Ginko biloba and memory loss
No thanks for the memories
I have an old friend named Helen whose age iswell, let’s just say she started collecting social security checks some time ago. She’s an energetic and high-spirited woman, and if you say the words “senior moment” in her presencewell, let’s just say you’d be better off avoiding that phrase.
A few years ago Helen was having more and more of those “moments” when you go into a room to get something and thenwhy did I come in here? This didn’t sit well with her, so she started taking a supplement of ginkgo biloba extract (GBE). Today, if you tried to take away Helen’s daily ginkgo, you’d see she’s a lot stronger than you’d imagine.
I haven’t talked with Helen about last week’s headline that read: “Forget it! Ginkgo supplements don’t help memory.” But I expect if she saw it she probably responded with something along the lines of, “Hogwash!”
But Helen need not worry. Because contrary to the reports of its demise, ginkgo biloba is alive and well and still helping many thousands of people stay bright and alert.
Now we have this new report from researchers at Williams College in Williamstown, Mass., who say their primary objective was to evaluate the memory enhancing ability of ginkgo biloba in elderly adults. But at the beginning of the report they point out that some GBE supplement makers claim that memory, attention, and related cognitive functions may improve in as little as 4 weeks. Given the short length of the study, it would seem that the researchers were specifically testing the claim about how quickly results MIGHT be experienced by SOME people.
The conclusions of the research are summed up with this comment: “These data suggest that when taken following the manufacturer’s instructions, ginkgo provides no measurable benefit in memory or related cognitive function to adults with healthy cognitive function.”
And from that comment, the media heard exactly 7 words – “ginkgo provides no measurable benefit in memory” – and the rush was on to shout the news from the top of banner headlines: “Ginkgo Supplements Don’t Help Memory!” exclaimed MSNBC. “New Study a Blow to Ginkgo’s Reputation!” declared CNN. Reuters Health, a slightly more reserved news outlet, used the word “suggests” to temper the conclusion, but still ended up slamming the door with, “Study Suggests Ginkgo Ineffective Memory Enhancer.”
No matter how you read these headlines and their accompanying reports, there is only one impression the average reader will come away with: ginkgo biloba doesn’t work. That would be your impression, that is, unless you happened to know the truth.
The message here is clear: a six-week test is worthless. And that should have been the headline: “Effectiveness of Ginkgo Biloba Questioned by Flawed and Pointless Study.”
Six weeks is not enough time for any supplement or drug to work when it comes to memory. For the media to state that a six-week study would, therefore, indicate that ginkgo would have no long term benefit is absolutely ludicrous.”
Most herbalists and medical professionals who use alternative treatments agree that the recommended daily dosage of 120 mg of ginkgo biloba is too low. Many suggest that the dosage should be 240 mg or more per day. But almost certainly they would all agree that the most effective results of a regimen of ginkgo biloba would be seen over a long period of time, not just a month and a half.
Among the many wise medical instructions that Hippocrates gave to modern medicine, perhaps the wisest, and best known, was this: “First, do no harm.” I thought of this when I read the Williams study and the news reports that followed. The researchers provided a study that was misguided and irrelevant to the genuine usefulness of GBE. That was the first harm. The second harm came when their “news” was widely reported: ginkgo biloba does not improve memory. That’s the sound bite that will leave a lasting impression in the minds of consumers. And once it’s rung, it’s very hard to unring the bell.
The irresponsible media coverage of last week may have drawn plenty of attention and upped readership, but it did so at the cost of misinforming their audience. I think of people like Helen – people who could really use the help that ginkgo biloba offers, but who now might be put off by the negative headlines. They deserve the best health information available. Last week the mainstream media failed them once again.
Jenny Thompson
Health Sciences Institute
