Is ginseng everything people say?
Purported to promote overall health, increase the body's resistance to stress and help conditions such as diabetes, depression, anemia, atherosclerosis, hypertension and ulcers, this supplement has many issues. The major problems with this supplement include finding a product with substantial amounts of the herb as well as being able to afford it (quality root can cost more than $20 an ounce). One study showed that of 54 ginseng products being sold, 60% of those analyzed were "worthless" and 25% of the sampled products contained no ginseng at all! Side effects of this widely used herb include insomnia, diarrhea and skin eruptions. While prolonged or excessive use of ginseng appears to provide
relatively low risks, there is no proven efficacy for humans other than self-reports.