http://www.care2.com/greenliving/ginger-for-health.html
Ginger for Health
In addition to being a zesty Asian flavor enhancer, used in everything from baked goods to sushi, this rhizome’s potent gingerol compounds help reduce inflammation, ease nausea, and may lower blood pressure.
Eat
To soothe osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis, add about 1/4-inch slice of minced, fresh ginger to food every day or eat ginger chews, which may offer the same effect. Eating ginger can also mitigate hypertension and relieve motion sickness by taking ginger in capsule or tincture form. Talk with your health care practitioner about an appropriate dose.
Drink
Combat a queasiness or morning sickness with ginger tea. Place one or two 1/2-inch slices of fresh ginger into a mug of hot water. Let it steep for a few minutes. To eliminate gas, sip an authentic, nonalcoholic ginger beer�as opposed to conventional ginger ales, which often don’t include any fresh ginger.
Apply topically
Ginger creates a warming sensation that helps increase circulation, soothe sore joints, and relax muscles when massaged into the skin. Plus, antioxidants in ginger boost skin’s ability to fight free radicals. Mix a couple of drops of ginger essential oil into a carrier oil and kneed into problem areas.
For more about this spicy rhizome, see Ginger: The Cook’s Best Medicine
Delicious Living is the go-to resource for the natural and organic lifestyle, helping readers eat well, live green, and stay healthy. Visit deliciouslivingmag.com for more articles and free recipes.
More from Mel, selected from Delicious Living (46 articles available)
Robyn
Melissa
Deepak
Eric
Dave
Dr. Brent
Isha
Susan
Delia
Michelle
Wendy
Megan
Hilary
Ann
Judi
Ronnie
Kelly
Lily
Terri
Betsy
Cait
Andrew
Jana
Annie B.
Veronica
11 comments
add your comment »i try to drink ginger tea every day. it's so soothing.
send green star | flag as inappropriate
why is this inappropriate?
Being a certified aromatherapist, I think one of the uses of ginger is often overlooked. Ginger essential oil is a wonderful oil for arthritis, aching muscles and back pain. We use it in our Spicey Muscle Oil and we have lots of testimonials on how well it works. Buy it in a pure 100% essential oil form and add it to any vegetable oil to make a muscle soothing massage oil. Ours is available at http://www.wingsets.com - or you can buy the oil there as well. It works for nerve pain as well and I created it after foot surgery for a neuroma that was extremely painful. Add to that a husband who had back surgery and was told he needed more surgery - we've avoided that using this oil.
send green star | flag as inappropriate
why is this inappropriate?
Thank you for this article. I love ginger. It is my favorite medicinal herb. The benefits are felt in the gut and radiate throughout the body. I do combine it with demulcents or other carminatives for more soothing power. Marshmallow, Fennel and slippery elm combine well with ginger and they address the health concerns of the other comments.
Crystalized Ginger Root Tea is the best!
send green star | flag as inappropriate
why is this inappropriate?
Ginger is also good for preventing and treating migraines!
send green star | flag as inappropriate
why is this inappropriate?
Barbara M. wrote "should not be used with extreme caution...." Probably a typo, as it *should* be used with extreme caution.
send green star | flag as inappropriate
why is this inappropriate?
It's infrequently a concern among the population but sometimes it's people reading these kinds of articles that are more likely to have the problems: 1) Ginger and some other anti-inflammatory herbs has COX inhibitors. This might interfere with repair of gut mucosa, e.g. in trying to heal irritable bowel. 2) Ginger has strong characteristics in Asian Medicine and in therapy is given with other things to balance out the formula, either in general for the population in proprietary formulas sold even in Asian grocery stores, or in formulas customized for the individual at that time.
send green star | flag as inappropriate
why is this inappropriate?
typo ... should say "without increasing the risk for hypoglycemia."
send green star | flag as inappropriate
why is this inappropriate?
Lots of studies support using ginger in diabetes.
1. a study from Japan found that aldose reductase inhibitors such as ginger have considerable potential for the treatment of diabetes without increasing the risk for diabetes.
2. a study from Korea found that ginger was insulinotropic, stimulating the production of insulin.
3. a study in India found that ginger reduced advanced glycation endproducts (AGEs) burden in diabetics.
There are many other studies supporting the use of ginger for diabetes. Ginger has also been shown to be good for: Neuroprotection, memory, Alzheimer's, heart, atherosclerosis, cholesterol, triglycerides, dyspepsia, pancreas, stomach, liver, colon, kidney, prostate, ovaries, breast, skin, UV protection, arthritis, antibacterial, anthelmintic, antiviral, lungs, colds/flu, allergy, inflammation, cancer, obesity, and pollution.
Ken Gremillion, ND
statisticalnature.com
send green star | flag as inappropriate
why is this inappropriate?
I grate ginger into hot honey lemon tea when my throat is full of phlegm. Ginger just burns right through it, breaking it up. I grate it in while the water is heating, because cooking it slightly takes a little of the hot zing away. Adding it straight to the mug, grated, is more than I can take.
I told my mom about this recently because she's unable to cough up her gunk, and she said that ginger shouldn't be taken by people with diabetes or heart disease. Barbara M already answered half my question; can someone now tell me why diabetics can't have ginger?
send green star | flag as inappropriate
why is this inappropriate?
Oh this article was wonderful. My Mother just started with osteoarthritis. I am now going to tell Her of the benefits of ginger and I hope it will help Her. Thank you for taking the time to share this article with us.
send green star | flag as inappropriate
why is this inappropriate?
Facebook account: