Herbs - Ginger (Zingiber officinale)

What Is It?

Ginger is one of the greatest of all natural medicines, used by Chinese doctors since 1,000 BC and popular with European herbalists from the Middle Ages. It is a perennial plant that grows throughout China and the rest of Asia, and in the tropics and South America. The root is used both as a spice in food and in medicine.

Action

Ginger contains extremely powerful, active volatile oils, which provide both its distinctive taste and smell as well as medicinal benefits. Zingiberene, zingerone, boreal, bisabolene, Gingerols and shogaols are the most important compounds and are responsible for anti-inflammatory, Antioxidant, pain relieving, anti-nausea and anti-vomiting effects. Ginger is also warming and improves circulation and acts as a general tonic to the digestive system.

Uses

Our experts recommend Ginger for over 80 different disorders, hence there are too many to list here. Generally, it is recommended where there is inflammation such as in many arthritic and rheumatic conditions, for circulatory disorders and when nausea is a problem, eg morning sickness, motion sickness.

Other information

• Ginger is one of the best remedies for travel sickness. It can also reduce the nausea caused by many medicines including anaesthetics and chemotherapy drugs. Herbalists also use it as an appetite stimulant and to help with sprains and strains.
• Ginger is found in tablets, capsules or tincture. It is also found as fresh or dry root, powder and is available as crystallised or stem Ginger. There is also an inedible variety of Chinese Ginger available as a supplement which is a much more potent anti-inflammatory.
• Ginger can be used in tincture form for children aged above 1 year of age. Herb tincture dosage is lower than adult levels. A simple guide for children is one drop per stone of weight.

Cautions

• Ginger is a very safe herb, but some people may initially suffer heartburn. Those with stomach ulcers, Hiatus hernia or gastric reflux problems should start with small doses and always take Ginger with food. Gallstone sufferers should talk to their doctor before using Ginger.
• Ginger can be used at the start of pregnancy for morning sickness, but it is best not to use it throughout the entire pregnancy term.
• Ginger should be avoided if you are already using blood-thinning medications such as warfarin and heparin.
• When this article was written there were no well-known negative drug interactions with Ginger.