Gingko Biloba and Gotu Kola: For Increased Brain Power and Focus

Life can get so busy, stressful, and chaotic at times, to the point that you feel stressed, fatigued, or ill. In the process, you might become forgetful, absent-minded, or even suffer from short-term memory loss.

Fortunately, with the help of Chinese herbs and alternative medicine, it is possible to treat memory loss and even improve brain performance. Natural medicine such as gotu kola and ginkgo biloba have been proven to enhance memory and decrease your risk of developing dementia.

While these plants each have their own unique brain-enhancing properties, when used together, they can make quite the potent cocktail for improving focus and concentration.

Ginkgo Biloba

Ginkgo biloba is a herbal supplement containing the extract from the fan-shaped leaves of the traditional Chinese ginkgo tree.

The extract is extremely useful in boosting blood flow, treating circulatory health conditions, and improving memory. What makes it powerful is its high concentration of terpenoids and flavonoids antioxidants which help neutralize disease-causing free radicals and improve blood flow by dilating blood vessels that feed the brain. This process helps the brain to have an abundant oxygen supply.

What are the benefits of ginkgo biloba?

Many people call ginkgo biloba the “brain herb” due to its powerful brain-enhancing benefits. It’s so popular that it’s considered to be one of the top selling supplements in the US and Europe.

Those who have used it say it’s an effective focus booster, improving one’s capacity to learn, recall facts, think clearly, and concentrate at intense levels. Taking it daily helps to improve attention span, memory recall, concentration, and mental processing speed in young people, adults, and the elderly. That is because the herb promotes the circulation of blood and oxygen into the brain, causing it to operate at optimum levels.

In addition to improving blood flow, ginkgo biloba is also useful in treating the following conditions:

• Dementia
• High blood pressure
• Depression
• Alzheimer’s disease
• Cardiovascular disease
• Retinal issues
• Macular degeneration
• Mental fatigue
• Tinnitus
• Intermittent claudication
• Memory Impairment
• Menopause

Ginkgo biloba supplements often come in an easy-to-carry bottle with a serving of a hundred capsules. Each bottle contains tablets of a specific weight ranging from 20mg to 600mg. Each dosage is meant to target a specific condition. It’s also worth noting that each person will have a different recommended dosage. It depends on factors like as age, gender, body weight, and the reason for taking the supplement.

For instance, ginkgo biloba dosages at 40 mg to 120 mg are perfect for keeping mental illnesses at bay, while the 500 mg to 600 mg capsules are ideal for restoring healthy brain power. Those who would like to enjoy the memory-enhancing benefits of the supplement usually start with a low dose of about 120 mg and then gradually increasing the dosage by 100mg until they eventually get to 500 mg or 600 mg.

For the best results, ginkgo biloba supplement should be taken with a meal. You can take the recommended dosage all at once or divided into three daily doses. Even though the supplement is relatively safe, it’s still important to consult your physician. They will guide you on whether the supplement is right for you and what dosage is appropriate.

Gotu Kola

Gotu kola is a herbal extract from the leaves and stem of the indigenous leafy centella asiatica herb. The plant’s history can be traced back to certain parts in Asia and is common in Japan, India, Sri Lanka, South Pacific, and South Africa.

It’s a popular herb due to its antioxidant, anti-anxiety, anti-epileptic, anti-nociceptive, radioprotective, cognitive-enhancing, and wound-healing properties. In the recent years, it’s become a popular nootropic because it’s known to help improve memory, cognition, and brain power.

What are the benefits of gotu kola?

What makes gotu kola attractive among biohackers is its ability to improve memory, minimize anxiety, mental fatigue, as well as treat a variety of psychiatric disorders.

It improves blood flow to the brain and has a rejuvenating effect that boosts one’s mood, cognitive performance, and mental energy. As a result, you have a longer attention span, enhanced intelligence, and better recall.

With the right dosage, you’re likely to experience improvements in your alertness, neuron health, and memory. Clinical trials show that gotu kola has cognitive-enhancing properties, which makes it practical for treating conditions like Alzheimer’s disease, preventing mental deficits, and decreasing oxidative stress. It also improves mood and cognitive function in adults and the elderly.

Aside from improving focus and memory, gotu kola is useful in treating the following conditions:

• Respiratory infections
• Stomach ulcers
• Hepatitis
• Diarrhea
• Syphilis
• Fever
• Varicose veins
• Scarring
• Stretch marks
• Cholera
• Dysentery

Traditionally, gotu kola was used in food preparation and recipes. Nowadays, you can find it in various forms to be taken as a supplement. Common varieties of the herb include powder, tablets, capsules, ointments, liquid drops, freshly dried herbs, and tea.

Reports estimate that there are over a thousand supplements in the market which have centella asiatica either as the main ingredient or is mixed with other ingredients.

If you prefer the capsule or tablet, you can take 2,000 mg to 4,000 mg a day depending on your weight. However, if you fancy freshly dried herbs, take one to two grams of the herb and brew it in purified water to make tea. The beverage can be consumed three times a day without side effect. Whatever variety of gotu kola you choose to consume, make sure to discuss it with your doctor first as they will tell you if it’s a safe supplement to take based on your health condition, medical history, and desired outcome.

Conclusion

Whether you are a student preparing for exams, an executive working on a last-minute presentation, or an elderly person wishing to keep your brain sharp and healthy, you should try out ginkgo biloba and gotu kola supplements. Since these supplements are physician-formulated and clinically-tested, they are safe and ideal to use by anyone. They are the right fuel to help restore your brain’s functions, resulting in improved focus and advanced concentration.