The Major Health Benefits of Ginger
Ginger happens to be a culinary spice most well-known for its pungent aroma and taste to dishes that it is added onto. Its long history in medicinal herbs and culinary spices for centuries in Asia has caused it to be exported through Eastern traders to the West. Ever since then, ginger has been an important addition to kitchens all over the globe.
Ginger: The History
Called zangiber officinale in the language of Latin, ginger happens to be an aromatic underground rhizome or stem. This plant has long been used in Asian cuisine for centuries. Indigenous to China, ginger was a culinary spice for around four thousand years. It was sought after for its value in medicine and has been known to be an effective cure against stomach upset, diarrhea and nausea. Under the rule of the Muslims, it became prevalent in India, where it was put to use to get meat dishes, curd products and buttermilk ready.
During the era of the Roman Empire, Eastern traders brought ginger to Rome because of its properties of medicine. Even after the fall of the Roman Empire, when Arab merchants took control of the herb and spice trade, ginger was always sent to Europe. When the 16th century arrived, the Arabs brought rhizomes to East Africa in order to plant them there, and it was then introduced to the Caribbean.
Ginger: The Culinary Uses
You are probably wondering how the smell and taste ginger comes about. It comes with diarylheptanoids and phenylpropanoids, compounds which can be held responsible for the particular ginger taste. After it gets cooked, gingerol turns into zingerone; this has a spicy-sweet and less pungent aroma.
Ginger is commonly used as an ingredient in cooked meat dishes since it can tenderize and soften meat. Within the West, ginger is used to flavor baked goods such as ginger cake and ginger biscuits, as well as drinks such as ginger ale.
Ginger: The Health Benefits
- Brand new research in medical science has shown how efficient ginger is in treating motion sickness and nausea. In several other studies, for instance, almost a hundred novice sailors that had motion sickness took some powdered ginger and they showed significant reduction when it came to vomiting and cold sweating.
- Ginger has also been seen as a highly effective aid for vomiting and nausea related to pregnancy. In a large study that consisted of seventy pregnant women who had severe nausea and vomiting, the women who took a gram of ginger every day reported less vomiting and felt less nauseous.
- Ginger also comes with a lot of antioxidants, which can be found in particular foods such as coffee, garlic, green tea, apples and red wine. These foods are usually held responsible for attacking free radicals that occur naturally within the body and contribute to developing health problems like cancer and heart disease.
- That aside, ginger acts as a natural anti-inflammatory for health problems such as ulcerative colitis, arthritis, bronchitis and bursitis. Although there are no huge side effects associated to taking ginger as medicinal herbs, it would still be recommended to take caution if you have gallstones. In this case, you should ask your doctor before taking ginger first.
