Posted on 10/25/2005 5:37:57 PM PDT by blam
Ginseng can help keep you clear of colds, say scientists
By Nic Fleming, Science Correspondent
(Filed: 25/10/2005)
People who take ginseng suffer substantially fewer colds, research published yesterday showed.
Only one in 10 of those given daily doses of North American ginseng root extract suffered two or more colds during four months including winter, compared with almost a quarter of those taking placebos.
While a range of health benefits have been claimed for the herb, including combating flu and colds, many previous attempts to test such claims scientifically have been of poor quality.
Publication of the research in the Canadian Medical Association Journal follows a Meteorological Office warning a week ago that this winter is likely to be significantly colder than average.(UK)
Dr Tapan Basu, of the University of Alberta, who led the study, said: "A moderate dose of extract of the root of North American ginseng was associated with an absolute risk reduction of recurrent colds, as well as a reduction in the mean number of colds per person."
"The total symptom score was 31 per cent lower and the total number of days symptoms were reported 34.5 per cent less in the ginseng group than in the placebo group.
"The ginseng extract was also found to be effective in the reducing of the severity of symptoms and the number of days symptoms relating to colds were reported."
A group of 130 people aged 18 to 65 from Edmonton, Canada, who said they had suffered from at least two colds the previous year, took capsules of ginseng extract twice a day for four months over the winter.
Another group of 149 individuals was given placebos during the same period. Participants did not know which group they were in.
Among those who took ginseng, the proportion who caught two or more colds in the four months was 10 per cent and the average number of colds was 0.68.
In the control group, 23 per cent had two or more colds and the average number of colds was 0.93.
Active constituents of ginseng have been shown to improve the immune system by stimulating the production of immunoglobulin - proteins that bind to foreign substances such as bacteria when they invade the body.
It is estimated that most adults catch two to five colds a year. Young children represent the main reservoir of common cold viruses, with nurseries and schools being prime infection centres.
While more people catch colds and flu during colder weather, there is no scientific consensus on why this is. One recent theory is that breathing in cold air lowers resistance to infection.
A previous study involving 256 people and reported at the National Institute of Mental Health conference in Florida, suggested that a combination of ginseng and another herb, ginkgo, enhanced memory and reduced mental fatigue.
ginsing ping
or ginseng ping, perhaps
I used to go through the woods and harvest that stuff to sell the roots. Lots of $$$$ if you get enough of it. I found a 6 foot plant once that had a very good sized root.
It would have been helpful if the report had mentioned the particular quantity of ginseng necessary to produce this effect. Unless herbs like this can be carefully controlled for the amount of active agent in a dose, such studies are very vague.
Listerine is fine, but you're more likely to get laid with ginseng.
I don't catch many colds at all--not even an average of one a year. I ascribe it to a diet rich in protein, daily exercise, and not smoking.
I gargle with listerine every day too. I'm also currently using Lever 2000's new ginseng & vitamin soap. It says "Energize" on the wrapper. I feel like a million bucks, but I smell like a Chinaman!
Ginseng farming can be quite profitable as long as you're prepared to wait a few years for the harvest.
There's this pint bottle of Korean hootch with ginsing under my sink. Is that OK?
Yes, in responsible quantities.
Or you could try: Genseng pung, or perhaps gunseng poong? What the hey.. anyway, I like the way ginseng wakes me up when coffee won't work.
It does take a lot of careful planning and much work to grow it.
Hmongs grow a lot of ginseng in central Wisconsin...Marathon County.
Dude, this SCOTUS nomination debate has got me so harried out when I read the title of the thread I thought it said: "Ginsberg Can Help Keep You Clear of Colds." For real.
I need a vacation.
Good hygiene and staying away from crowded areas is the best prevention.
Source:
Strange new disease outbreaks
various FR links | 06-09-03 | The Heavy Equipment Guy
It is very profitable if you have the right soil and proper growing conditions. In fact, I just sold a wild root for $2800.00. Yes that's two-thousand and eight-hundred dollars for a single root. It was 132+ years old and over a foot long, weighed 1.5 ounces.
Wish I knew how to post a picture here.
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