Ginseng: Healthy or Harmful for Women?

Ginseng: Healthy or Harmful for Women?

by healingsword

Should women use ginseng? Is ginseng, especially Chinese and Korean ginsengs that are called “yang” tonics, harmful to women, since female energy is “yin”? Should women limit themselves to herbs traditionally given to women, such as red raspberry and dong quai (angelica in the West)? What, if any, value can ginseng have for women? Is there potential harm to women in taking this herb?

One Woman's Experience Taking Ginseng

Although not a scientist or medical doctor, perhaps I can add some clarity to this issue based on my experience. I am a woman who has taken ginseng regularly for over thirty years. Occasionally, I have gone a few months or even years without taking it during that time. I first started using ginseng at around age twenty. I roomed in an establishment with various friends at the time, and one young male friend suggested I chew sliced ginseng root that he gave me as a gift. I tried it, finding the taste unique but not abhorrent. I noticed it gave me energy, but not like the boost from caffeine; ginseng-based energy seemed more organic, like that from a good meal or good night’s sleep.

I next used ginseng a few years later when serving as a missionary, working fourteen-hour days, often outside fundraising and witnessing in bitter cold Midwestern and Northern winters. I attribute my relative good health and stamina during those years at least partially to drinking Korean ginseng tea made from paste extract on a regular basis. I was able to do that work, rarely getting sick (and bouncing back quickly whenever I did get a cold) for all those years not only based on faith, but because I could endure the physical conditions. I believe regular ginseng use helped me do that.

Stepping back from active church work in 1987, I worked full-time in retail to support myself, then returned to college and earned multiple degrees, including a minor in Dance at age forty-seven. Eleven years later, I am currently completing my 200-hour yoga teacher certification, while still working multiple jobs. I believe that the stamina and good health with which that lifestyle has been possible is due at least partly to regular consumption of ginseng, usually Korean ginseng. Whenever I have stopped taking it, I notice a decrease in vitality, less appetite, and weakened digestion. Taking ginseng once more, those symptoms ceased. Additionally, menopause for me was relatively easy, with no hot flashes or extreme mood swings.