The effect of dosage on a supplement or drug consumption can make a huge difference to the health benefits or side effects experienced. Certain doses of a supplement may be safe to take but may yield no health benefits at all, whereas taking higher doses may reap a number of health benefits but may start to contribute towards negative side effects that chronically may cause more harm than good [1].
Making sure you take the correct dose is very important as taking the wrong dose over a long period of time can end up being both expensive with no health benefits or dangerous.
The serving suggestions on the back of some supplements will be a general guideline, balancing the health benefits and that of the possible side effects. However, if you are looking for specific health benefits the dosage suggested may not align to the benefits you require. For example, ginseng has many health benefits and the dosage to reap the benefits of its anti-diabetic properties may be very different from that of its ability to aid erectile dysfunction.
This article, therefore, looks to match all the health benefits of ginseng to the correct dosage, based on the research published. The active ingredient is ginsenosides, therefore the dosage of ginseng needs to correspond to the quantity of ginsenoside within the dose.
Cognitive Performance
Studies have found that ginseng enhances cognitive performance when supplementing between 50-400mg of ginsenosides over a 12 week period [2]. However, it is worth noting that the timing of consumption is also a factor in ginseng's ability to improve performance in memory tasks.
One study found that although people who consumed ginseng performed significantly better on a memory test at 1, 2.5, 4 and 6 hours after consumption, the size of the increase in ginseng wavered. The study used a range of doses from 200-600 mg and results suggest that the best dosage for improving the “quality of memory” was 400mg supplementation [3]
A study on ginseng's ability to lower blood glucose showed that there was no difference between consuming 1000 mg or 3000 mg, suggesting that 1000mg is a suitable amount to experience anti-diabetic health benefits [4].
A review on ginseng's prevention and treatment of diabetes showed that doses ranging from 1000mg to 6000mg per day over a range of weeks provided different mechanics, such as anti-glycemia with anti-diabetic related abilities [5].
Therefore, the basis of your health should dictate your dosage, healthy individuals can aid the prevention of diabetes using smaller doses. However, people with diabetes may require higher doses depending on their individual differences and severity of diabetes. We recommend discussing the consumption of this supplement with your doctor if you are considering consuming it with any other diabetic medication as they may interact with one another.
Erectile dysfunction
A review on this area showed that consuming between 600 mg - 1000 mg three times a day for a minimum of four weeks had positive effects on erectile performance. Some side effects were experienced at a range of doses and durations, including gastric upset, headaches and trouble sleeping [6,7].
Our ginseng tablets start at a content of 1300 mg, higher than that of 600mg per day. To avoid developing any unwanted side effects, it may be recommended to start on a lower dose and increase the dose slowly over time until the benefits are experienced, if not already [8].
Please note that this information is intended for general knowledge purposes and is not a substitute for professional medical advice for treatment about any of the mentioned diseases or disorders.