A ginger’s love of ginger

Posted June 14, 2018

A Ginger’s love of Ginger!! (June 14 2018)

So winter is here (I hear you, GOT fans!) and being the good soccer Mum that I am, I’m going to be racking up some serious sideline time in Canberra in early July. Basically, I need to find as much warmth as possible, so ginger springs (or rather ‘winters’ haha) to mind. As a lifelong ‘ginger’/redhead myself, I’ve always been drawn to this herb. Ginger is a beautiful warming herb and my travel mug of ginger tea is going to warm me up from the inside out!

Ginger, known botanically as Zingiber officinale, has been used as food and medicine since ancient times; Dioscorides described ginger as being warming to the stomach in 50-70AD.

Ginger’s benefits and uses

Due to ginger’s actions on gastric tone and motility, it is effective in preventing nausea and vomiting. A dose of 1000mg/day has been shown to reduce the intensity of nausea associated with pregnancy.
Ginger is an effective anti-inflammatory, and has been shown to reduce symptoms of knee osteoarthritis, and accelerate recovery of muscle strength following intense exercise. It has also been shown to be of benefit in relieving period pain.
Ginger can also help with blood sugar control and cholesterol/triglyceride levels.
Ginger has also been shown to have antioxidant and antimicrobial activities.

A word of caution on the use of Ginger

Ginger shouldn’t be used by people with gallstones, due to its stimulatory effect on bile flow.
Due to its oxalate content, those that have a history of calcium-oxalate kidney stones should moderate their consumption of ginger.
High doses of ginger can irritate the gut and those with reflux or gastric ulcers should use with caution.
There is a theoretical increased bleeding risk with high dose (>10g/day) ginger and those on anticoagulants should use with caution. High dose ginger should be stopped a week before surgical procedures.

While fresh ginger is preferred over dried, as it contains higher levels of active constituents and anti-inflammatory compounds, organically grown dried ginger is more widely available and still more than suitable for use.

So, the thought of ginger tea makes this ginger feel a whole lot less chilly at the thought of frosty Canberra soccer pitches. Just look for the mum with red hair and I’ll share some tea with you!

Stay warm & well everyone,

Clare x

References

Arablou, T., Aryaeian, N., Valizadeh, M., Sharifi, F., Hosseini, A., & Djalali, M. (2014). The effect of ginger consumption on glycemic status, lipid profile and some inflammatory markers in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus. International Journal of Food Sciences and Nutrition 2014; 65 (4): 515-520. doi: 10.3109/09637486.2014.880671.

Barari, A.R. (2016). Effect of Ginger Supplementation and Endurance Training on Serum Levels of IL-1α and TNF-α. Medical Laboratory Journal 2016; 10 (4): 58-63. doi: 10.18869/acadpub.mlj.10.4.63.

Bone, K., & Mills, S. (2013). Principles and Practice of Phytotherapy. 2^nd ed. Chatswood (NSW), Australia: Churchill Livingstone Elsevier.

Braun, L., & Cohen, M. (2011). Herbs & Natural Supplements: An evidence-based guide. 3^rd ed. Chatswood (NSW), Australia: Churchill Livingstone Elsevier.

Daily, J.W., Zhang, X., Kim, D.S., & Park, S. (2015). Efficacy of Ginger for Alleviating the Symptoms of Primary Dysmenorrhea: A Systemic Review and Meta-analysis of Randomized Clinical Trials. Pain Medicine 2015; 16: 2243-2255. doi: 10.1111/pme.12853.

Imani, H., Tabibi, H., Najafi, I., Atabak, S., Hedayati, M., & Rahmani, L. (2015). Effects of ginger on serum glucose, advanced glycation end products, and inflammation in peritoneal dialysis patients. Nutrition 31 (2015): 703-707. doi: 10.1016/j.nut.2014.11.020.

Lete, I., & Allue, J. (2016). The Effectiveness of Ginger in the Prevention of Nausea and Vomiting during Pregnancy and Chemotherapy. Integrative Medicine Insights 2016; 11: 11-17. doi: 10.4137/IMI.S36273.

Marx, W., McKavanagh, D., McCarthy, A.L., Bird, R., Ried, K., Chan, A., & Isenring, L. (2015). The Effect of Ginger (Zingiber officinale) on Platelet Aggregation: A Systematic Literature Review. PLoS ONE 10 (10): e0141119. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0141119.

Matsumara, M.D., Zavorsky, G.S., & Smoliga, J.M. (2015). The Effects of Pre-Exercise Ginger Supplementation on Muscle Damage and Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness. Phytotherapy Research 29: 887-893. doi: 10.1002/ptr.5328.

Mazidi, M., Gao, H-K., Rezaie, P., & Ferns, G.A. (2016). The effect of ginger supplementation on serum C-reactive protein, lipid profile and glycaemia: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Food & Nutrition Research 2016, 60: 32613. doi: 10.3402/fnr.v60.32613.

Murray, M., Pizzorno, J., & Pizzorno, L. (2005). The Encyclopedia of Healing Foods. London, UK: Piatkus.

Seidi, J., Ebnerasooli, S., Shahsawari, S., & Nzarian, S. (2017). The Influence of Oral ginger before Operation on Nausea and Vomiting after Cataract Surgery under General Anesthesia: A double-blind placebo-controlled randomized clinical trial. Electronic Physician 9 (1): 3508-3514. doi: 10.19082/3508.

Clare Barg