Ginger Pickle - Medicinal Uses
Ginger Pickle
Ginger has long been touted for its effect
on unhappy tummies. From motion sickness to morning sickness, you’ll likely
find a ginger remedy online to help.
When pregnant women have to deal with
morning sickness, which can happen at any point in the day and not just in the
AM, they have to fight off nausea and vomiting.
One study on this sweet smelling rhizome
proved that taking ginger reduced the symptoms of nausea, but didn’t reduce the
number of daily puke sessions. As tempting as that must sound to all you
pregnant ladies, definitely speak with your doctor about adding ginger to your
diet before you attempt this one.
If you can’t fly by plane or step foot on a
boat without your motion sickness pills, ginger may be just what you’re looking
for.
A study on seasickness tested 80 naval
cadets who weren’t used to sailing in heavy seas. They gave the participants an
anti-nausea medicine, a placebo, or ginger root, and checked on their levels of
seasickness every four hours.
Researchers not only discovered that “fewer
symptoms of nausea and vertigo were reported after ginger root ingestion”, but
“ginger root reduced the tendency to vomiting and cold sweating significantly
better than [the] placebo did”.
Further to this, an overall review of six
separate studies aimed at discovering if ginger was as powerful as over-the-counter
anti-nausea medicine, discovered that taking ginger was “superior to [taking a]
placebo and equally effective” as the OTC remedy.
That’s pretty awesome. You know I love it
when natural foods work just as well as factory created pills that have
unpleasant side effects.
Ginger May Reduce Inflammation
Ginger’s in the same family as turmeric, a
spice thought to have anti-inflammatory benefits, so it’s no wonder that ginger
shares the same ability.
When you start losing cartilage between your
joints due to arthritis or osteoarthritis, the bone-on-bone rubbing that occurs
during walking just a few steps can seem unbearable. Many people suffering with
arthritis feel trapped when they can’t move due to the unbearable pain and
stiffness in their joints.
Before going through surgery, many people
turn to pain relieving drugs just to cope with daily life.
A trial of patients with osteoarthritis of
the knee received ginger extracts twice a day for six weeks in place of their
pain medication. They were allowed to use acetaminophen as a “rescue
medication” if they were in dire pain.
The great news is that researchers noticed
that when patients took the ginger extract, they experienced a reduction in
knee pain when standing and walking. Patients relied less on the acetaminophen
when consuming the ginger, which is awesome considering the side effects of
excessive acetaminophen use.
There’s some evidence that ginger root may
help reduce symptoms of migraine.
In a double-blind study, 100 patients with
acute migraines were randomly selected to receive either ginger powder or a
drug that treats migraines. Two hours after using either drug, the average
headache severity decreased significantly with both treatment options.
However, the effect that the ginger powder
had was similar to the effect the migraine drug had, meaning it worked just as
well. The advantage is that patients experienced less side effects when they
took the ginger powder instead of the migraine drug.
Although, that’s just one study, and there’s
far more research in support of traditional migraine medication.
Ginger May Reduce Muscle Soreness
Some people like to feel their muscles burn
the day after an intense workout. I am not one of those people.
One study involving 74 volunteers at the
University of Georgia found that “daily ginger supplementation reduced
exercise-induced muscle pain by 25%”.
Notice the words daily supplement in that
statement. Ginger’s not an immediate pain remedy and takes awhile to get going,
but when it does, it may help.
One study that demonstrated this caveat
discovered that when participants were asked to consume ginger 24 hours after
they exercised, they reduced their muscle pain the following day, or 48 hours
after their workout session.
Participants taking the placebo in the same
time frame noticed no change in muscle soreness. Ouch.
Ginger May Reduce Your Risk of Cancer
Ginger is full of antioxidants that fight
free radicals in our bodies, which is why many people believe that ginger may
prevent cancer.
Did you know that 3% of ginger’s weight
comes from its fragrant oils? These oils do more than add a pungent aroma to
the air; they are home to ginger’s cancer fighting properties.
One of ginger’s oils, gingerol, has been
studied for its active role in cancer treatment and prevention. According to
one study, a version of gingerol was discovered to “possess anticancer
activities”. These activities included aiding in biological pathways towards
cell death, cell cycle regulation, [and] cytotoxic activity”.
The American Cancer Society likes the sound
of results like that, but it agrees with me that we cannot promote ginger as a
cancer treatment at this stage because further clinical trials need to be
conducted and researched.
Ginger May Lower Blood Sugar
Diabetes has become extremely prevalent in
most developed countries.
So naturally, I was excited to learn about a
study that linked ginger consumption to lower blood sugar and HbA1c test
levels, which measure an average of how much sugar is in your blood over a 3
month period.
By adding just two grams of ginger powder to
a diabetics’ diet every day, fasting blood sugar lowered by 12%, and HbA1c
levels reduced by 10%.
Ginger May Lower Cholesterol
When diabetic and hypothyroid induced rats
were given fresh ginger root over the course of 30 days, scientists found that
their total cholesterol and low density lipoprotein (LDL), or bad cholesterol,
levels both decreased.
But this wasn’t the only good news.
Triglycerides were also reduced and HDL, or good cholesterol, was increased as
a result of the fresh ginger.
The same effect that ginger had on rats has
also been tested in humans.
A double blind study examined the effects
that powdered ginger had on lipid levels in 45 volunteers. Researchers
discovered that ginger significantly reduced triglyceride, cholesterol, and LDL
levels. Plus, increases in HDL were higher in the ginger group than the placebo
group.
Lowering bad cholesterol and raising good
cholesterol numbers means a decrease in heart related issues like heart
disease, heart attack, and stroke
Pickled ginger
Pickled ginger, the pink, flowerlike
garnish, is most famously presented beside your rolls of sushi. Ginger, a
rhizome, or root, has been a staple in Asian cooking for over 4,000 years. In
China, ginger has been used as an herbal remedy to help treat nausea and upset
stomach for over 2,000 years. Today, the herb has other health benefits, and
the pickled variety is most commonly served as a palate cleanser.
Digestive Health and Relieving Upset Stomach
and Nausea
Ginger is commonly used to promote healthy
digestive health and relieve symptoms associated with nausea, motion sickness,
morning sickness associated with pregnancy, upset stomach experienced after
surgery and even the effects of chemotherapy in cancer patients. The
anti-inflammatory compounds known as gingerols may also be instrumental in
preventing colorectal cancer.
Alleviating the Pains of Arthritis
Gingerols, which come from the volatile oils
and phenol compounds of the root, also work their magic for those who have both
rheumatoid and osteoarthritis. The anti-inflammatory qualities in ginger
provide increased mobility and reduced pain in arthritic joints. In some cases
it may take several weeks to feel the effects of ginger.
Lowering Cholesterol and Fighting Heart
Disease and Stroke
According to the University of Maryland
Medical Center, ginger helps prevent blood from clotting, which helps lower and
maintain healthy cholesterol levels. Lower cholesterol levels are linked with
preventing heart disease and stroke. Studies are still in their preliminary
stages, however.
Sushi's Palate-Cleansing Sidekick
Pickled ginger is most commonly found next
to wasabi and soy sauce as a garnish for sushi dishes. Known as “gari” in
Japan, the condiment is meant to refresh the palate in between sushi varieties,
which ensures the subtleties of each fish variety can be tasted.