Ginseng’s powers have deep roots in traditional Chinese medicine where it has been regularly used for millennia to fight fatigue and strengthen qi, or life energy. But it is also used to tone digestive and immune systems, and some early Western studies have hinted it may boost brain power and perhaps even combat the common cold.
Ginseng refers to several species of the genus Panax. The two most commonly used species are Asian ginseng (Panax ginseng), found in mountain regions of
Studies have found ginseng can help with an array of more serious physical and mental problems:
- Common cold. A study in the Canadian Medical Association Journal (Oct. 25, 2005) found that ginseng supplements could reduce your risk of catching the common cold and reduce its severity and length. Researchers assigned 323 adults to take either 200 mg of American ginseng or a placebo daily for four months. The ginseng group reported suffering from an average of 0.68 colds, while the placebo group an average of 0.93 colds. Cold lengths were 10.8 days for the ginseng group compared with 16.5 for the placebo group.
- Fatigue. A pilot study from the North Central Cancer Treatment Group discovered that American ginseng offers greater improvement in cancer-related emotional and physical fatigue after diagnosis and treatment. And the more, the better. The experts offered 282 cancer patients either a placebo or three different daily doses of ginseng: 750 mg, 1,000 mg and 2,000 mg. The patients who received the larger doses showed improvements in overall energy levels and reported an improvement in overall mental, physical, spiritual and emotional well-being.
- Mental health. Several studies report that ginseng can modestly improve thinking and mental health. In 2005,
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