Ginger is one of the most popular spices and herbal medicines in all over the world. Ginger can treat the common cold, flu-like symptoms. Ginger can reduce headaches, aid digestion and painful menstrual periods. Ginger can help reduce nausea, vomiting, and relieve nausea in chemotherapy cancer patients. It is also promoted for arthritis or joint and muscle pain. With me, ginger is one of my favorite spice and drink’s ingredients. I love cooking fish, chicken, and beef with ginger. Ginger drinks on cold days to keep me warm or reduce cold’s symptoms. Today I would love to share with you the benefits of ginger; side effects and how I use it in my daily life.

HEALTH BENEFITS OF GINGER:

Home remedy for cold and flu-like symptoms

Ginger is a great ideal for treating cold and flu-like symptoms. This spice can make your body warmer and reduce the cold symptoms. I always keep some fresh ginger in the fridge in case I get a cold. Ginger also gets on well with lemon, honey, and mint leaves. And here is the way I usually make a ginger honey drink when I got a cold.

All you need is 2 grams of fresh ginger and honey. You can press or chop ginger into small pieces. But with me, I prefer pressing ginger more than cutting it into small pieces. By pressing ginger we can take more water and nutrients from ginger than cutting. After that, you can put pressed ginger or cut ginger into a cup with 1 or 2 tsp. of honey. Depending on your taste, you can add more or reduce the honey. Pour 150-200 ml of fresh boiling water over it. Wait for 5 -7 minutes and you can enjoy your ginger honey tea.

Having 2 cups of ginger honey tea in a day can reduce the cold symptom and support the cold medicine. Besides, the ginger honey drink also can help to reduce muscle pain caused by exercises.

Natural remedies for muscle pain

 University of Georgia’s research found that daily ginger consumption can reduce muscle pain after exercise. In a research study, 30-40 volunteers consumed 2 grams of raw ginger or heated ginger for 11 consecutive days. In the eight days of research, volunteers performed 18 extensions of the elbow flexors with heavy weight to induce moderate muscle injury to the arm. Three days after the exercise, doctors assessed prior volunteer’s arm functions, inflammation, pain and a biochemical involved in pain. The research found that ginger supplementation reduced the exercise-induced pain by 25 percent. The research also found that the cooking ginger could not reduce the pain as the raw ginger. So that is a good news that you can use ginger as a natural remedy for releasing the pain in exercise. You can eat or drink 2 grams of fresh ginger in 11 continuous days to reduce the pain in exercise.

Natural remedies for nausea and vomiting

 Ginger was used as a natural remedy for nausea and vomiting for a thousand years ago. In some clinical studies of using ginger to reduce nausea associated with pregnancy. Ginger has proved to help reduce morning nausea during pregnancy. If pregnant women use 1g daily of ginger in a short period no longer than 4 days. You should ask your doctor before taking it to be sure about your situation. Pregnant women do not take more than 1 gram of ginger per day.

A few studies also suggest that ginger reduces the severity and duration of nausea – but not vomiting during chemotherapy. It is too early to say ginger can reduce nausea during chemotherapy in cancer treatment. People who have cancer should talk to their doctors before taking ginger. Ginger has the potential to interfere with blood clotting and prolong bleeding time.

 Other applications

 Ginger has a long history as an herbal remedy for upset stomach, motion sickness, and loss of appetite. In Asia, ginger has been used for digestion and treating stomach upset, diarrhea, and nausea for more than 2,000 years. Ginger has also helped treat arthritis, colic, diarrhea, and heart conditions.

SIDE EFFECTS OF GINGER

Is ginger good for everybody? The answer is yes. But if you use too much ginger it might cause mild heartburn, diarrhea, and irritation of the mouth. And here are some situations people should pay attention to when using ginger.

–  Don’t use ginger with children under 2-year-olds. Children over 2 may take ginger to treat nausea, stomach cramping, and headaches. But you should ask your doctor to help you find the right dose for the children.

• asking doctors before using ginger if you are pregnant, breastfeeding women. people with heart conditions, cancer, 

–  Ginger may interfere with blood clotting and prolong bleeding time like Chamomile. There is a risk of serious bleeding if a person takes blood-thinning medications. Ginger can reduce the level of platelets or interfere with platelet function. Do not take ginger if you have the bleeding disorder, using blood-thinning medication and even aspirin. Tell your doctor if you are taking ginger before surgery or under anesthesia for any reason.

HOW TO USE GINGER?

You can use fresh or dried ginger root in cooking and in preparing herbal remedies. Remember that the maximum amount of ginger adults can take is only 5 grams per day including food sources. And always ask your doctor to help you find the right dose for you.

•   Use 250 milligrams – 1 gram of powdered ginger taken with liquid several times per day for nausea treatment.
•   For pregnancy-induced vomiting, some studies have used 650 mg to 1 g per day. Pregnant women should not take more than 1g per day. Don’t take ginger without first talking to your doctor.
•   For arthritis pain: You can use 2 grams of ginger daily for 11 continuous days to reduce the pain.

With me, ginger is my favorite home remedy for cold and flu-like symptoms. One cup of ginger honey is not a bad choice to reduce the cold and support the cold medicine. You can combine ginger with the mint leaves, lemon and honey to make tasty and healthy drinks for cold days. In the coming posts, I will discuss more fresh ginger mint tea and how to mix ginger with other ingredients.