The herbal remedy ginkgo biloba has gotten a lot of attention as a natural way of treating memory-related health issues like Alzheimer’s disease and dementia. In the first part of this article we looked at a study that backed up this contention. But ginkgo biloba may be useful for treating other health issues too, including headaches and tinnitus.
Basically, health conditions like Alzheimer’s disease have been linked to a lower amount of blood flow to the brain, and not-so-coincidentally, they have also been shown to benefit from supplementing with ginkgo biloba. For example, anxiety, headaches, dizziness, and depression may be improved by taking ginkgo biloba, as in at least some cases, each of these health conditions has been found to be caused by less blood circulation and/or cholesterol buildup in the arteries.
Ginkgo biloba might also be a natural answer to impotence. Again, impotence shares an issue with blood flow with the other health conditions that ginkgo appears to be very good at helping. If impotence is due to lowered blood flow due to atherosclerosis of the penis, ginkgo might be helpful to you. There is no guarantee, but ultrasound exams of 60 men with impotence found that taking ginkgo biloba for six weeks led to improved and increased penile blood flow. After six months, half of the subjects had returned to their usual potent selves.
Some other studies of ginkgo suggest that it might be useful in treating tinnitus, or ringing of the ears. When the tiny microscopic nerve endings in the inner ear become damaged, tinnitus may result. Some people have had luck taking ginkgo biloba to treat ringing in the ears, but some others have not. If you are living with on-going ringing in the ears, if you have your doctor’s blessing it’s possible that ginkgo biloba will give you some relief.
If you decide to give ginkgo biloba a try to see if it helps you with a memory concern or another health problem, please know that it can typically take between four and 12 weeks to notice a difference. Like all herbal remedies, ginkgo biloba can take awhile to build up in the system so although it might be hard to be patient it’s definitely worth the wait if ginkgo biloba ends up working well for you. Because it lowers that rate at which blood will clot, if you are on anticoagulants or if you have a clotting disorder you should ask your physician for sure before starting to take ginkgo biloba.
References:
http://www.wholehealthmd.com/ME2/dirmod.asp?sid=17E09E7CFFF640448FFB0B4FC1B7FEF0&nm=Reference+Library&type=AWHN_Supplements&mod=Supplements&mid=&id=70AF5BDEA1DC4E9B910F6F028F3F69F0&tier=2
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/ginkgo-biloba/NS_patient-ginkgo/METHOD=print