(Popular Herb Series 7/9) Ginger Ginger is such a popular herb for medicine as well as cooking. Who hasn’t enjoyed adding a dash of ginger to their pumpkin pie mix or a delightful curry? And what pregnant mother doesn’t know of using ginger tea or candy to ease morning sickness? Ginger is now widely utilized throughout the world, but it once was a highly prized and rare spice. Originally from southeast Asia and the Mediterranean, it is now grown all over the world, even if it’s just in little pots in a windowsill! Growing ginger can be enjoyable and easy- simply find an organic source of the rhizome (root), slice it as you would a seed potato, and keep it well watered in rich, composted soil.
Ginger is a warming, pungent herb that is used in “damp” situations such as colds, congestion, stagnation, and the flu. As a diaphoretic, it helps to open pores on the skin so that your body can “push” toxins out. It also stimulates circulation and energy, enhancing the “fire” in the body to aid in digestion, heart health, immunity, and reproductive system vigor and balance.
A cup of ginger tea will warm a body chilled by weather or the flu, and its diaphoretic (sweat-inducing) ability can also cool an overheated or feverish body. By relaxing the muscles surrounding the arteries and then stimulating arterial circulation, ginger delivers warmth to the body’s extremities, either warming cold hands and feet or promoting sweating that helps cool the body. Ginger’s volatile oils stimulate the immune system to fight bacterial and viral infections, and is so effective that it can abort the onset of upper respiratory infections.
Ginger’s antiviral actions include stimulating macrophage activity, preventing viruses from attaching to cell walls, and acting as a virucide. Cooking ginger causes a chemical reaction that produces a substance called zingerone, which was the subject of a 2011 study on radiation damage. The researchers found that zingerone at low concentrations reduced genetic damage in human lymphocytes. Compared to the leading drug for radiation sickness, Amifostine, the ginger compound was 150 times more powerful and had no side effects.
Ginger is perhaps best known as an anti-spasmodic that alleviates nausea, motion sickness, and morning sickness. This effect is attributed to the relaxing nature of its aromatic oils.
The warming, stimulating, and anti-spasmodic nature of ginger is also helpful for menstrual cramps and painful ovulation, promoting menstruation, invigorating the reproductive system for men and women, and to support those with impotence due to lack of vital heat in the body. Its long reputation as an aphrodisiac is earned by its ability to stimulate circulation to the pelvic area, enhancing sexual vitality.
Adult Dose Tea: 3-5 grams of fresh root/day in tea or .5 to 2 teaspoons of dried root/day. Tincture: 1-2 mL in water 3x/day of a 1:2 fresh tincture; 1-1.5 mL in water 3x/day for a 1:5 dry tincture.
Safety Ginger may interact with certain medications like warfarin, and medications for diabetes and high blood pressure. Ginger may increase risk of bleeding. Traditional Chinese Medicine practitioners caution women who are pregnant not to use more than 2 grams of dried ginger a day.
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