Ginseng is an herb that some people take in supplement form to help with different types of health issues. Over in Asia, ginseng has been used for literally thousands of years as anything from an energy and immune system booster, stress reliever, and concentration enhancer. Here in the United States, ginseng is gaining in popularity for these same reasons as well as for its natural antioxidant powers, and it’s pretty easy to find in both supplement form and added to some juice blends and other drinks. The next time you are at the grocery store, check out one of the popular energy drink brands—chances are good it will contain ginseng (along with a lot of other ingredients that tend to give these drinks a bad name, like caffeine, etc.)
Ginseng, or panax ginseng as it is technically known, has its potential healing powers right inside the root. You can find ginseng in different forms. The classic, or panax type is called either Asian, Chinese, or Korean and it tends to be very easy to find. Siberian ginseng and American ginseng are other forms of the herb.
In order to get any possible health benefits from ginseng, it’s important to be sure you are purchasing a high-quality version of the herb. The active ingredient is called ginsenosides, and honestly, a lot of products that claim to contain ginseng probably don’t have a really high level of this substance. So if you want to try ginseng, do your research first and make sure that what you are spending your hard-earned money on contains enough ginsenosides to make it worthwhile.
The word “panax” comes from the Greek word meaning “all-healing,” so in some cultures ginseng is thought to help pretty much the entire body. Quite honestly, part of this probably stems from the fact that the ginseng root is often shaped like a human body, so there might be some folklore attached to this notion. But really, in my research for the articles on ginseng and its health benefits, I did find a remarkable amount of scientific evidence that ginseng can be helpful for a pretty impressive list of health issues.
For example, ginseng may truly help us fight mental fatigue, and for some people, possibly physical fatigue as well. Research has found that the herb works to stimulate the central nervous system during stressful times. Some studies of ginseng link it to a better physical performance, like running faster or taking longer to become tired or exhausted, but others did not find these same results. Overall, the studies that were conducted in Asia on ginseng and physical performance tended to show better results, in part because the Asian studies used higher doses of the herb.
On the other hand, the research of ginseng on mental fatigue seems to be more promising. In a double-blind study conducted back in 1982, nurses at a London hospital were given either ginseng or a placebo for three days in a row before switching to night shifts. The ginseng group of nurses reported higher scores for competence, mood, performance on tests for speed and coordination, and in general well-being. In another double-blind test on college students in Italy, they were given either ginseng or a placebo before different tests. Again, the ginseng group had improved attention, mental math skills, logical deduction, and reaction time. Generally speaking, researchers feel that these results stem from the notion that ginseng is an adaptogen, which means it helps increase our resistance to physical, chemical and biological stress and also helps to improve our energy levels and general feeling of well-being.
References:
http://altmedicine.about.com/od/ginseng/a/ginseng.htm
http://www.wholehealthmd.com/ME2/dirmod.asp?sid=17E09E7CFFF640448FFB0B4FC1B7FEF0&nm=Reference+Library&type=AWHN_Supplements&mod=Supplements&mid=&id=025E419E49BC4F19B215C5C21004D727&tier=2