The Prepper Broadcasting Network - Herbal Medicine for Preppers: Ginko

Episode Date: September 26, 2025

Today we discuss one of the oldest trees on earth, and one which has both edible and medicinal use.Please subscribe to my youtube channel:  https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzuBq5NsNkT5lVceFchZTtgThe Spring Foraging Cook Book is available in paperback on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CRP63R54Or you can buy the eBook as a .pdf directly from the author (me), for $9.99: https://southernappalachianherbs.blogspot.com/2024/01/the-spring-foraging-cookbook.htmlYou can read about the Medicinal Trees book here https://southernappalachianherbs.blogspot.com/2021/06/paypal-safer-easier-way-to-pay-online.html or buy it on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1005082936PS. New in the woodcraft Shop: Judson Carroll Woodcraft | SubstackRead about my new books:Medicinal Weeds and Grasses of the American Southeast, an Herbalist's Guidehttps://southernappalachianherbs.blogspot.com/2023/05/medicinal-weeds-and-grasses-of-american.htmlAvailable in paperback on Amazon:https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0C47LHTTHandConfirmation, an Autobiography of Faithhttps://southernappalachianherbs.blogspot.com/2023/05/confirmation-autobiography-of-faith.htmlAvailable in paperback on Amazon:https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0C47Q1JNKVisit my Substack and sign up for my free newsletter: https://judsoncarroll.substack.com/Read about my new other books:Medicinal Ferns and Fern Allies, an Herbalist's Guide https://southernappalachianherbs.blogspot.com/2022/11/medicinal-ferns-and-fern-allies.htmlAvailable for purchase on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BMSZSJPSThe Omnivore’s Guide to Home Cooking for Preppers, Homesteaders, Permaculture People and Everyone Else: https://southernappalachianherbs.blogspot.com/2022/10/the-omnivores-guide-to-home-cooking-for.htmlAvailable for purchase on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BGKX37Q2Medicinal Shrubs and Woody Vines of The American Southeast an Herbalist's Guidehttps://southernappalachianherbs.blogspot.com/2022/06/medicinal-shrubs-and-woody-vines-of.htmlAvailable for purchase on Amazon https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0B2T4Y5L6andGrowing Your Survival Herb Garden for Preppers, Homesteaders and Everyone Elsehttps://southernappalachianherbs.blogspot.com/2022/04/growing-your-survival-herb-garden-for.htmlhttps://www.amazon.com/dp/B09X4LYV9RThe Encyclopedia of Medicinal Bitter Herbs: https://southernappalachianherbs.blogspot.com/2022/03/the-encyclopedia-of-bitter-medicina.htmlAvailable for purchase on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0B5MYJ35RandChristian Medicine, History and Practice: https://southernappalachianherbs.blogspot.com/2022/01/christian-herbal-medicine-history-and.htmlAvailable for purchase on Amazon: www.amazon.com/dp/B09P7RNCTBHerbal Medicine for Preppers, Homesteaders and Permaculture People: https://southernappalachianherbs.blogspot.com/2021/10/herbal-medicine-for-preppers.htmlAlso available on Amazon: www.amazon.com/dp/B09HMWXL25Podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/show/southern-appalachian-herbsBlog: https://southernappalachianherbs.blogspot.com/Get Prepared with Our Incredible Sponsors! Survival Bags, kits, gear www.limatangosurvival.comEMP Proof Shipping Containers www.fardaycontainers.comThe Prepper's Medical Handbook Build Your Medical Cache – Welcome PBN FamilyPack Fresh USA www.packfreshusa.comSupport PBN with a Donation https://bit.ly/3SICxEq

Hey y'all, welcome to this week's show. What an interesting herb we have to talk about this week. There are a few plants, you can say, are truly living fossils. You know, the first plants probably on the face of the earth were asparagus and ferns. And, you know, mushrooms are fungi, so that doesn't count as a plant. But mushroom, ferns, and asparagus were pretty much the first plants. Well, one of the first actual trees or shrubs is ginkum. Ginko Biloba, known as the maiden hair tree, it's the last of its kind. The family is known as Ginkgo Fida.

There used to be a lot of different types of ginkgo. This is the only one that survived. Fossils of ginkgo have been found that are more than 200 million years old. Believed to originate it in China or India, absolutely one of the oldest plants known to be cultivated by man, because for most of the history of humanity, Ginkgo has not really been used as an herbal medicine. It's been used as a food.

The seeds, and the seeds are really good. The herbal use of ginko is really somewhat modern, although it was used in traditional Chinese medicine. We'll get into that. Bottom line is, according to the herbalist Michael Moore, that I've studied, learned from, I mean, not the fat communist filmmaker Michael Moore, but they were both kind of fat communists.

