[TVCasualty]

As I do more research on things like this, when I come across information that I feel I should add, I'll post it as I find it. However, I also encourage everyone to do their own research on anything they plan on ingesting, especially potent combinations designed to alter consciousness. Don't take any one person's word for anything when it comes to ways of tinkering with your brain!

Recently as I was reading more about Ginkgo I learned that there is some concern about mixing it with Ibuprofen, or anticoagulants like aspirin. Ginkgo can lower platelet aggregation, so combining it with blood thinners or NSAIDs can cause problems, like excessive bleeding or possible brain hemorrhage in extreme cases. The studies that found this were using concentrated extracts designed for medical use, however, and the levels of active compounds in the dried leaf are very slight in comparison. This significant difference in potency of dried leaf vs. concentrated extracts was even noted in the literature.

Also noted was Ginkgo's synergistic effect on MAOI type anti-depressants, which has been shown to magnify both positive and negative effects of those drugs. Best not to mix them.

This is a powerful herb, and there must be a good reason why Chinese monks preserved it through the last Ice Age in Bonsai form, which is the only reason we still have it today (no known wild, native stands exist). There are also Ginkgo leaves in the fossil record from the Permian period of the Paleozoic Era (around 270 million years ago, just before the dinosaurs!).

To me, that's pretty cosmic, man. Just don't mix it with Advil.