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Forget Gingko: It Won’t Help You Remember

January 4, 2010 4:51 pm 2 comments

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After six years of following two groups of people, one that took gingko supplements to sharpen their minds and one that took a placebo  for the same purpose, the verdict is in: they both work equally well, or equally poorly. The Scientific American reports on the study, which followed more than 3,000 older adults, and found that those who had been given gingko pills performed the same in memory,
language, attention, visuo-spatial judgment and executive function
tests as those in the placebo group.The journal quotes the dean of the University of Virginia School of Medicine in Charlottesville and study co-author Steven DeKosky expressing surprise that the supplements, long touted for their benefit to memory, were as ineffective as the study showed them to be.

Read more in the Scientific American.

2 Comments

  • M
    January 4, 2010
    9:52 pm

    I was going to say something about this, but I forgot what it was…

    Reply
  • Hugh
    January 5, 2010
    12:56 pm

    Are these the same guys that said Vioxx was great. As far as I am concerned this is iron clad verification that ginko is effective.
    Most likely the ginko used was adulterated or otherwise diluted or too low a dose.
    SA is not very credible on these issues as well as most medical schools are heavily funded by big pharma. Check out Dr. Scott Reuben. In the pay of Big Pharma is FAKED dozens of clinical trials.
    Ginko works as do most herbs if used correctly without all the deadly side effects.
    One in every five patients readmitted to the hospital within a year of an inpatient treatment ends up there because of an adverse drug reaction, according to a study conducted by researchers from the Royal Liverpool and Broadgreen University Hospitals NHS Trust. And this what they ADMIT to!
    Drugs and doctors are the leading cause of death in U.S!

    Reply

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