So just remember this one was the herbalist. The Ginkgo increases blood circulation to the brain. Really good for memory and concentration. I mean, that's known. I'm not saying that's according to Michael Moore. That's just, you know, everybody agrees, and scientific studies have shown that Ginko increases blood circulation to the brain and helps with memory and concentration.

But when taken as a T-Mobile, or a tincture, according to Michael Moore, it would also cause headaches. Now, some do disagree with that, but he said until the standardized extract of ginkgo became available on the market wasn't used a whole lot, at least in Western herbal medicine. Interestingly enough, it also helps with cochlear deafness and macular degeneration. It has antioxidant properties, but also the increasing of circulation. Some people even say it helps with erectile dysfunction. So it definitely does have an effect on the circulatory system

and especially the veins and small capillaries. Essentially what I'm thinking about is the capillaries. But according to a handbook of traditional Chinese herbs by Daniel Reed, the root has had standard use in Chinese medicine. He lists the qualities, well, we don't need to get into. to all the energetics of Chinese medicine. It can be a little confusing if you haven't studied Chinese medicine. I did for about 20 years.

So, you know, I'll try to put it in terms that everybody can understand. He mentions it as tonic and astringent and particularly good for preventing nocturnal emissions. We're talking wet dreams, basically. Interestingly enough, the old Taoist and Buddhist monks were really concerned about that. they did everything to keep it in and thought it would make them immortal there is actually a record if you can believe the Chinese government

of a practicing Taoist who lived to be I think around 200 years old and had like a dozen wives and 100 children you can look him up so there's an article on Wikipedia it's up to you whether you want to believe it or not who knows who knows i mean i don't believe a lot of things the chinese government says a lot of the dallas stuff is you know legends and and mysticism a lot of it's very valid too

so i'm going to say hey maybe there was this one guy that had some kind of weird case of longevity maybe the herbs he took and and he used those dallas formulas did increase his lifespan maybe his daily practice of Tai Chi and Qigong increases longevity and stamina and virility and all that. I have no idea. Maybe living in the high mountains of China and eating just incredibly good diet helped as well, or maybe it's a lot of crap. I'm not going to say one way or the other. I guess, you know, on the one hand, I'd say, well, I'd love to think that's true, but when there's only one case and you can't really replicate it, you know, I'm thinking probably not true. But they have photographs of him and everything in his family tree so I don't know hey you know

maybe there were three or four guys that had the same name and the same family you know maybe he was senior and there was junior in the third and the fourth but they all went by the same name probably a little more likely actually but anyway the root of ginkgo unlike this is what the Chinese medicine says unlike the colonels the root of ginkgo tree is non-toxic and be used for prolonged periods without harmful side effects. Well, I don't think the seeds and nuts are really that bad for you or anything. Coming back to Western herbalism, Leslie Brimness, I think, wrote an interesting book called The Complete Book of Herbs. Say that ginko seeds, roasted or pan-fried, are pleasant to eat, and they certainly are, but she said that they can relieve hangovers.

Well, maybe they can. They got some B vitamins in there. and some good minerals, and they increased circulation to the brain. Makes sense, right? Penelope Odie and the complete medicinal herbal rites, the tree was introduced to Europe in 1730 and became a favorite ornamental. Since the 1980s, Western medicinal interest in the plant has grown dramatically since its potent action on the cardiovascular system were identified. Reachers has shown that ginkolide,

that's actually the chemical constituent that it has, that's unique to the ginkgo plant, can be as effective as standard pharmaceutical drugs in treating severely irregular heartbeats. That's really interesting. Of course, Hawthorne also has similar properties. So the leaves are used for varicose veins, hemorrhoids, and leg ulcers. Now, the physician's desk reference for herbal medicine,

you know, the book your doctor is going to have on his shelf if he even cares enough to look to see what herbal medicines do and how they may contraindic, be contraindicated, there we go, with pharmaceuticals. It says, Ginko has shown anti-inflammatory, cognitive promoting, antioxidant, and vascular effects. Ginko has proved effective against peripheral occlusive arterial disease. One recent study shows Ginko improved efficacy and tolerability of five fluorosil and colon cancer treatment. Ginko has demonstrated antioxidant activity inhibition of platelet aggregation,

enhancement of coronary blood flow, vasodilation, and decrease in blood pressure. Demonstrated reductions in frequencies of attacks in patients with Raynodes disease. Ginko may reduce arteriosklorotic lesions, and the majority of studies have demonstrated a benefit with Ginkgo supplements in cognition. So, yeah, there are actually a lot of, like, professional medical studies since the 80s. And Ginko is really popular in the 90s, early 2000s. I don't hear it spoken up much anymore. Really, if you got any issues with, you know, some cardiovascular stuff, especially like dementia, you know, Alzheimer's, anything like that, and you're kind of worried about that, I would definitely research Ginkgo.

