The Great Powers Of Ginger:How to Boost Your Health With a Tasty Root



Posted: Wednesday, April 26, 2006

by Simon Marmier
Simon Marmier

The Great Powers Of Ginger:
How to Boost Your Heal
th With a Tasty Root

Ginger is well known to:

-Facilitate digestion

-Avoid food poisoning

-Relieve gas

-Help with nausea and motion sickness (probably one of the best remedies!)

-Suppress nausea and vomiting during pregnancy

-Lower cholesterol

-Relieve coughs

-Relieve arthritic pain

-Act as a blood thinner and enhance circulation

-Help with carpal tunnel syndrome


I have always been fascinated by ginger. The first time I discovered it was in a sushi restaurant and since then it has always been present in my life. I always have a root in my kitchen. The more I read about ginger, the more I used it.

It has been used for hundreds of years, principally for it's help in digestive function. The Greeks used to wrap ginger in some bread and eat it at the end of their meals as a digestive, which is believed to be the origin of ginger bread.

It has been and is still used to relieve symptoms such as indigestion, gas, nausea and diarrhea.

The japanese use it to protect themselves from harmful bacteria that can be ingested with raw fish that's why it is served with sushi.

Recipe:

Half a teaspoon of freshly grated ginger steeped in 8 oz of hot water for 10 minutes will yield a cup of tea with approximately 250 mg of ginger. I definitely recommend you use fresh instead of dried.

This is the way I prepare my tea:
I put slightly more than a cup of water to boil (some is going to evaporate). While the water is heating up, I cut a piece of fresh ginger, peel it, put it on a cutting board and put a large kitchen knife flat on top of it. I then smash the blade with my hand to flatten the ginger (please be careful with the knife!!)

This smashing makes it a lot easier for the next step which is chopping: Use your knife to chop the ginger into small pieces.

When the water is boiling, put the ginger in it, let it boil for 30 seconds to a minute then lower the heat and let it "cook" for 8 to 10 minutes.

Serve and enjoy.

You can also use tea bags...I don't like it as much as fresh.

Practical Uses:

Drink 4 cups of this tea to help with:

-Nausea

-Sore throat/Cough (you can add a teaspoon of honey in your tea)

-Arthritis

To help digestion, drink a cup of fresh ginger after your meal.

For motion sickness, it is not very practical to use tea, especially if you are on a trip in a plane, boat or even car, unless you prepare it in advance. What I would suggest for motion sickness, is getting ginger capsules, and take 250 to 500 mg an hour before the trip. Then another 250 mg an hour to two hours in the trip.

To relieve arthritic pain, you can make ginger compresses. This is a neat trick that will work wonders. This is what you do:

Chop or grate some unpeeled ginger and place it in a muslin cloth. Bring a small pot of water to a boil, drop the ginger cloth in it, lower the heat and let it simmer. Remove the pot from the heat, dip a cotton cloth in the ginger water, squeeze the excess water out and place the warm (make sure it is not to warm so it doesn't burn you) cotton cloth on the affected body part.

I don't have any of the above problems but I still drink ginger tea because I like it and it makes me feel good. Aside from treating the above symptoms, ginger is wonderful for your health.

Watch for more practical informations on ginger, soon to come.

Precautions and Side Effects:
Even though ginger is generally safe to ingest, there are a few things you need to watch for. According to the "Gale Encyclopedia of Natural Medicine", it is not recommended for people with gallstones. Ginger can slow down the blood clotting time (due to it's blood thinning characteristics).

Also the German Commission E, recommends not taking ginger during pregnancy, because of risks of miscarriage if taken in high doses. I have read a different source that says fresh is safe, but dried should not be used during pregnancy.

The medical doctors at the Mayo Clinic say it is safe at low doses during short periods of time (less than 5 days), and research support it's effectiveness in relieving nausea and vomiting.

A reported side effect, although unfrequent is heartburn. I personally thing, and this is my personal opinion that, it will give you heartburn if you ingest a large amount of raw ginger on an empty stomach.

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Simon Marmier is an international natural health leading expert.
For more practical natural health informations, visit www.MyNaturalHealthSpecialist.com

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