Subject: Re: Ginko Biloba and Caffeine

From: [email-masked] (jsty)
Date: Mon, 24 Jul 1995 02:44:41 +1100

In article
<[email-masked]>,
"Susan E. Richardson" <[email-masked]> wrote:

> I'd be very interested in hearing from anyone who has personal experience 
> with ginko, and also from anyone who is educated about the chemistry and 
> affects of ginko and/or caffeine.
> 

I tried ginkgo for about 2 months - 2 tablets a day of 24% extract with garlic.
I found that, while subtle, I felt a greater clarity of mind. Also, my
memory recal seemed to be enhanced - I found that that thought association
was more responsive (ie: when thinking of a paricular topic, I would
recall a lot of
related memories - well, enough to make me take notice). It's really hard to
judge whether the effects were the result of the gingko, or whether I just
thought these effects were occuring because I was seeking for them to
happen
(constantly checking myself to see if I notice any change - a bit like the
placebo effect I guess). I did only take the dosage recomended on the
pack, and have heard that ginkgo is quite safe in much higher dosages, but
I wanted to start off slowly to see if the recomended dosage would produce
any effect.
Its been about nine months since I stopped taking ginkgo, and should note that
I don't feel as clear headed now as I was when taking ginkgo.
Personally I think it is worth using - but the cost is a bit inhibiting
(on my meager income), so I went and bought 3 ginkgo trees. I don't
suppose you've heard of a good method of making an extract from the
leaves? BTW, these trees grow _so_ slowly - they are eight years old and
only 4 ft high - I wonder how long it takes for them to develop into a
full blown tree?

j

---

From: [email-masked] (Julia Moravcsik)
Date: 24 Jul 1995 14:29:21 GMT

. It's really hard to
> placebo effect I guess). 

It's nice to see someone wondering whether they were subject to the placebo
effect!  Too many people seem to be a bit too convinced by their own personal
experiences.

If you are concerned about a placebo effect you might want to try your own
little experiment.  Get some large empty gelatin capsules from a health food
store.  Put sugar in half of them and your gingko capsule (which should be
small enough to fit) in the other (with sugar to fill up the rest of the space. 
Have a friend label some bottles with numbers (the more bottles your use, the
more likely it will be that you aren't just guessing right).  The numbers will
correspond with whether the bottle contains the sugar or the gingko but only
your friend will know which is which.  Then have your friend put the capsules
in the bottles.  Complete one bottle and then go on to the next.  Don't look at
the capsules as you take them and be aware of any subtle ways that you might be
discerning the difference (e.g. weight, aftertaste etc.)  You might
want to use a rating scale of your alertness. Be aware that if you choose the
gingko, it might simply be a coincidence, so make sure that the difference in
ratings is big.

---

From: [email-masked] (Stef Jones)
Date: Mon, 24 Jul 1995 15:37:53 GMT

Susan E. Richardson <[email-masked]> wrote:

>I am a grad student facing a thesis defence within the next couple of
>months.  I would like to be in top form for this.  I've read recently that
>the herb ginko biloba can increase alertness, short term memory and so
>forth, and that it does this by somehow augmenting bood circulation in 
>the small vessels in the brain. Is there anything to this? Has anyone out 
>there tried this herb and found that it works?  

I tried it for a couple of weeks, and it did seem to improve my
memory/energy a bit, but didn't like the side effects it produced in me:
stuffy feeling in my ears, tension around my eyes (increased eye strain),
somewhat increased anxiety and nightmares. I should note that I use an
SSRI antidepressant, and I think the gingko was reducing its
effectiveness. Too bad, because the SSRI is what fucks up my memory and
that's why I was taking the gingko.

I would recommend that you try gingko now to see if it gives you the
effects you want. Waiting until you go in for your thesis defense, and
risking unknown side effects, would not be a good idea.

-- Stef
   rational/scientific/philosophical/mystical/magical/kitty
                                                           [email-masked]