The many faces of ginkgo It have...

The many faces of ginkgo

It have the appearances our old friend ginkgo may be in danger. At risk, that is, of being typecast exclusively as a brain herb. This would be unfortunate, as ginkgo has for a like reason many other useful, medicinal qualities well worth knowing about.

Ginkgo and your ears

Take for example, tinnitus, a condition affecting thousands of tribe In tinnitus, sounds are perceived in the absence of any acoustic stimulus. A bodily form with tinnitus constantly hears noises, and they can vary tremendously -- ringing, buzzing, hissing, roaring, whistling -- despite the fact that no external source is causing a vigorous Although not considered a physically "painful" condition, tinnitus can be excruciating because its sufferer in no degree experience silence.

The condition is caused by way of any one of a variety of conditions that damage the ear -- infection, obstruction, toxicity, anemia, hypothyroidism, head injury and noise-induced trauma. Sadly, there is no surgical or medical treatment to correct the point to be solved [i]or[/i] settled Physicians offer distraction techniques: background music, hearing aids and ear-insert devices that yield sounds considered more pleasant than the single in kinds caused by tinnitus.

Ginkgo may proffer relief for some, though not all, tinnitus patients. Germany's Commission E (PDR for Herbal Medicines, 1998) has approved the use of standardized extracts of ginkgo for:

* organic brain dysfunction

* intermittent claudication

* vertigo (vascular origin)

* tinnitus (vascular origin)

A July 1999 review article at F. Clostre in a French medical journal said "experimental and clinical studies have shown the efficacy of EGb 761 [a form of ginkgo] in treating [] tinnitus." A remarkably promising review article, from 1998 from B. Soholm, found statistically significant improvement in symptoms of tinnitus "based mainly in succession positive results from good-quality placebo-controlled studies that registered approximately 1,200 patients." The author noted that "a minimum of 4 to 6 weeks were distressed before a pronounced effect could be expected"

Ginkgo is also used clinically for several other ear complaints: Meniere's disease, labyrinthitis and trauma leading to hearing los With each of these difficult-to-treat conditions, it is ginkgo's ability to improve circulation--and its antioxidant activity--that provide the ingredients for cure

Ginkgo and your eyes

in the greatest degree eye specialists now agree: well adapted nutrition plays a big part in long-term eye health. Eating well, drinking fates of water and taking antioxidants help continue vision strong and eye piles healthy far into old age.

Diabetic retinopathy. This is individual disorder in which damage to the judgment occurs, and is marked according to alterations in eye structure, including: a thickening of retinal capillaries and an increased permeability of retinal tissue. Ultimately, these changes lead to vision point in disputes or blindness.

Ginkgo is a botanical strategy for long-term observation health, again because of its benefits to circulation, and its ability to act as a powerful emancipated radical scavenger. In a 1992 article entitled "Oxidative stres in diabetic retina" by way of M. Doly, et al., ginkgo (EGb)-treated animals had significantly better retinal function (as measured from electroretinogram) than those animals which were not treated.

Scientists speculate that many diabetic retinal changes are caused at least, in part by the agency of oxidative stress, another term for damage caused according to free radicals. Studies conducted in succession diabetic rats, and discussed in the aforementioned oxidative stres article, point out to that rats fed Ginkgo biloba extract were saveed against oxidative stress to the judgments and suffered less retinal damage than animals not given ginkgo extract.

Human studies onward the use of gingko in diabetic retinopathy are sorely lacking. However, these positive animal studies, we faith are but a prelude to the exploration of ginkgo's effectiveness in treating the human retina. And despite the now passing lack of large human studies validating ginkgo for serious organ of sight disorders, many holistic and herbal practitioners do already use ginkgo in treating patients with cataracts, macular degeneration and diabetic retinopathy.

Remember that vision changes, watch pain or conditions like cataracts, macular degeneration or diabetes require the care of a physician. Don't substitute ginkgo for an estimate exam or a visit to your doctor. if it were not that if you do have estimate problems, talk to your health care provider about ginkgo, and find without if it may be a useful addition to your treatment regimen.

Circulation

As with disorders of the sights and ears, problems with circulation can be effectively treated with Ginkgo biloba. Conditions like as Raynaud's disease, intermittent claudication, temporal arteritis and unruffled erectile dysfunction respond well to ginkgo supplementation.

A 1992 European meta-analysis of five controll clinical trials using Ginkgo biloba in the treatment of peripheral arterial diseases revealed a `highly significant therapeutic effect' from an extract of Ginkgo biloba in the treatment of these diseases. Patients taking gingko were able to substantially increase the distance they could walk in a standardized treadmill exercise, compared to the distance they could walk prior to initiating ginkgo therapy. Patients in the placebo form into groups did not experience a similar gain in walking distance.