Surprising Health Benefits of Ginseng

The benefits of ginseng have been known by Chinese traditional medicine for over 2000 years.

Traditionally the root of the ginseng plant has been used to increase stamina, relieve depression and stress, and improve concentration. It has also been used for insomnia, headaches and indigestion and as an aphrodisiac (boosts your production of nitric oxide, which relaxes and dilates your blood vessels ... get it?).

Although the benefits of ginseng have not been exhaustively studied by modern science, there have been some studies that are well worth a second look.

Modern research has found that the benefits of ginseng might extend to your psychological well being, your immune system, and your blood glucose levels.

A Bit about Ginseng

Before we go into the benefits of ginseng, let's find out a bit more about it.

Ginseng is a plant found in Eastern Asia and North America. The root of the ginseng plant is used for the benefits of ginseng we will be discussing.

The various types of ginseng are Siberian, Panax, Red, and American. The chemical component of these plants is primarily what's called ginsenosides or panaxosides.

Benefits of Ginseng and Your Mental Functioning

A number of studies have found the benefits of ginseng to have a positive effect on folks' mental functioning. One study took 112 people who were healthy and over 40 years old and gave them 400 milligrams of ginseng per day over an eight week period of time. Although the researchers did not find an increase in memory or concentration, they did measure better and quicker reactions and increased abstract thinking ability.

Two other studies with about 30 participants each, gave their participants 200 milligrams of ginseng for eight weeks. These folks showed an increase in attention, ability to process information, and auditory reaction time.

A randomized, placebo controlled study of the benefits of ginseng chose close to 400 post-menopausal women and ran for 16 weeks. Some women were given ginseng and some were given a placebo. The women who were given the ginseng demonstrated improvements in what is called a Psychological General Well-Being index.

Other studies have demonstrated the benefits of ginseng by measuring improved performance on cognitive tests, increased accuracy on tests that measure a person's attention, and performance on memory tasks.

Benefits of Ginseng and Your Immune System

Can ginseng help fight respiratory viruses? Dr. Janet McElhaney thinks so. She is an associate professor of internal medicine at the Glennan Center for Geriatrics and Gerontology at Eastern Virginia Medical School. She is also a geriatrician or a physician that specializes in us older folks.

She took 108 older residents living at an assisted living facility and over the course of two years gave half of the group a placebo and half ginseng. One person in the ginseng group developed a respiratory illness. Nine people in the placebo group came down with respiratory illnesses.

Dr. McElhaney does not recommend giving up your flu shot. 90% of the folks in the study had had theirs. But she feels that ginseng used in addition to vaccines can help.

Dr. McElhaney first developed an interest in ginseng while working at University of Alberta in Canada. The professional hockey players there swore that ginseng helped them to make it through the flu and cold season.

Dr. McElhaney also stumbled upon another of the benefits of ginseng. She found that some of the folks who were taking the ginseng reported a decrease in anxiety levels along with other psychological benefits.

Ginseng and Diabetes

Another of the benefits of ginseng has been in the area of blood sugar levels. Ginseng has been shown effective in lowering blood sugar levels.

In an article appearing in the BBC News titled "Ginseng - A Treatment for Diabetes," scientists tell us that ginseng could possibly be used as a treatment for diabetes. They found that both folks with Type-2 diabetes and folks without diabetes can reduce blood sugar levels by up to 20% by taking ginseng before a meal.

The results of the study appeared in the Archives of Internal Medicine. Dr. Vladimir Vuksan, the lead investigator feels this is important for both the treatment as well as prevention of diabetes.

What Do We Recommend?

Most research seems to point to the benefits of getting a healthy dose of ginseng in your multivitamin. This insures that ginseng and the other nutrients you are getting are working together synergistically.

We've seen lots of products out there and we recommend not wasting your time or money on the mass produced, mass marketed thrift store variety multivitamins.

Most of these skimp on the amount of nutrients in their formulations and some are are just downright low quality.