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Every week we’ll feature a question submitted to our experts by a Premium Member. Question: “Can Ginkgo Biloba prevent dementia?”Dr. Geen’s Answer:Ginkgo Biloba is an herbal supplement that can be purchased at your local pharmacy. Unfortunately, research shows that Ginkgo Biloba is not effective for the prevention of dementia. We know this based on the Ginkgo Evaluation of Memory (GEM) Study. The study randomly assigned over 3000 Americans to take either Ginkgo Biloba extract at a dose of 120mg twice a day, or placebo twice a day, for an average of 6 years. Participants started the study with either normal cognition or mild cognitive impairment (pre-dementia) and were 75 years of age or older. The study found that Ginkgo did not reduce the number of cases of dementia from any cause, or dementia from Alzheimer’s disease. In both groups about 250 people developed dementia, with no statistically significant difference between those that took Ginkgo and those that did not. There were no harms however, meaning that Ginkgo was as safe as placebo to take twice a day. Take away: Aldora does not suggest taking Ginkgo Biloba for dementia prevention at this time. If you take it, it probably won’t cause harm, but it probably won’t provide any benefit either. Instead, make sure you’re getting enough Vitamin B12, Vitamin D, and Vitamin B1, which are more strongly linked to cognition and memory function. Read this article for more. Have a question for our experts?
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