Ginkgo Biloba

Product Name: Ginkgo Biloba

Price: 3/5

Effectiveness: 3/10

Overall: 6/15

Ginkgo biloba has many touted benefits, perhaps the most interesting of these being its supposed effects on the brain (its 'nootropic' effects); specifically in the areas of memory and attention. This was especially alluring for me as someone who's not always known for his attention span or memory. Actually I am known for them; I'm known for how bad they are. What was I writing about? Something about... sandwiches?
Another alleged pro is improved circulation and it's been said to act as a blood thinning agent too. Interestingly ginkgo biloba is actually the oldest known living species of plant and an example of a 'living fossil'. All really old things work right? Because they're mystical and old and stuff? Although actually that old cheese I ate the other day wasn't so good... it was all furry and I felt ill for days. Still, having read about it extensively on Wikipedia I was certainly interested and had fairly high hopes.
So does it work? Well, having taken the advised dosage for over a month I can honestly say I haven't noticed much change. Or any. Perhaps it's just too subtle to notice, but in that case what's the use? I still forget my keys, what I'm saying mid-sentence, and occasionally who I am... of course I may be a terminal case. It's a difficult thing to measure objectively too, but being the genius that I am I devised a clever measure - the memory game. You know the one where you flip over the random cards until you get a pair? Actually it might be called pairs... Again though I found no noticeable improvement; I remain tragically terrible at it. My blood remains thick and creamy too.



Ginkgo biloba has also been suggested to have possible unpleasant side effects including possible nausea and dihorrea. Not cool, although I didn't notice anything like that either. More to the point though it's expensive, and there are many other ways to improve your brain function including wallnuts, oily fish (tuna!) and sleep. As usual with these things I'm not saying it doesn't work, I'm saying that any effects are too minimal to be worth the money and any pill-popping should be avoided, regardless of its supposed abilities.


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