GINESENG

Thursday, December 8, 2011

The oriental ‘kingly herb’, ginseng is perhaps the most famous herbal root and is the subject of most misunderstanding. It has an aura of Chinese mystique enhancing the claims that it will make people live longer, improve their memory, stamina and even sex life. Although there is an element of truth in these claims, simplistic thinking inevitably leads to misunderstanding and disappointment. Ginseng has a wide range of beneficial effects on the body and this is what creates general vitality so valued by the Chinese. But the wide range is also what confuses conventional western researchers. It makes added energy available to diverse organs (it increases an organ’s ability to absorb nutrients which provides it with more available ‘fuel’) and thereby helps a large variety of health problems. People in the west misconstrued this information and wrongly assumed that is must be a panacea, something that could treat any problem. This would be the ultimate consumer product, so advertisers touted it as a cure-all until eventually it lost credibility. It does not ‘treat’ any specific problem but rather strengthens the body to deal with all problems. The oriental concept of herbs like ginseng is as an essential tool for maintaining and improving health rather than tackling specific illness. Indeed the Greek goddess and world “Panacea’ represented complete health rather than complete cure.