Ginger – zingiber officinale
Ginger, scientifically known as zingiber officinale, is a flowering plant that is closely related to turmeric and cardamom.
Ginger has been used across the globe as a natural remedy for thousands of years due to its medicinal properties. In fact, ancient Sanskrit, Chinese, Roman, Greek, and Arabic texts have all documented the use of ginger root to help improve health and well-being.
Ginger has a long history of health benefits, including relief from nausea, digestive issues and pain. The most commonly used part of the plant for medicinal purposes is the root or underground stem, known as the rhizome.
The health benefits of ginger are largely due to its antioxidants, anti-inflammatory properties and content of therapeutic compounds like gingerol, shogaol, paradol and zingerone.
Consumable in fresh, dried, ground, capsule and juice form, ginger root is easy to add to the diet and can have a lasting impact on just about every aspect of health.
100 grams (about 3.5 ounces) of raw ginger contain approximately:
- 80 calories
- 8 grams carbohydrates
- 8 grams protein
- 7 grams fat
- 2 grams dietary fiber
- 415 milligrams potassium (12 percent DV)
- 2 milligrams copper (11 percent DV)
- 2 milligrams manganese (11 percent DV)
- 43 milligrams magnesium (11 percent DV)
- 5 milligrams vitamin C (8 percent DV)
- 2 milligrams vitamin B6 (8 percent DV)
- 7 milligrams niacin (4 percent DV)
- 34 milligrams phosphorus (3 percent DV)
- 6 milligrams iron (3 percent DV)
In addition to the nutrients listed above, ginger also contains a small amount of calcium, zinc, pantothenic acid, riboflavin, and thiamin.
If you haven’t yet incorporated ginger in your diet, here are some reasons why you must!
10 Health Benefits of Ginger – zingiber officinale
- Ginger Relieves Digestive Issues: The phenolic compounds in ginger have the properties to relieve irritation in the gastrointestinal tract. They stimulate saliva and bile production while allowing food and fluids to move through the GI tract smoother than normal.
- Ginger Helps Treat Nausea: Used historically as a natural remedy for sea sickness and morning sickness, ginger is perhaps most well-known for its ability to treat nausea and vomiting. Several tests have found that ginger was effective at decreasing symptoms of nausea with minimal risk of side effects. Plus, another study from the University Of Rochester Medical Center showed that ginger helped reduce nausea severity in patients receiving chemotherapy.
- Ginger Can Help lose weight: In addition to increasing fat loss, ginger may also help a person to feel satiated, which in turn reduces food consumption. best way to lose weight. Natural appetite suppressants are safe and cause no rebound. Ginger is nearly calorie-free, and when used in cooking or brewed in tea, it can give you a slight advantage in meeting your weight loss goals. It raises the temperature of the body and helps boost metabolism, so you burn fat more than you would simply by dieting alone.
- Ginger Helps Regulate Cholesterol: High cholesterol levels in a person can indicate higher than normal BMI and can thus, lead to obesity-related illnesses like heart disease and certain cancers. Ginger helps lower cholesterol by significantly reducing serum and hepatic cholesterol levels. Ginger also acts as a blood thinner and reduces blood pressure.
- Ginger Reduces Inflammation: Osteoarthritis is a common health problem that involves the degeneration of the joints in the body, causing joint pain and stiffness. In a trial of 247 people with osteoarthritis of the knee, those who took ginger extract had less pain and required less pain medication.
- Ginger Can Boost Immunity: Ginger helps improve the immune system. Ginger is one of the oldest cures for cold, nausea and flu as it has anti-viral and anti-fungal properties. It cures cold and provides instant relief and also kills the bacteria that causes cold and ensures that it doesn’t return. Drinking ginger as a tea will ease sore throat, non-stop coughing and even congestion. Ginger contains chromium, magnesium and zinc which can help prevent chills, fever, and excessive sweat. Plus, it acts as an antihistamine and hence is useful in dealing with allergies.
- Ginger May Reduce Risk of Heart Disease: In a study involving participants with type 2 diabetes, researchers found that 2 grams of ginger powder each day lowered blood sugar and led to a 10% overall reduction over a period of 12 weeks. High blood sugar is a major risk factor for heart disease.
- Ginger Can Help Treat Chronic Indigestion: Ginger. Ginger is another natural remedy for indigestion because it can reduce stomach acid. In the same way that too little stomach acid causes indigestion, too much stomach acid has the same effect. Drink a cup of ginger tea as needed to soothe your stomach and get rid of indigestion.
- Ginger May Have Anti-Cancer Properties: A substance in ginger known as 6-gingerol has been studied as an alternative treatment for several types of cancer.
- Ginger May Improve Brain Function Oxadative stress and chronic inflammation are two factors that can accelerate the aging process, and become a key driver of Alzheimer’s disease and other age-related cognitive impairments. Some studies suggest that the antioxidants and bioactive compounds in ginger can inhibit inflammatory responses that occur in the brain. I
