According to research, ginger is one of the healthiest spices on the planet. It is loaded with nutrients and bioactive compounds, beneficial for both your mind and body. Whether you are drinking it through tea, or adding this spice to your favorite dishes and smoothies, here are five good-for-you health benefits of ginger.
Belonging to the Zingiberaceae family — closely related to turmeric, cardamom and galangal – this flowering plant, which originated in China, is often used as a form of alternative medicine to treat conditions such as nausea (think morning sickness), common flu and cold symptoms and digestion woes, to name a few.
Its powerful anti-inflammatory properties have also been linked to the “prevention and/or treatment of various diseases,” a 2014 study said.
If you regularly hit the gym and in turn, experience exercise-induced muscle pain (or soreness), you may consider looking to ginger root as a natural pain reliever.
Though the spice doesn’t have an immediate impact, in one study, people who consumed two grams of ginger a day, for 11 days, saw significantly reduced muscle pain while performing elbow exercises.
Taking one gram of dried, powdered, encapsulated ginger at least 30 minutes before travel can help calm motion sickness.
While studies concerning ginger’s impact on motion sickness are mixed. One study found ginger to be as effective, as dimenhydrinate (Dramamine) – but with fewer side effects. Other findings indicate that, when taken in addition to anti-nausea meds, the spice further reduces nausea and vomiting from chemotherapy.
In a recent 2015 study of 41 participants with type 2 diabetes, two grams of ginger powder per day lowered fasting blood sugar by 12 percent.
It also dramatically improved HbA1c (a marker for long-term blood sugar levels), leading to a 10 percent reduction over a period of 12 weeks.
There was also a 28 percent reduction in the ApoB/ApoA-I ratio, and a 23 percent reduction in markers for oxidized lipoproteins. These are both major risk factors for heart disease.
Move over cramps! In one study, 150 women were instructed to take one gram of ginger powder every day, for the first three days of the menstrual cycle.
Per their findings, ginger managed to reduce pain as effectively as over-the-counter remedies like ibuprofen and mefenamic acid.
Further research “regarding the effects of ginger on other symptoms associated with dysmenorrhea and efficacy and safety of various doses and treatment durations of ginger are warranted,” the study reads.
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