Ginkgo Biloba – What Is Ginkgo Biloba and Its Benefits

What is Ginkgo Biloba? Here are some details about this!

GINKGO BILOBA – These are the risks and health benefits of using Ginkgo Biloba, an herb also called as maidenhair tree.

Maidenhair or Ginkgo biloba is a tree that is native to China and is grown for thousands of years now because of its many uses. Its seeds and leaves are very useful in traditional Chinese medicine but at current times, research now mainly focuses on the extract from the leaves.

Ginkgo Biloba Tree
Photo lifted from Encyclopedia Britannica

It is one of the oldest living trees and the supplements made out of this are associated with a lot of health benefits. The extract is taken out from dried green leaves of the plant and can be consumed in either liquid extracts, capsules, or tablets. 

The other names for this tree are ginkgo, fossil tree, maidenhair tree, Japanese silver apricot, baiguo, and yinhsing.

These are some of the said benefits of the fossil tree:

  1. Filled with antioxidants which is the main reason behind most of its health claims. this can also fight against free radicals.
  2. Reduces inflammation of some conditions like arthritis, irritable bowel syndrome, cancer, heart disease, and stroke.
  3. It helps improve circulation and heart health.
  4. Possibly effective for memory problems like Alzheimer’s Disease.
  5. Improves brain function.
  6. Reduces anxiety and depression.
  7. Helps support vision and eye health.
  8. It can treat headaches and migraines.

However, the National Center For Complementary and Integrative Health post said that “there’s no conclusive evidence that ginkgo is helpful for any health condition”. There are studies about its effectiveness to improve the symptoms of dementia but these findings are accordingly “unreliable”.

The side effects may also include headache, stomach upset, dizziness, palpitations, constipation, and allergic skin reactions. Meanwhile, moderate amounts of this orally taken appears to be safe for most healthy adults.

READ ALSO:

What can you say about this? Let us know!

Leave a Comment