Four Reasons to Add Ginger to Your Diet
This post includes content contributions from Jen Scheinman, Registered Dietitian Nutritionist.
Step aside pumpkin spice, it’s time for some zing! This knobby little plant not only packs a punch when it comes to flavor, but boasts a whole lot of health benefits too. Ginger is a powerhouse of an ingredient, with a 5000-year-old history in Traditional Chinese Medicine as a digestive aid and anti-inflammatory ally.
There are many reasons to stock up on it, in both your kitchen and medicine cabinet, and we’ll get to the root of them now.
Zesty Facts About Ginger
If you’re not already familiar with ginger, this post will come as a complete shock.
Actually, the idea of a blog in general will be totally mind-blowing, so Welcome to Earth, stranger! We’ll get you up-to-speed.
In the meantime, if you ARE well-versed in the uses of ginger as a delicious cooking spice or a beneficial medicinal root, these next facts may still surprise, delight, or enlighten you:
- Ginger is closely-related to turmeric and belongs to the Zingiberaceae family.
Say THAT three times fast.
- It’s among the healthiest spices on the planet and can be used as a fresh ingredient, a dried root, in powder form, or even as an oil or a juice.
It’s even been added to cosmetics! Oooh, spicy.
- The rhizome (which is the underground part of the stem) is the part that is typically harvested and used for cooking spices.
Hence the term “ginger root”.
- One of the most beloved creations – the gingerbread man – is credited to Queen Elizabeth I of England, at a time when ginger was being used in sweet treats. (1)
Not a wellness benefit, but good to know for Trivia Night.
Benefits of Ginger
Ginger’s health benefits are wide-reaching, partly due to the fact that it has powerful antioxidant properties. Some benefits that have ample science backing include:
ALLEVIATES NAUSEA
The most well-known benefit of ginger is likely its ability to alleviate nausea. It’s been used to alleviate symptoms of morning sickness in pregnancy, and can also be effective for motion sickness and to help with side effects from surgical anesthesia. Ginger’s anti-nausea properties are so powerful that it’s even been added to prescription medications as well as holistic treatments. (2)
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INFLAMMATION & IMMUNE FUNCTION
Ginger has been used as an immunity tonic across the globe. It contains compounds called gingerols and shogaols that have been shown to have powerful anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects, which play a role in immune function. (1, 2)
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PAIN REDUCTION
Studies have shown that ginger can help reduce pain. The anti-inflammatory properties of ginger help to reduce the pain associated with osteoarthritis, as well as muscle pain and pain associated with menstrual cramps. Researchers believe 500 mg of ginger powder can result in pain- reducing effects. (2)
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METABOLIC HEALTH
One of the lesser-known benefits of ginger is its ability to improve blood sugar. Ginger supplementation has been shown to reduce fasting blood sugar and insulin resistance. It is reported that ginger can also improve blood cholesterol levels and may have a minor effect on weight loss. (2)
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Incorporating Ginger Into Your Diet
Ginger’s punchy flavor makes it a fun spice to use in your cooking and baking. Whether you prefer dried or fresh ginger, it’s great for use in broths, soups, and curries. Ginger can also be used in sweets like gingerbread, pumpkin spice, and it can even be candied! Yummmm.
Another great way to incorporate it is to sip on soul-warming ginger tea or ginger ale (made with the real stuff, not that processed junk).
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Final Thoughts About Ginger
You can’t go wrong with the King of Zesty Spices. Its versatile flavor makes it easy to include in your diet, and it’s a powerful natural remedy that has safely been used for thousands of years.
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Bone Broths Containing Ginger
Products like Kettle & Fire’s Lemongrass Ginger Bone Broth and Turmeric Ginger Bone Broth are a great way to get more of the good stuff in your diet!
These bone broths, made with 100% grass-fed/finished beef bones (Lemongrass flavor) or organic, free-range chicken bones (Turmeric flavor) not only give off some instant-feel-good vibes, but they’re also full of other nutrients to support immune function, digestive health, joint mobility, exercise recovery, and much more.
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Meet Jen
Jennifer Scheinman, MS, RDN, CDN, completed her dietetic internship at New York-Presbyterian Weill Cornell Medical Center and went on to complete her master’s degree in Integrative and Functional Nutrition at Saybrook University. Over the past 20 years, she has worked at some of the country’s leading institutions for health and wellness, where she uses food as a medicine approach to help prevent and manage chronic disease. As a freelance writer, she loves sharing her wealth of experience and passion for healthy living with her dedicated readers.
See more at: https://www.jenscheinman.com/ + Jen’s Instagram
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Resources:
1. Bode AM, Dong Z. The Amazing and Mighty Ginger. In: Benzie IFF, Wachtel-Galor S, eds. Herbal Medicine: Biomolecular and Clinical Aspects. 2nd ed. CRC Press/Taylor & Francis; 2011. Accessed January 22, 2023. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK92775/
2. Anh NH, Kim SJ, Long NP, et al. Ginger on Human Health: A Comprehensive Systematic Review of 109 Randomized Controlled Trials. Nutrients. 2020;12(1):157. doi:10.3390/nu12010157
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