People everywhere are hungry for clear, practical, scientifically-validated information about how to make safe and simple use of herbs in their day to day lives. I too was once hungry for this kind of information. I discovered that working (and playing) with herbs did not need to be complex and confusing. It could be sheer pleasure. For me it was like walking down a path where a wonderful surprise is revealed at every turn.

Oriental cure-all

Ginseng is the most famous of all the adaptogens - and the plant Brekhman did his first long-term studies with. In Asia this root has been used as a powerful tonic and rejuvenator for more than 3000 years. For the last 150 we have known about it in the West – that is ever since a botanist named it Panax ginseng. Panax means ‘cure all’. Use ginseng to enhance athletic performance, increase endurance, improve alertness, revive flagging memory and improve concentration. Traditional Chinese medicine insists that long-term use of ginseng also helps protect from cancer and other forms of degeneration as well as preventing premature ageing. In recent years most of these claims have been substantiated by scientific research world-wide: Ginseng works to balance and strengthen both the cardiovascular and central nervous systems while its effect on the thymus and spleen helps boost the immune system. Ginseng contains every major type of potentially bioactive compound known to man: vitamins, minerals, amino acids, proteins, etc, etc. It is also rich in ginsenosides which appear to be the key to ginseng’s beneficial effect on the nervous system. One of this plant’s traditional uses has been in the control of diabetes. It helps maintain blood sugar levels and therefore stabilises energy.

Which one?

There are three different varieties of ginseng:

• Panax ginseng is the most prized and most expensive. It is grown either in China (the best) or Korea and is known as ren shen. By choice I would always go for this one if you can possibly afford it. Buy it as dried and powdered root in capsules, as a extract, a tincture, or as the root itself either whole or sliced which you can then chew. Ginseng’s potency depends a lot on where it is grown, how it is cultivated, stored and prepared. Be sure you have a good quality supply. My favourite way of taking ginseng is as a tea. You will need to take it for several weeks to gain the full benefit of its strengthening, balancing and restorative powers.

• Panax quinquefolius is known as American ginseng or xi yang shen. It is mostly used for fevers and to treat exhaustion from chronic wasting diseases. It also helps to strengthen the lungs.

• Panax notoginseng is really a pseudo-ginseng known as san qi in China. There they use it to stop pain and bleeding. It was used a lot by the Viet Cong during the war to speed recovery from wounds.