Was just reading some doomer's recommendation that Flint, or maybe it was Decker, go take his Gingko Biloba.

I want to take some, too. I've got a Maidenhair Tree (Gingko biloba). But I don't know what's the best way to ingest the leaves, nor how many to ingest.

I've searched every site I can think of, maybe searched some of them two or three times; I forget.

Please help me.

SERIOUS REPLIES ONLY, please.

ALK

-- Al K. Lloyd (all@ready.now), December 08, 1999

Answers

Al,

First, take 2-3 ginko leaves and roll them into a tight cylinder, and grasp in your right hand. Then, unbuckle your trousers and drop your.........Oh, sorry, missed the part about serious replies only. Gosh, do I ever feel silly!

Nevermind. ;-)

-- (cavscout@fix.net), December 08, 1999.

I gotcha covered; give me a few minutes to type it in.

-- Hokie (nn@va.com), December 08, 1999.

Hey, cavscout, thanks for not completing that sentence. At first I thought you were going to tell me to roll it into a joint. Hmm.

So, considering what I think you were REALLY driving at, I have to ask you, "Does your name (cavscout) indicate that you are scouting for cavities?" I know--below the belt.

ALK

-- Al K. Lloyd (all@ready.now), December 08, 1999.

Just dry the leaves out, grind them into powder, and mix in with your orange juice or beer. I don't think you need to worry about overdosing on Ginko. If you take too much you will just remember everything that ever happened.

-- Hawk (flyin@high.again), December 08, 1999.

Al-

Heehee; glad you took it in the vein that it was meant (no pun intended, I think). Seriously, cavscout is short for cavalry scout, my old army MOS. Most people think its "cavescout" like spelunker (sp?). Anyway, good luck with your leaves, however you "take" them.

-- (cavscout@fix.net), December 08, 1999.

"the Healing Herbs: The Ultimate Guide to the Curative Power of Nature's Medicine" by Michael Castleman, 1991, Rodale Press

oldest tree on earth

May prevent and help treat many conditions assoc w/aging: stroke, heart disease, impotence (woohoo!!!), deafness, blindness, memory loss.

Chinese and Japanese roasted seeds as digestive aid and to prevent drunkenness (well, that's no good!)

Chinese physicians use it to treat asthma, childblains (whatever that is), swelling of hands and feet due to coldness....

Indians use as longevity elixer

Sales $500 million in Europe annually

Healing: interferes with platelat activation factor (PAF). PAF was discovered in 1972 and is involved in asthma attacks, organ graft rejection, arterial blood flow, and "the internal blood clots involved in heart attacks and some strokes." (By inhibiting PAF)

Stroke: dozens of studies prove ginko increases blood flow to brain and may speed recovery from stroke (so don't give to someone with open or bleeding wound, internal or external)

Heart attack: "ginko improves blood flow to the heart muscle itself...by reducing the risk of internal blood clots that trigger them"

Claudication: (pain, cramping, weakness, particularly in calves, often caused by cholesterol deposits in arteries)--study of 36 showed significant improvement.

Impotence: Journal of Urology: 60mg a day improved erection by increased blood flow.

Macular Degeneration (of retina, leading cause of adult blindness) French study showed "significant improvement".

Cochlear deafness: French study found ginko worked better than conventional meds, possibly by increasing blood flow to nerves of cochlea.

Tinnitus (ringing in ears), Dizziness, Asthma --all improved in studies.

Rx: Can't just take leaves and brew tea; takes alot of leaves to make medicine. Not recommended for persons with clotting disorders, pregnancy, nursing, children under two (unless fr asthma in children under two).

Side effects can be: nausea, diarhea.

Males make best tree: Female trees have apricot-size, orange-yellow fruits which contain edible seeds. Recommended to only plant male tree because female fruit is foul smelling and messy.

-- Hokie (nn@va.com), December 08, 1999.

Thanks, cavscout, for not getting offended :) I just coudln't resist.

Hawk, thanks. Is that recommendation based on something, or just your best guess? I tend to agree with you, but I'd sure like to know if it would do any good to take three or four leaves a day, or if a pound has to be concentrated. I'd feel pretty leary about ingesting a pound of any leaf.

ALK

-- Al K. Lloyd (all@ready.now), December 08, 1999.

Heh, so I guess uh if you get the runs then that means you took too much. Bon Appetite!

-- Hokie (nn@va.com), December 08, 1999.

PUT IT IN YOUR GINGKO UNTIL IT BILOBA'S!!!

-- ... (...@...com), December 08, 1999.

I took it for about nine months (in pill form) for my tinnitus, and it didn't help a bit.

-- Pearlie Sweetcake (storestuff@home.now), December 08, 1999.

Al,

Well, of course you don't want to use up more than you need to. Try to measure out enough of the powder to fill one of the "gel-cap" type pills, and that should be about the recommended amount for once per day, based on the store bought types I have used. You could try doubling that after a while and see how it works, but more than that would probably just be a waste.

-- Hawk (flyin@high.again), December 08, 1999.

Heck, I take 180mg per day and I'm not even 30 yet!! I believe it contributes to overall alertness and well being, helping me not to get so fatigued when I pour over those thrilling articles about the role of phospholipid signaling in blah blah blah.

Don't know what I'd do without it except maybe forget where I put my keys more often than normally, which, by the way, is rather often as it is.

-- coprolith (coprolith@fakemail.com), December 08, 1999.

Seriously...I took Gingko for about three years and it never did a thing for me. My bad ear still rings and hisses like crazy and it did nothing for my memory. I stopped taking it as an over hyped potion. BTW, I strongly advocate dietary supplements, but not Gingko. The earlier comments about PAF are important as well for folks who might be on blood thinners. MIGHT be a dangerous mix. As always, please consult with your doctor or other health professional.

-- Irving (irvingf@myremarq.com), December 09, 1999.

I've heard that you can overdose on it, and have problems with bleeding. Since nearly dying of blood loss a week or so after some surgery earlier this year -- and now being unable to take any painkillers like aspirin or non-steroidals (motrin, etc.) because of bleeding, I try to pay attention to that kind of thing.

What makes it perplexing is the fact that we've got a gingko tree too, but no idea as to how to prepare the leaves. I can't go with the "dry, grind, and fill a capsule" type of measurements unless it's backed up with something to verify that it *is* an appropriate quantity. I don't like bleeding.

-- Ron Schwarz (rs@clubvb.com.delete.this), December 09, 1999.

I was taking ginko biloba for memory until the day when I sat at the dining room table trying to remember whether I had taken it yet or not.

-- Libby Alexander (libbyalex@aol.com), December 09, 1999.

Don't take Ginko if you are taking aspirin or garlic.

All of these affect your blood and the combination will make it too "thin" leading to a possible anemic situation.

-- walt (longyear@shentel.net), December 09, 1999.

The National Institute of Health has a terrific data base of information that everyone can access. They provide scientific information about practically every vitamin, supplement and herb. If you don't know what something will do to your body after you put it in your mouth, don't. http://odp.od.nih.gov/ods/databases/ibids.html

LINK

-- walt (longyear@shentel.net), December 09, 1999.