Ginger: A Miracle Food?

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Okay, so maybe it’s going too far to call ginger a miracle food, but it has been used for centuries for its medicinal properties. Some known benefits of the ginger root are:
Decreasing nausea and digestive problems
Nausea caused by pregnancy, traveling, being hungover, or stomach cramps can be relieved with the use of ginger.
Increasing circulation
Ginger supports the cardiovascular system by making platelets less sticky so blood can flow more easily throughout the body reducing circulatory problems.
Relieving arthritis symptoms
Ginger has anti-inflammatory properties so it can be made into an oil to be used in massaging sore muscles and relieving the painful symptoms of arthritis.
Minimizing respiratory conditions, colds and allergies
Many decongestants have ginger in them, which help to reduce cold, flu and allergy symptoms.

Ginger can be found in most grocery stores in the produce section, in powder form, and in capsule form. I find it best to buy a whole ginger root and use it when you cook or in drinks. An easy way to make it last longer is to peel the bark from the root and store it in a Ziplock in the freezer. This makes it easy to grab and grate into many dishes, it’s already peeled and ready to go!

I use ginger fairly often because I love the flavor it adds to sauces and various foods, especially stirfrys. When combating an upset stomach I recommend drinking a ginger tea (see recipe below). I added some grated ginger in my green smoothie this morning to help relieve some stomach cramps I have been having. Look at this cute glass I even put it in 🙂

Here’s the recipe for the ginger tea:

1 inch piece of ginger with bark removed
1 teaspoon of honey
A squeeze of fresh lemon juice

Directions:
Place the piece of ginger in a cup along with the honey and lemon juice. Pour boiling water over the ingredients to fill the cup. Let the ginger steep for a few minutes and enjoy the relaxing, healing properties.

64 thoughts on “Ginger: A Miracle Food?”

  4. I’ll tuck that tea recipe away for future reference — it looks quick and easy, which is what is needed when one has an upset stomach.

    I, too, like ginger in dishes, especially curries where it marries well with turmeric — another miracle food according to recent studies.

    Isn’t it odd how, when you eat spicy Indian or Chinese food, you don’t need to eat as much? It’s as if the spices themselves trigger something in your brain to fill you up.

  6. totally agree!! I have observed many tips about ginger form my family ( most of members in my family are related to herbal medicine). This is a great and intelligent blog post ever!and Thanks for sharing with us those ideas about miracle ginger! Also, I heard that Ginger can help repair damaged skin cells:) Dig it!:D

  7. I love ginger. There is always crystalized ginger in my pantry. It’s great for a long car ride to Derby practice so I don’t feel like crap when I get there. 🙂

  8. Hi, I really enjoyed reading this blog 🙂

    I personally love ginger and also love ginger tea, noone else I know actually likes ginger though, odd.

  9. Hi, Tracey! I`m a brazilian chef and I just post a banana and ginger wholemeal cake on my blog. That`s why I found you. I really enjoy healthy eating and I will be visiting your blog now and then. Really great!!!
    Marcelo

  10. Great post! My grandmother swears by ginger tea. Ginger in itself is no stranger to our family and we use it when we can. Thanks for sharing!

  11. Excellent blog! Thank you for spreading the word about the benefits of ginger. Standardized capsules are particularly good for motion sickness and work wonders for preventing sea sickness.

  12. I tasted ginger tea for the first time not long ago with my mother when we were at one of those organic restaurants where I live. I was surprised by how good it really tasted!
    Thanks for the tip, I will try it out at home =)

  13. Hah! I absolutely love the healthy properties of a good ginger tea. Truth is, the timing of this blog was rather perfect as I am in the midst of my first-ever panchakarma cleanse – which includes much ginger intake! Yum. Anyhow, if you’re interested in checking out my ‘Journey of the Panchakarma’ come watch some funny, informative video and read some equally entertaining and informative content at JourneyToKathmandu.wordpress.com !

    Keep up the good ginger, Tracey!

    Cheers,
    Chris G. Parkhurst
    Director, Barang Films

  14. I am officially addicted to ginger. I’ve had acid reflux for some time now and anytime it acts up, I make a ginger drink concoction (currently using Prince or peace honey ginger crystals because they are super simple)and feel instantly better.

    I am going to try this recipe. For a cold version of a ginger drink, add pineapple.

    Thanks for the recipe!

  15. I have that glass in blue, and it’s plastic… 🙂
    Ginger is great!!! I was cooking a dish with it the other day, and my whole kitchen smelled like ginger for hours… I LOVE that stuff! I tried to make ginger cookies, and they tasted great fresh out of the oven, however they didn’t keep well after they cooled… :-\

  20. I love just eating pure raw ginger. It is a very good overall systemic tonic. I lve the flavor, and smell! My mom has a great recipe with gigner, honey, and lemons for arthritis, however it is VERY concentrated, and you only drink two shot glasses of it a day.

  27. I have known about ginger for some time and find it heals many things. I used to buy pure ginger tea in Canada in a crystallized form that came in foiled packages. It was GREAT for so many ‘not feeling well’ ailments. I can’t get it anymore but recommend others to try it if they find it.

  28. If you’re a huge ginger fan you should totally try Indian food. It’s not as spicy as you’d think and adds a great deal of flavor to the food. If you love Indian food, it’s great because almost every dish has ginger in it!