Plants for Future says Ginkgo has a long history. of traditional use in traditional Chinese medicine where the seed is most commonly used. The trees are mentioned in more detail later. Recent research into the plant has discovered a range of medicinally active compounds in the leaves. And this was excited a lot of interest in the health-promoting potential of the plant. In particular, the leaves stimulate blood circulation and have a tonic effect on the brain, reducing lethargy, improving memory, and giving an improved sense of well-being. They also have been shown to be effective

in improving peripheral arterial circulation and in treating hearing disorders, such as tinnitus or tinnitus, where the result from poor circulation or where these result from poor circulation or damaged by free radicals. The leaves contain ginkgo leads, I guess this is the way you pronounce it,

ginkolides, we'll go with that. These are compounds that are unknown in any other plant species. Ginkolides inhibit allergic response, and so are of use in treating disorders such as asthma, eye disorders, and senility. Let's see. Well, senility is also responded to treatment, as where they put it. The leaves are best hires in late summer or early autumn just before they begin to change color. And you may know ginkgo leaves, they're this bright gold. They're really, really pretty.

I mean, you should at least get one of these for your landscape. their drive for later use the fruit is antibacterial antifungal astringent anti-cancer digestive expectorate sedative vermifuge that's a lot of properties the pulmonary let's see no the fruit is macerated in vegetable oil for a hundred days and then the pulp is used in the treatment of pulmonary tuberculosis asthma bronchitis etc they mentioned though that in that report they thought they thought they we're probably using the seeds rather than the fruit around the seed. And that does kind of make a little more sense.

The cook seed is antitustive. That means helps prevent coughing. Estringent and sedative. It is used in the treatment of asthma and coughs with thick phlegm and urinary incontinence. The raw seed is said to have anti-cancer activity and also to be anti-venous. It should be used with caution, however, due to reports of toxicity. Cooking seems to take care of that. The raw seed is the one we used to have the more toxic.

So the old herbalists, especially, well, really throughout the world, but it was really documented in European herbal medicine, had what was called the doctrine of signatures. So basically, this is like an understanding of plants in relation to the divine province. God gives you a clue in the plant as to how it should be used. so basically an herb's medicinal use could be indicated by the appearance in relation to how we would perceive it in human form okay so if it's yellow it would probably be good for the liver because of the bile and the kidneys and the gallbladder right that's one thing or you can look at a plant and say well that kind of looks like an organ in the body and you think well it may have a use for that organ you know now these days you know nowadays it's considered superstition it's amazingly really amazing though how often it's kind of spot on the unique leaves of

ginko um they're in two parts and they could definitely be thought to be similar to the lungs or the two lobes of the brain or the two kidneys and um yeah they actually is good really good for those three organs and it being such an ancient tree doctrine signatures would say well you know maybe it could enhance memory because you remember things from the past okay maybe it's a little far out for you but again it kind of holds true like I said the golden color of the leaves has even been kind of compared to people's golden years you know your elderly years and it's It's particularly good for elderly people.

Ginkgo nuts have been thought to have effects on the testicles. I can't say for sure. And I'm not really an expert or devotee of the doctor's signatures. But, you know, such parallels are just really interesting to contemplate. And, you know, it is an absolutely beautiful tree. It has some edible use. And it's very good as medicine. But, you know, probably more as a standard extract.

or eating the cooked nuts. So you'll have to kind of research that and look into it and decide what you want to do with it. But it is a gorgeous tree in the fall. I mean, that bright gold is just incredible. And I mean, it's like a dinosaur. That's like the plant version of a dinosaur, which is pretty cool. All right, y'all, we will wrap it up there.

Yeah, kind of a short one, but a really important one because, you know, we're all concerned about memory and, you know, dementia, senility, and all kinds of stuff like that. But it's also, you know, cardiovascular effects, good for allergies, lung issues, et cetera. So, hey, I think this one was worth devoting an exclusive episode too. I hope you enjoyed it. And I will talk to you next time. The information in this podcast is not intended to diagnose or treat any disease or condition.

Nothing I say or right has been evaluated or approved by the FDA. I'm not a doctor. The U.S. government does not recognize the practice of verbal medicine, and there is no governing body regulating herbless. Therefore, I'm really just a guy who studies herbs. I'm not offering any advice. I won't even claim that anything I write or say is accurate or true. I can tell you what herbs have been traditionally used for.

I can tell you my own experience, and if I believe an herb has helped me. I cannot nor would I tell you to do the same. If you use an herb anyone recommends, you're treating yourself. You take full responsibility. for your health. Humans are individuals and no two are identical. What works for me may not work for you. You may have an allergy, a sensitivity,

an underlying condition that no one else even shares and you don't even know about. Be careful with your health. By continuing to listen to my podcast or read my blog, you agree to be responsible for yourself to your own research, make your own choices, and not to blame me for anything ever.