Stroke is a common manifestation of cardiovascular disease.  We worry about blood pressure, cholesterol, and obesity for heart disease risk, but also for stroke risk.  A new study in rats found that if you give a rat a daily dose of Ginkgo, then give the rat a stroke, the rat will have only half of the brain damage it would have had normally!  That is incredible protection—better than any pharmaceutical I know of.  The authors of the study then tried another experiment; they gave the rats a stroke, then 5 minutes later gave the rats Ginkgo.  Astonishingly, the rats had nearly 60% less brain damage with the single dose of Ginkgo!  They also found that giving the rats Ginkgo four-and-a-half hours later resulted a 30% decrease in damage!

The moral of the story is this: if you are over 50, keep a high quality Ginkgo supplement in your house.  Stoke is common, and can result in death, permanent disbility, or a long hard road to recovery.  Taking a Ginkgo either regularly or soon after a stroke appears to offer a great deal of protection against damage.

Remember too that similar protective benefits have been found for the Ayurvedic herb Ashwagandha

Read commentary on the Johns Hopkins study here.