Most of us have probably been offered a cup of ginger tea, a ginger chew, or even a gingerale for our stomach ache, but what do we really know about ginger? New studies suggest that ginger may be even mightier than we know!
Let us explore the basics...
Family: Zingiberaceae (A family of tropical plants)
Latin Name: Zingiber officinale
Native to: Asia
What is Ginger
Ginger is a beautiful plant with fuchsia flowers. The roots of ginger are considered rhizomes. Ginger rhizomes have been harvested for more than 3,000 years for use in natural medicine and flavorful spice in Chinese, Greek, Arabic and other cultures.
How does Ginger work in the body
• Upset Stomach
The rich biochemistry of ginger includes at the least, 115 constituents. Of these constituents gingerol takes the award in many studies for the most useful and active bioactive compound.
While research on how they all work together may be limited, many studies have found that ginger may be a good natural alternative/adjunct for various issues.
Issues like chronic stomach pain (dyspepsia) read the pubmed study here , prenatal nausea and chemotherapy related nausea read the study from the Nation Library of Medicine.
Their study goes on to conclude:
"The best available evidence demonstrates that ginger is an effective and inexpensive treatment for nausea and vomiting and is safe."
Ginger’s ability to ease an upset stomach may be attributed to the fact that the compounds of ginger accumulate in the intestinal tract.
Ginger Tea works great for this purpose. Try a cup at double strength with a little honey and lemon.
• General Pain
Researchers and scientists have found that ginger has an antI-inflammatory effect. With inflammation being one of the most prevalent causes of pain, it’s easy to see why a common use for ginger is the easing of pain.
I use salves and ointments made with ginger to rub on my sore muscles.
Mightier than we know
We see that ginger can help our upset stomach or muscle pain, but did you know ginger has anti cancer effects and can even work against diabetes? Me either.
Ginger has been put to the test with a number of serious illnesses and disease. By lowering inflammatory responses and raising nutrients in the body, ginger continues to show promising results.
“Ginger and its bioactive molecules are effective in controlling the extent of colorectal, gastric, ovarian, liver, skin, breast, and prostate cancers.” -https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/
This study goes in depth on how ginger acts against different kinds of cancer and diabetes.
Ginger is one mighty root and It’s uses go far beyond what we once knew. Ginger is generally safe and accessible so experimenting with ginger for pain and stomach aches can be a wonderful way to get to know this Earth gift.
Always remember the final say in any course of action for your well-being is your own. Medical doctors are all around please consult one if you need to. Consider talking with an Herbalist if you would like to work with plants further. The information here is for educational purposes only.
I hope that you feel inspired to explore what makes you feel great.
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*Credits: Thankyou Pubmed for continuing to conduct unbiased research on plant medicine. Thankyou USAGardenshop for letting us use your photo of ginger harvesting!