Organic Ginger Root
Zingiber officinale
Zingiber officinale
What is Ginger?
Ginger is sometimes called common ginger, cooking ginger, canton,or stem ginger. Ginger plants are famous for their highly scented, tasty roots and warming benefits. Ginger is more than a root, though. It is a rhizome! That means it grows horizontally underground, shooting up more stems and plants. It looks similar to its cousin plant, turmeric. Ginger is a pale brown root on the outside with a yellow core. Turmeric is slightly darker on the outside but orange on the inside.
Health Benefits of Ginger
- Settles stomach aches
- Supports blood sugar levels
- Relieves menstrual discomfort
- Supports brain functionality
- Supports cholesterol levels
- May aid in weight loss
- Antibacterial
- Anti-inflammatory
The active constituent that happens to be most studied in ginger is gingerol. Gingerol has many known medicinal properties and a long history in traditional and alternative medicine. Most importantly, gingerol has robust anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties that give it such a long list of benefits.
How to Use Ginger
You can find ginger in dried bulk, capsules, powders, teas, extracts, or tinctures. Teas and soups are also options, especially when following Ayurvedic medicine recipes. Some pregnant women or those traveling with motion sickness love keeping candied ginger pieces on them for quick relief on the go!
Safety Concerns
Safe for all ages.
The mainstream will caution against ginger for pregnant women; herbalists disagree. As per trusted herbalist Richard Whelan, ginger has never been associated with adverse events. Quite the contrary, many women have found ginger helpful during pregnancy, so it has been widely used without any issues. Finally, the reason for the caution comes from a level of use that would equate to massive ginger consumption, far more than we ever use in medicine or food.
Richard Whelan concludes that ginger is very safe for breastfeeding. Ginger can and should be used freely by the elderly when needed and can equally safely be used by the young and pregnant so long as they can tolerate its spiciness!
The only potential safety issue is using ginger in high quantities before surgery. As a blood thinner, it is not advised at this time.
Studies
A systematic review of 12 studies with 1,278 pregnant participants found that 1.1-1.5 grams of ginger significantly reduced morning sickness symptoms.
Zingiber officinale Improves Cognitive Function of the Middle-Aged Healthy Women
A human study of healthy middle-aged women demonstrated improved reaction time and working memory with daily doses of ginger extract.
The study concluded that ginger just as effectively reduced menstrual pain as the two NSAIDs. This is not the only study to conclude this as well.