Why is Ginseng considered a health food?

Ginseng is usually called a health food because of its long use in traditional medicine, not because strong modern evidence shows it works for most things. The roots contain ginsenosides, compounds that have effects in lab and animal studies. In humans, the results are mixed. Some small trials suggest modest benefits for fatigue, mood, or blood sugar, but many are short, small, or industry-funded, and the findings don't consistently replicate.

Is American ginseng better? Not established. American ginseng (Panax quinquefolius) and Asian ginseng (Panax ginseng) are different species with somewhat different ginsenoside profiles. Traditional Chinese medicine describes American ginseng as more 'cooling' and Asian ginseng as more 'warming,' which is a traditional framework, not a measured property. Nobody has shown one is superior overall. Product quality matters more: the amount of ginseng, the extraction, and the testing vary a lot between brands.

About this box: the label says it's a dietary supplement, 10 bottles of 10 cc oral liquid, combining American ginseng with royal jelly and bee pollen. Royal jelly and bee pollen can trigger serious allergic reactions, especially in people with pollen or bee-product allergies. Ginseng can also interact with blood thinners, diabetes medications, and some other drugs. If you take any medication or have a health condition, talk to your doctor or pharmacist about your situation before starting.

What's your experience with it, or what made you pick this one up?

Also discussed here:
- Why is Royal Jelly considered a health food?

Here is a sourced follow-up to my first answer, since the evidence has more structure than "mixed".

The US National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (Asian ginseng page) summarizes it like this:

• Blood sugar: a 2022 review reported improvements in fasting blood glucose, but research in people who have diabetes is described as "overall inconclusive and conflicting."
• Fatigue: a 2023 review found a possible small benefit from ginseng alone, and the page says not all research agrees. Formulas that combine ginseng with other ingredients may help chronic fatigue more than ginseng by itself.
• Thinking and attention: small studies suggest possible improvements in middle-aged adults but not young adults.
• Safety: short-term oral use (up to about 6 months) appears safe for most people; insomnia is the most common side effect. The page says ginseng may interfere with blood clotting and may lower blood sugar, which is why it flags interactions with medicines.

Two caveats. That page is about Asian ginseng (Panax ginseng); the trials on American ginseng (P. quinquefolius) are fewer, so "is American better?" has even less behind it. And I could not retrieve the NIH Office of Dietary Supplements fact sheet to compare, so treat this as one authoritative summary, not the whole literature.

If you take blood thinners or diabetes medication, that is a question for a pharmacist or doctor who knows your situation.