Ginseng – What can it do for you?
I remember all the hype-surrounding ginseng some years back, and it doesn’t seem it’s subsided much. There are lots of different ginseng products, from pills to drinks, and though I can’t say which are great and which aren’t, I know it can most definitely be worth the money.
About six years ago I had a personal training client that had panax
ginseng vials shipped in to him from a friend in Thailand. They were the same exact ones that I saw at the local health food stores, but were a fraction of the price so I decided to pick up a case of them which probably had a few hundred. It was cheap and a good investment.
Not knowing anything about ginseng or exactly what to expect, I tried one before my workout. I must admit it tasted horrible but the results were amazing. I keep a pretty good pace up when lifting, and most always get winded (remember I’m a somewhat heavy set bodybuilder, not a runner or cardio guy). I seemed to have a little bit more energy, but more than anything I wasn’t getting winded at all. No, I didn’t get any stronger and my biceps didn’t double in size, but my endurance was great. I seemed to make it through the whole hour and cardiovascular fatigue didn’t set in as early as normal.
My friend had a client by the name of Greg Osterman. He had a heart transplant some years back and was a well known and accomplished marathon runner who had been featured on Runners World Magazine. Since he’s more of an endurance athlete I let him try a shot of it and he kept coming back for more, so I ended up giving him a box. He was amazed with the result as well and said he felt it had a remarkable effect on his cardiovascular endurance.
Remember there are many different types of
ginseng with many different effects, so it will pay to do your research as to which kind you feel is best for you. Here are some of the effects I’ve found when researching it:
-Stimulated mental and physical activity
-Improved accuracy of work
-Prevents fatigue
-Stimulation of endocrine glands
-Builds mental and physical vitality
Some of the reasons I have found that one might take ginseng are:-Hangovers
-Fatigue
-Stress
-Male impotency
-Stamina
-Athletic performance
-Recovery from illness
-Improved capacity to think, study, concentrate, focus and memorize.
I’m a pretty opinionated guy, so I must admit I think a lot of what I read is BS. I believe the things above to varying degrees, but just for fun I’ll tell you the things I took out.
Builds resistance to disease (try eating better and living healthy, that will work better than ginseng)
Strengthen heart and nervous system (give exercise a try, there is no magic pill, just hard work)
Stress management (take a deep breath and count to ten.
Ginseng won’t solve your problems.)
Menopause (Sorry ladies, I know nothing about menopause so I can’t back this claim up either)
As you can see, lots of information I agree with, and some I don’t. All in all, I think ginseng is a good buy. I tried Panax Ginseng and loved it, so feel good telling you it’s worth your dollar.
Jason D. Michel
