Ginkgo Biloba
Ginkgo Biloba
A long long time ago,
in a land far far away
sang cockatoos, and lorikeets,
and buzzed with bees
and flying foxes whooshing between trees….
In my first workplace in healing/Osteopathy, I was lucky enough to be working alongside not only some very talented healers with specialties in cranial, paediatrics, and not to mention some in-house labrador puppies. But, next door was one of the best botanical gardens in Australia, the Geelong Botanical gardens. And right at the end, in the grassy field amongst the towering tree ferns, was a soaring Gingko Biloba tree, expanding its branches as long as electricity poles in every direction, shading the area from the scorching Australian summer sun.
It is close to 160 years old, ancient for a garden, yet a baby in terms of the Chinese originals dating back 1500 + years. One of the oldest trees on the planet, the age certainly attracts many medicinal seekers looking for wisdom in its productions, seeking answers to the ailments that their populations suffer.
Going through university, I liked to experiment with supplements, as in dose them up small and then large, and observe the effects that they have in my body. Apart from a decent migraine from St. john’s Wort, I was ok, but the Gingko certainly packed a punch. As it acts within the circulatory system, I sillily dosed up before an AFL match. A decent knock to my knee, sent it into full blown swelling mode! And it takes a lot for me to bruise, a lot!
Now I really enjoy the gingko, and with the plandemic having struck through us all, along with heading into the colder months of winter here in New Zealand’s central Otago region, the boost to my circulation is warranted.
Flavanoids, terpenoids in gingko, are believed to assist with dilating blood vessels, and reducing the “stickiness” of platelets (blood clotting cells, which don’t normally clot until actual damage has occurred). It does have a significant action on the more distal (ends) of the blood vessels.
This also makes it useful in
— Raynaud’s phenomenon
Vitiligo (skin condition)
Glaucoma
There are other conditions, but it’s best to research its mechanism of action, then work out from there.
It also has an affect on several neurological pathways ways in the brain. It protects neurons from oxidative stress, and cell death. From my own self study, the feeling in the mind (yes I sit quietly and observe the chemical in my mind) has a softish, refining feeling, and has an affect on the synapses (nerve endings connections) all throughout the brain, but felt nicely in the outer cortex. It does vary.
The gingko could be a promising addition to your medicine cupboard for winter, and useful in keeping you going through the cold, stress, and excessive coffee.
Please, before you partake, have a read through adverse conditions/contradindications on this website keeping in mind the list is not exhaustive, and best to always trust your own body first and foremost over anything you read on the internet!
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK541024
