgo Biloba is actually a tree of towering proportions with known cultivars growing up to 165 feet in height. This plant has no known close relatives still in existence, but is thought to have been a common species across the globe long before written history began. It is indeed one of the oldest living species to date to withstand changes throughout the millennia. In fact, several specimen trees in Chinese temples have been claimed to have been around for over a thousand years.

It has been cultivated in the East since time immemorial and has been a prized member of the local vegetation in North Asia largely owing to its status in Buddhism. In China where it is conferred with an historical symbol as the national tree, ginkgo nuts has long been a traditional ingredient in numerous dishes, notably in rice porridge served to those who have fever. The seeds are particularly esteemed for their health benefits, and sold as supplements to promote mental alertness and remedy dizziness.

Extracts from ginkgo biloba are rich in flavonoids, which have been tied to ongoing studies concerning their assumed role against cancer. One thing is for sure: flavonoids show strong antioxidant properties, making ginkgo biloba at par with tea in the war against free radicals, which are by-products of chemical reactions in the human body that involve the use of oxygen. The principal task of free radicals is to ward off diseases due to infection by killing pathogenic substances.

Free radicals are highly destructive entities, being a reactive oxygen species that changes everything around them into free radicals. Cells are equipped with substances ready to detoxify free radicals right after the latter complete their role in eradicating harmful stimuli. Despite of that, there are times that the body fails to dispose of free radicals multiplying at a rapid rate, causing damage to cells. The fact that free radicals modify DNA is believed to contribute to the formation of carcinogenic agents in the body and even accelerate the aging process. This is the reason why antioxidants have been of special significance in recent years.

In addition, ginkgo biloba have exhibited notropic properties, which explains its effects on enhancing concentrations. The Chinese has long used its nuts and extracts in an effort to improve cognition and intelligence. Researches involving randomized clinical trials are well underway, but initial studies have reported that consumptions of ginkgo biloba extracts modulate the supply of blood to the brain, translating to overall mental health.

You can find ginkgo biloba at your local or internet vitamin store in standardized capsule or tablet forms. Always choose name brands like Source Naturals to ensure quality and purity of the herb you seek.

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Author (Darrell Miller). Submitted on Wed, 26 Jan 2011 Time: 9:08 AM

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