WHAT IS GINGER?
Ginger is a flowering plant whose rhizome is widely used as a spice and a folk medicine. It is an edible perennial which grows annual false stems made of the rolled bases of leaves about one meter tall bearing narrow leaf blades. The inflorescence bear flowers has pale yellow petals with purple edges, and arise directly from the rhizome on separate shoots.
We all do experience unrelenting nausea at some point. At these times, your first insight may be to turn to over the counter medications, yet, ginger works as a great effective antidote.
For thousands of years, Arabic, Indian, and Asian healers prized 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.
Thanks to the spice trade, the tradition caught on in Europe. 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.”
Research later confirmed that ginger lower nausea and vomiting from multiple causes such as morning sickness, postoperative upset, chemotherapy treatments, and motion sickness.
WHAT IS GINGER GOOD FOR?
- It has a warming effect and stimulates circulation.
- It reduces pain and inflammation, making it valuable in managing arthritis, headaches, and menstrual cramps.
- It hinders rhinovirus, which can cause the common cold.
- It prevents stomach ulcers caused by non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, such as aspirin etc.
- In the intestinal tract, it reduces gas and painful spasms.
- It hinders bacteria such as Salmonella, which cause diarrhea, and protozoa, such as Trichomonas.
You can take ginger in whatever form appeals to you.
If you are pregnant: You can 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 pick over crystallized ginger.
To counter passion 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 hamper 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 effects on blood clotting. Discuss the use of ginger with your surgeon before you try it.
