Chemical Cuisine Rating

Avoid

Purpose: Supplement

Health Concerns: Cancer, cardiovascular

Found in: Beverages

 

Pretend benefits: Beverages.
Companies add small amounts of Ginkgo biloba to beverages because it supposedly boosts memory and thinking, but most studies in healthy people show little or no benefit at levels greater than what's added to foods and beverages. Since Ginkgo appears to interfere with blood clotting, it should not be consumed before or after surgery, during labor and delivery, or by those with bleeding problems such as hemophilia. Importantly, in 2013, the U.S. Government's National Toxicology Program published the first study that could evaluate Ginkgo's ability to cause cancer. The study found "clear evidence" that Ginkgo biloba caused liver cancer in male and female mice and "some evidence" that Ginkgo caused thyroid cancer in rats.

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