The healing power of ginger - includes bibliography - The Herbalist

Vegetarian Times, May, 1996 by Paul Schulick

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF when someone mentions ginger? Most people probably associate it with gingerbread, a warming tea or Asian cooking. This spicy herb, however, is much more than a flavorful addition to food; it's a treasure chest of healing power. I think of it as a superherb, a title I don't bestow lightly. Ginger deserves this accolade because it is a plant that has been proven to be safe and effective through the experience of millions of people and scores of clinical studies; it alleviates dozens of specific ailments; and it generally supports overall vitality and well-being.

Norman Farnsworth, Ph.D., senior university scholar of pharmacognosy and director of the World Health Organization Collaborating Centre for Traditional Medicine at the University of Illinois-Chicago College of Pharmacy, calls ginger "one of the three most thoroughly investigated plants in the history of the world. " (The other two are garlic and ginseng. I empathize with the skeptic every time I begin to list the benefits of ginger, but scientific research backs its use as an extraordinary, digestive tonic, an anti-inflammatory agent and a shield against ulcers, colds and flu, and heart disease. Here's a look at these healing properties.

GIVING PAUSE TO NAUSEA

Ginger possesses an and-nausea effect, that is probably unrivaled in the plant kingdom. Of all its properties, this has been ginger's ticket to mainstream recognition. Ginger's benefits in this area are wide ranging: It has been found to ward off nausea associated with motion sickness, chemotheraphy, gyncological surgery and pregnancy.

The best-known study on ginger and motion sickness was published in the prestigious medical journal The Lancet. For this study, subjects susceptible to motion sickness were placed in rotating chairs. The researchers found that taking 940 milligrams (mg.) of powdered ginger 20 to 25 minutes before the experiment countered nausea more effectively than taking 100 mg. of Dramamine, a popular over-the-counter motion-sickness drug.

Ginger's ability to help relieve the nausea associated with chemotherapy has been the subject of three studies over the past nine years, all with positive findings. The most notable was a double-blind study conducted at the University of Alabama in which 2 0 leukemia patients undergoing chemotherapy found that adding ginger to their regular dose of the antinausea drug Compazine reduced their symptoms more effectively than the drug alone.

Like chemotherapy, recovery from surgery also can cause nausea. In a British study, 60 women recovering from a variety of gynecological surgeries--including laparoscopy and hysterectomy--found that 1 gram (g.) of powdered ginger alone provided as much relief as the anti-nausea drug metoclopramide, which has such potentially serious side effects as depression and involuntary muscle contractions.

Ginger also can assuage morning sickness. In a Danish study, 70 percent of women reported that when they took 250 mg. of ginger capsules four times a day, they felt significantly less nauseated than when they took a placebo. If you're pregnant, you should be aware that because ginger historically has been used to stimulate menstruation, there is some concern in scientific circles that it has the potential to cause miscarriage. However, the amount of powdered herb that would be used to stimulate menstruation is much greater than that used to ease nausea--5 g. or more, compared to 1 g. or so. Furthermore, there never has been a recorded incident of ginger causing miscarriage. While it's best to be cautious, I feel very comfortable recommending a limited amount of ginger during pregnancy.

HOW AN HERBALIST SPELLS RELIEF

One of the tenets of holistic medicine is that good digestion is key to better health. Natural-healing texts dating as far back as ancient China and India have applauded ginger as the herb of choice for healthy digestion, and modem science offers every justification for such acclaim. Included under ginger's expansive umbrella as a digestive tonic are its abilities to enhance fat and protein digestion, and increase the growth of beneficial intestinal flora.

At least four studies from China and Japan have demonstrated that ginger regulates peristalsis, the wave-like movement of muscles in the digestive tract that pushes food and waste through the digestive system. This effect enables ginger to ease both diarrhea and constipation, whether these are the result of illness or eating habits. This may also be why ginger is so effective at easing gas pains; though there have been no specific studies on ginger's anti-gas effect, centuries of empirical evidence dearly back its use. Research shows that ginger also enhances the metabolism of both fat and protein, helping the body make better use of these macronutrients. Scientists at the University of Minnesota compared an enzyme in ginger called zingibain with papain, a papaya enzyme well-known for its ability to digest protein, and found that their actions were comparable. Amazingly, though, it would take 180 pounds of papaya to equal the effect of just one pound of ginger.