Some of you may have heard of this "alternative medicine" fad going around (OK, its been going around for centuries, although we used to call it things like witchcraft, and snake-oil). And despite its name, it is not medicine. Out of the thousands of alt med products out there, there is a tiny handful (3, as of my last count) that actually have clinically measurable benfitits.
Today we're NOT adding another to that list. For decades (perhaps centuries) people have been claiming that Ginko biloba helps your brain work. Its been touted as a cure for everything from insanity, to ADD, to senile dementia.
So some real scientists put this claim to the test, and treated just over 3000 elderly people with a high dose of GB.
The end result - nothing, nadda, not one damned thing. Those who received the GB under went age-related cognitive decline at the exact same rate as those who didn't get any GB.
And for those of you who want to know what the proven 3 are...
- Ginger, for motion sickness
- Ginseng polysaccharides (AKA ColdFX) to reduce cold symptoms/infections
- Melatonin, for jet lag
And while those work, compared to conventional drug-based interventions, they aren't all that great. ColdFX, for example, reduced cold-virus infections by ~25% and shortens colds by a few days. I actually know a few people who were involved in the developed of this product, and it was developed through hard-core science...and you cannot just use ginseng; you need to eat 5-6lbs/day to get an effective dose of
Poly-Furanosyl-Pyranosyl-Saccharide.
Posts
0 comments:
Post a Comment