HEALTH BENEFITS OF GINGER

For a very long while now, Arabic and Indian healers valued ginger as food and medicine. This tropical plant, in the same bo­tanical family as turmeric and cardamom, was effectively used to relieve nausea and vomiting caused by illness and seasickness.

As one sixteenth-century physician put it: “Ginger does good for a bad stomach.” In The Family Herbal from 1814, English physician Robert Thornton noted that “two or three cupfuls for breakfast” will relieve “dyspepsia due to hard drinking.”

Recent research later confirmed that ginger reduces nausea and vomiting from multiple causes: morning sickness, postoperative upset, chemotherapy treatments, and motion sickness. While the best-researched use of ginger is in combating nausea and vomiting, studies have shown that ginger is a multi-faceted remedy with six more commonly healing effects:

1. It inhibits such bacteria as Salmonella, which cause diarrhea, and protozoa, such as Trichomonas.
2. It has a warming effect and stimulates circulation.
3. It inhibits rhinovirus, which can cause the common cold.
4. It reduces pain and inflammation, making it valuable in managing arthritis, headaches, and menstrual cramps.
5. In the intestinal tract, it reduces gas and painful spasms.
6. It may prevent stomach ulcers caused by nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs.

You can take ginger in whatever form appeals to you.

If you’re pregnant: Try it in tea, soup, or capsules — up to 250 milli­grams four times a day. If you chose a carbonated beverage, make sure it’s made from real ginger. You can also nib­ble crystallized ginger.

To counter motion sickness: Taking 1 gram of dried, powdered, encapsulated ginger 30 minutes to two hours before travel can help ease travel related nausea.

For postoperative nausea: In a recent study on the use of gin­ger to thwart postoperative nausea, the dose was 500 milligrams 30 minutes before surgery and 500 milligrams 2 hours after surgery. Otherwise, ginger is usually not recommended during the seven to ten days leading up to surgery because of its ef­fect on blood clotting. Discuss the use of ginger with your surgeon or anesthesiologist before trying it.

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