SV: ginseng and coffee

[Guest guest]

Why caution against coffee?

One cup a day seem to stimulate several things, also the immunesystem.

 

Are

 

 

Are Simeon Thoresen

arethore <arethore

http://home.online.no/~arethore/

 

 

 

 

-----Opprinnelig melding-----

Fra: heylaurag [heylaurag]

Sendt: 18. desember 2004 17:25

Til:

Emne: Re: ginseng and coffee

 

 

 

 

I would just caution against coffee period, with or without ginseng.

 

 

, " smilinglotus "

<smilinglotus> wrote:

>

> I noticed that the new Bensky MM advises against the use of ginseng

> with coffee. It doesn't give any details, presumably it is based on

> the fact that some people find ginseng to be stimulating, so some

> people could develop insomnia from the combination of ginseng with a

> stimulant. However, I haven't yet seen this caution so far in

> Chinese books, nor have I seen it reported from WM. Since so much

> has been written on ginseng, I might just not be looking in the

> right places. If anyone can steer me to the proper place to find

> the info, I'd appreciate it.

>

> A pubmed search reveals known interactions between ginseng combined

> with warfarin, alcohol, and phenelzine (caution is extended to all

> MAOIs with ginseng). Specifically, pubmed searches show that

> ginseng lowers blood concentrations of alcohol and warfarin, and can

> induce mania if used with phenelzine. Pubmed didn't show any studies

> that documented a risk of ginseng use with caffeine or coffee.

>

> Chinese texts indicate that ginseng should not be combined with

> daikon (Chinese radish) or with tea, in order to avoid influencing

> its supplementing power. But it would be a stretch to link tea and

> coffee based on that statement alone. Ginseng and coffee are both

> classified as warm, but a lot of things are warm; and I haven't seen

> any dietary therapy text entries on coffee that mention ginseng.

> Ginseng is not ascribed a ti shen (spirit-arousing) property, as we

> see in coffee, so the two don't have an obvious overlap from the TCM

> side.

>

> So my main question is, is there a documented risk associated with

> ginseng and coffee? Since these two substances are often used

> together, I am interested in whether this statement is based on

> evidence or if it is influenced by the fashionable demonizing of

> coffee by the alt medicine world. Since ginseng is not a stimulant

> drug itself, it would make more sense to see ephedra (which has

> sympathomimetic properties) cautioned with coffee rather than

> ginseng. If there is a true risk of interaction between ginseng and

> coffee, wouldn't the risk be even higher if combining ginseng with

> ephedra or with the amphetamine derivatives used to treat ADHD in

> children? Presumably it is safe to assume that ginseng use should be

> cautioned with yohimbe (both are perceived by the general public to

> be sexual stimulants) because yohimbe does inhibit MAO, which is a

> risk factor with ginseng.

>

> If the risk is just a subjective sensation of increased stimulation

> rather than a chemically dangerous interaction, would a habituated

> coffee user risk any ill-effects from ginseng use (assuming that

> they no longer experience marked stimulation from caffeine)?

>

> I would be really interested to known whether there is strong

> evidence in Chinese or English literature to support this statement,

> because if the two are truly not safe to use together, there are

> serious implications for patients and consumers. Opinions?

>

> Eric

 

 

 

 

 

 

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