The Health Benefits Of Ginger

Hi everyone, I hope you are continuing to enjoy your break and are getting some well-deserved rest. For today’s topic, I want to talk about ginger and the benefits to health that it brings. Although it is not something that we eat in bulk, adding ginger to your food has a surprising amount of health benefits that should not simply be ignored.

What Does It Do?

Ginger has long been used as a spice to give food a distinct flavour or kick, but it is also one of the most healthy as it is full of nutrients and other compounds.

One of this is gingerol, one of several natural oils that can be found in ginger. Gingerol is the key bioactive compound, and most of its health and medicinal benefits can be attributed to it. This particular compound has been shown to be a powerful antioxidant and also has anti-inflammatory properties.

Reduces Pain And Helps To Delay Aging

It may also help to alleviate muscle pain and soreness after strenuous exercise. Research has shown that consuming a mere 2g of ginger every day for 11 days helped to significantly reduce pain for individuals doing elbow exercises. Although the effect is not immediate, it does appear to be effective for reducing pain on a day-by-day basis – this is thought to stem from its anti-inflammatory properties.

Osteoarthritis is also a common problem experienced by many aging individuals, and ginger can help to alleviate the pain in this as well. A study consisting of 247 people suffering from osteoarthritis in their knees revealed that individuals taking consuming ginger extracts reported less pain, and also required less medication for the pain. Another separate study showed that a mixture of ginger, cinnamon, mastic and sesame oil reduced pain and stiffness when rubbed on the affected body parts.

Ginger has also been shown to potentially reduce the aging process by improving your brain function, which in turn protects against Alzheimer’s. A study of 60 middle-aged women showed that ginger extract helped to boost their reaction times as well as their memory. This suggests that the bioactive compounds and antioxidants in ginger can help to reduce oxidative stress and chronic inflammation. As these are the main causes of age-related decline and Alzheimer’s, ginger seems to offer effective protection against this debilitating disease.

Combats Menstrual Pain and Morning Sickness

For women, ginger also has an array of benefits. One of this is its effectiveness in combating menstrual pain. A research group of 150 women took 1g of ginger daily for the first three days of their menstrual period, and the results showed that it helped to alleviate pain just as effectively as more powerful drugs!

It may also help with morning sickness, as a variety of studies involving over 1,000 women showed that just 1.5g of ginger reduced symptoms of nausea significantly! In addition, other studies have also confirmed that there are no side effects or issues caused by ginger to pregnancy. However, you should always consult your doctor to be on the safe side as well.