Is Ginkgo Biloba Dangerous?

Not too long ago, I had a subscriber to my newsletter ask about the safety of ginkgo biloba extract. Kim wrote:

“I am just about to purchase your Super Immune QuickStart powder and noticed it contains ginkgo biloba. After reading an article in the New York Times, I am a bit concerned. Any thoughts?”

Well, I have been taking and prescribing therapeutic doses of ginkgo biloba to all of my patients for more than 30 years. So this kind of knocked me off balance.

After looking into the article, here’s what I discovered.

The article in question appeared in a New York Times piece entitled, “New Doubts About Ginkgo Biloba.” It started off by saying, “Last month, scientists released the first government toxicology study of ginkgo biloba, which found that the extract – one of the top-selling herbal supplements in the country – caused cancer in lab animals, including an excessive number of liver and thyroid cancers, as well as nasal tumors.”

So I reviewed the study and discovered what can only be called a major piece of misinformation!

First of all, the results of the study were conclusive. There was indeed a much higher rate of various cancers in the mice getting the ginkgo. But like with so many other studies showing the purported dangers of natural substances, you have to look at the small print. And in this case, the small print has some important dosage information.

I have told you before that the poison of any substance is in the dose. For example, as harmless as water is, there have been several cases of death after the excessive consumption of water. In the same way, as toxic as the heavy metal mercury is, many doctors use it in extremely low doses to stimulate the immune system.

This dose/poison relationship is also true of every vitamin there is, including my good, old friend ginkgo. There is going to be some dose at which ginkgo becomes toxic. So what kind of dose was used in this study? Hold on to your hats.

The usual dose for ginkgo biloba extract is 1.71 mg per kilogram of body weight. So how much ginkgo did the researchers give these poor little mice? Was it twice that – 3.4 mg per kilogram? No. Was it 10 times that – 17.1 mg per kilogram? No. It was nowhere near these puny little doses. The researchers were giving our furry little friends an unbelievable 2,000 mg per kilogram! This is more than 1,000 times the recommended dose for humans. Now, let’s use a little common sense here.

If I told you that you should avoid aspirin because there was a study that showed that taking 1,000 aspirin tablets was bad for you, what would you think? My guess is that you would think it’s time to get another doctor. Because the conclusion just doesn’t make any sense.

Using this same logic, I could easily construct an experimental design that would “prove” that every single drug that Big Pharma made would kill you. All I would have to do is give 1,000 times the recommended dose.

So forget the hype. Take your QuickStart with ginkgo biloba in good faith. It’s a proven way to thin the blood and prevent blood clots. But be sure not to take a thousand scoops a day!