  30. Love it on sushi and I take the pills whenever I travel. I’m eager to try the tea and glad to know it has so many other benefits. Thanks for the info!

  31. You know, I have had ginger tea before but never quite realized all the benefits. So much better to make tea with the ginger root than to steep a bag with miscellaneous additives in it. Thank you for posting this. 🙂

  33. Ginger is called the “Universal Medicine” in Ayurveda (traditional medicine originating in India) for its many healing properties. Ginger, my culinary lover, suites many body types and palates. I use ginger the most when I want to give my digestion a boost and to ease my occasional migraines. I simply make a thick paste by blending a bit of chopped ginger and a few drops of room temperature water and apply it to the affected area. This usually subdues headaches, muscle tensions, and back aches.

  34. Umm… I know that ginger has so many positive benefits for our body, but I just don’t like the taste of it. Sometimes I just add a small portion of it to the dishes I cook, just enough to give a very light taste of it. But I won’t add too much on everything I consume. I’ll leave it to you 😉

  37. I was recently introduced to Ginger People, a company that offers all types of products made out of ginger. The ginger candy is delicious. It has an interesting mixture of spicy, sweet ginger and takes a couple trys to get used to the spicy part. They have a website you may want to check out.

  38. The ginger tea you mentioned is a very good drink and really relaxes your body and mind. Since I dont drink tea or coffee, I choose to drink the ginger tea.

    A little bit of ginger added to tea(actual tea) is supposed to heal your headaches, if you have any.

    Ginger is a part and parcel of Indian food. We add it to pickles, vegetables, etc.

  39. I, too, love ginger. However, I only started loving it in the past few years. It was always too pungent for me, but now that I’m in my 50’s I find it quite comforting. I’ve acquired a good selection of ginger teas, but my overall favorite is President’s Choice Ginger Peach tea. Love it! Nice in the winter when it’s freezing, and lovely cold in the summer for a nice refreshing pick me up. Nice post. Thank you.

  40. Ginger tea is one of my favorite teas, but I did not realize how many health benefits it came with using it. I find using fresh ginger a little bit strong in my tea (still trying to balance out the flavor) so for now I just use an instant ginger mix- the flavor isn’t too overpowering or dull. Thanks for sharing. 😀
    -Tia*

  43. I chew a slice of ginger when I have a cough or cold (it’s either that or an ungrated thing of black pepper, which burns way more).

    Plus, it’s awesome in smoothies!

  44. I loved this ginger post. thank you for sharing. I drink the tee also. It is delicious with a slice of the green lemon, you know? the one you use to make a caipirinha. It´s great

  45. hi, I am Mlaysian..In Malaysia, many people use ginger to reduce weight..it has been commercialized..i like ginger too 🙂

  46. Ginger is a staple in my household. I’m asian so we use it in pretty much everything :). If you want your ginger tea to be more “potent” I recommend boiling the freshly peeled ginger in water too. Just throw the ginger in a pot of water and wait til it comes to rolling boil. Then take it off the heat and pour in a mug and sweeten accordingly (or not at all if you like). Trust me, you’ll notice a BIG difference then pouring hot water over the ginger.

  47. I come from Kerala, India, the land of ginger where in many dishes ginger is a condiment. The easienst way to use consume ginger is to make ginger lemon juice which quenches your thirst and soothes your stomach. Just add five drops of ginger juice to a glass of lime water, add sugar and drink shilled.

    aalkoottam

  49. Hi Tracey,
    I stumbled on your post on the wordpress home page.
    I can see you are very passionate about sharing. We enjoy ginger in my home and it is worth noting too things that I did not see in your write up.

    Too much ginger can burn the stomach which might happen if someone takes it as a tonic for weak digestion and over does it for their body.

    Ginger is clearly a hot food according to chinese medicine so it needs to be taken in accordance with the seasons and not all the time.

    Both these notes I pulled from a chinese medicine book I have.

    Just thought they were worth sharing.

    All the best to you,
    David
    http://www.growyourwellnessbiz.com

  50. Tracey,

    one thing you need to be careful with honey is: the nutritions contained in honey can be easily destroyed with boiling water. It’s suggested to use water with temperature below 70 degree centigrade.

    As an old saying goes in China: “having ginger in the morning is better than having ginseng soup, but having ginger in the evening is worse than having arsenic”.

  51. Great post! I, too, love ginger in all its forms. Giner cookies are fabulous. Grate dry organic ginger into anything. Google my name and I have a published article from a couple of years back on teas for health. Let’s see more on health from you on your great blog. I’m new at the blog thing. Thanks.

  53. I knew ginger was good for you, but I had no idea it did all of that! I’m going to take your advice and get a good sized root the next time I go shopping. My hubby was having some issues with allergies and I’d like to not have to worry about them when I vist either of our parents’. I may have to add a link to this from my blog! 🙂

  55. Pingback: There’s more to ginger than I thought « The Green Geek

  57. Just want to say what a great blog you got here!
    I’ve been around for quite a lot of time, but finally decided to show my appreciation of your work!

    Thumbs up, and keep it going!

    Cheers

  60. Hello all! I like this forum, i found many interesting people on this forum.!!!

    Large Community, consideration all!

  61. Pingback: There’s more to ginger than I thought | Polymind

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