Tuesday, June 14, 2011

Ginseng may help ADHD

Ginseng may help ADHD
I would now like to write about some of the ADHD vitamins and supplements that may help ADHD.

Ginseng may help ADHD.  Ginseng is a supplement that has long been used in Asia to treat everything from viruses to impotence. It has been studied extensively in the U.S. and is Asia. Ginseng’s active ingredients work together to provide many brain benefits but this supplement has, to date, mostly been used by medical experts as an adaptogen. An adaptogen is a substance that helps the body adapt to stress and keeps the body from becoming ill in the face of stressors.

The benefits that can be derived from taking Ginseng may be far greater than what it is most currently used for and I will outline why some researchers believe that Ginseng may be helpful for the treatment of ADHD and for the learning problems that frequently co-occur in people with the symptoms of ADHD.

Studies on Ginseng have found benefits from taking this substance in many areas of the brain. Ginseng has been found in several studies to improve memory, learning and sleep. Studies in the elderly have found that Ginseng protects the aging brain by decreasing the inflammatory processes and cell death that inevitably occurs with aging.

Few studies have been performed looking at the benefits of Ginseng for the treatment of ADHD but there is good reason to believe that Ginseng might help treat ADHD. The most compelling reason to find Ginseng potentially helpful is the fact that Ginseng, in animal studies, has been found to improve the functioning of brain neurotransmitters such as dopamine and norepinephrine.

Most researchers believe that the stimulants used to treat ADHD work by improving neurotransmitter function and for this reason it is possible that Ginseng may provide benefits as well. Ginseng has also been shown to improve the functioning of a substance called brain derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF). Some researchers believe that genetic difference seen in people with ADHD cause them to have faulty neurotransmitter and BDNF functioning.

Ginseng has been found to regulate and improve the way the brain utilizes and metabolizes glucose. Some researchers believe that the brains of people with ADHD improperly metabolize glucose and that this leads to problems in the areas of the brain that cause most ADHD problems. Ginseng may help ADHD by assuring that the glucose needed to energize certain ADHD brain problem areas is available.

The learning and memory problems frequently seen in people with ADHD, especially people with the Inattentive type of ADHD is thought, by some researchers, to be the result of the failure of proper cell communication and proper cell development in the ADHD brain. Ginseng has been found in studies to improve the way that brain cells communicate with each other which, in turn, is thought to help memory and learning.

Problems with ADHD often improve with age and this is thought to be the result of brain cell development. Ginseng, is some studies, has been found to help nerve growth and brain cell growth, especially early in life. These benefits to cell development may also be the reason why Ginseng has been found to help with memory and learning and is one more reason why Ginseng may be useful for the treatment of ADHD.

Several studies have found increased levels of toxins such as pesticides and heavy metals in children with ADHD. Animal studies report that Ginseng can alleviate the brain damage caused by these toxins and there is reason to believe that Ginseng, acting as an adaptogen, can remedy the brain damage caused by other environmental toxins as well.

Few studies have been performed looking at the benefits of Ginseng for ADHD but there is reason to believe that Ginseng may be useful for treating ADHD by acting on the ADHD brains as:


  1. An adaptogen
  2. A neurotransmitter booster
  3. A brain cell communication enhancer
  4. A brain glucose moderator
  5. A brain development tool
  6. A brain toxin remover
  7. An aging brain repairer

Ginseng can be found in pills and liquid form at most health food stores. The dose of Ginseng that is typically used to treat memory and learning problems is 200mg of Ginseng twice a day.

No comments:

Post a Comment