Out of all the tropical plants, famous for being beneficial for the body, the ginger stands above all. Better known during the Christmas holidays, ginger is a miracle plant regardless the season, doing wonders in cases of rheumatism and digestive problems. And maybe that’s why so desired during winter holidays when it is cold and people tend to eat more. Besides all these, we should be celebrating the joy of ginger all year long.
Ginger – properties and benefits
In ancient Asia, ginger was used with confidence in medicine to treat inflammation of the stomach, nausea, or diarrhea.
Also, since the first century, it was labeled as a safe herb with beneficial effects for rheumatic problems.
Over time, after dozens of studies that had been focused on ginger, scientists concluded that the ginger is more than a traditional remedy, and it is almost a wonder plant in chemotherapy, pregnancy, rheumatoid arthritis, osteoarthritis, muscle pain, digestion, and nausea.
It contains nearly 500 compounds that benefit the body offering 13 cures or improvement.
Some of the ginger’s benefits are:
- Very important for the immune system, especially in winter, chewing ginger is recommended only for sore throats, laryngitis, or a cough.
- For stomach pains, you can eat it mixed with castor oil or as an infusion of dried ginger, or simply as a powder mixed up with resin.
- In the case of indigestion and loss of appetite, especially if you make a slight culinary excess on Christmas dinner, ginger juice mixed up with lemon juice and salt can do wonders.
- If you suffer from bile disorders, ginger juice mixed up with 7 glasses of milk and sweetened with sugar, will offer the best results if drank before bedtime. In the morning, the mixture of ginger juice, mango, and sugar is more effective and a more palatable.
- Ginger can replace any medication to relieve headaches. If headaches are still present, ginger juice mixed with milk can be the best medicine
- Another pain that ginger may face is the teeth pain. Simply apply a paste of ginger and aloe vera in the place where the pain is located.
- Tea made from ginger is the perfect antidote for flu.
- Ginger can be an integral part of any weight loss diet because it stimulates the metabolism and burns fats.
- Scientific studies have proven that ginger also acts like a pill designed to increase sexual potency. Thus, sexual disorders can be treated using this herb which improves blood circulation and indirectly acting on the genital organs.
- Ginger is also commonly used in cooking as a spice being added in recipes from salads to desserts.
Other beneficial effects of ginger
- expectorant (a cough, bronchitis)
- enhances the level of liver enzymes (alanine aminotransferase – ALT and aspartate aminotransferase – AST)
- it contains 180 times more than the protein digesting enzyme papaya
- can be compared with many anti-ulcer medicines
- strong analgesic effect
Ginger’s compounds
Using fresh ginger is an easy way to spice and flavor foods and drinks without adding too much salt or other spices, due to its strong flavor.
Ginger is commonly used in small amounts, bringing a significant contribution of calories and macronutrients to the food it’s added into.
Also, ginger contains many other antioxidants and anti-inflammatory compounds such as gingerol, beta-carotene, capsicine, caffeic acid, curcumin, and salicylate.
Contraindications to the use of ginger
Ginger consumed in its natural state is considered healthy and not dangerous, in most cases.
In some cases, it is possible to exacerbate the symptoms of GERD.
To have good health and to prevent diseases is really important that throughout the diet you’re following, no matter of your eating habits, to add ginger as a spice, at least, because celebrating the joy of ginger is actually meaning celebrating the joy of being healthy and happy.
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