Ginger Benefits & A Recipe

Traditional holistic practitioners often use ginger to treat many ailments, but ginger is most well known for it's ability to reduce nausea and vomiting.

Remember as a kid your mom use to give you ginger ale?

Ginger extracts have been shown to have both antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and anti-tumor effects on cells. To investigate the latter, Dr Liu examined the effect of a whole ginger extract containing 5% gingerol on a number of different ovarian cancer cell lines. Exposure to the ginger extract caused cell death in all the ovarian cancer lines studied.

A pro-inflammatory state is thought to be an important contributing factor in the development of ovarian cancer. In the presence of ginger, a number of key indicators of inflammation (vascular endothelial growth factor, interleukin-8 and prostaglandin E2) were also decreased in the ovarian cancer cells.

Conventional chemotherapeutic agents also suppress these inflammatory markers, but may cause cancer cells to become resistant to the action of the drugs. Liu and her colleagues believe that ginger may be of special benefit for ovarian cancer patients because cancer cells exposed to ginger do not become resistant to its cancer-destroying effects.

In the case of ovarian cancer, an ounce of prevention—in the delicious form of liberal use of ginger—is an especially good idea. Ovarian cancer is often deadly since symptoms typically do not appear until late in the disease process, so by the time ovarian cancer is diagnosed, it has spread beyond the ovaries. More than 50% of women who develop ovarian cancer are diagnosed in the advanced stages of the disease.

Taking ginger supplements with standard anti-vomiting drugs beforehand can reduce the nausea that often accompanies chemotherapy treatment by 40 percent according to a new US study.


The two active compounds responsible for the health benefits in ginger are Gingerol and shogaol.

Ginger contains:
Vitamin A
Vitamin C
Vitamin E
B complex
magnesium
phosphorus
sodium
iron
zinc
calcium
beta-carotene
Potassium - heart health
Manganese -a mineral that builds resistance to disease and protects the lining of the heart and circulatory system
Silicon which is responsible for healthy skin, hair, teeth and nails

Ginger may help with the following
muscle pain
reduce inflammation
menstrual pain
Relief from the pain of migraines
back pain
nausea
indigestion
acts like a decongestant
acts like an antihistamine
relieves cold and flu symptoms
ulcers
gout
diabetes complications
reduces flatulence
aphrodisiac
boosts immunity
diarrhea

RECIPE

Ingredients
1 cup peeled, finely chopped ginger
2 cups purified water
raw honey to taste
sparkling water
1 lime, juiced
Lime wedges for garnish

Directions
1 Bring 2 cups of water to a boil. Add ginger. Reduce heat to medium low and let ginger sit in the simmering water for 5 minutes
2. Remove it from heat and strain it out through a kitchen strainer.
3. To serve, combine 1 part ginger syrup to 3 parts sparkling water and serve over ice.
4. Sweeten to taste with raw honey, or stevia and add some lime juice. (optional)
5. Feel better! :)


************Ginger is not a commonly allergenic food and is not known to contain measurable amounts of oxalates or purines.
You should not take ginger if you suffer from a bleeding disorder or take blood-thinning medications (such as warfarin or aspirin).


References 
1: http://umm.edu/health/medical/altmed/herb/ginger
2. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11710709
3. http://www.care2.com/greenliving/10-health-benfits-of-ginger.html#ixzz1YqYNvxB0
4. http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=72
5. http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/265990.php
6. University of Rochester Medical Center, WebMD

This is for informational purposes only, and is educational in nature. Statements made here have not been evaluated by the FDA. This note is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease. Always consult your own Doctor about medical concerns.