We are continuing our series on Winter Spice and Everything Nice, with Ginger!  Ginger is found in pumpkin spice blends and chai blends.  It is so much more than a spice to flavor food and beverages.  It is also a wonderful medicinal root (rhizome actually).  

Let’s dive in!

Ginger’s botanical name is Zingiber officinale, of the Zingiberaceae family.  Turmeric, galangal, and cardamom are in the same family.

It is a perennial tropical plant that is native to Asia.  It could be originally from India and/or China.  The exact origins of ginger are not confirmed.  Ginger no longer grows wild, making its native lands difficult to determine.  

It is now cultivated throughout tropic regions and in greenhouses and high tunnels elsewhere, even in Maine! The rhizome is usually harvested after 10 months of growth.

Ginger was used in SE Asia for cooking and medicine for over 5000 years.  It is a classic warming spice found in both Indian and Chinese cooking historically and today.

The warming nature of ginger promotes circulation of the blood, the aromatic properties of ginger ease digestive complaints and pain, and the pungent intensity of ginger supports immunity.  

Many health benefits stem from ginger’s warmth, as it improves blood circulation.  It has a diffusive action, which means it helps the blood and energy move through the body and out to the extremities and the skin.

It is beneficial for heart health in general and also helps to modulate cholesterol levels, as well as blood pressure.

Ginger’s ability to open the capillaries, when taken internally, can help to reduce high blood pressure, allowing the blood to flow better.

Ginger’s ability to dilate capillaries and allow blood to flow to the surface of the body can cause redness and irritation of the skin when applied topically, denoting it as a rubefacient herb. This would be particularly true of the dried ginger, which is much stronger in heat than the fresh.

As it helps blood and heat flow to the surface of the body, it is able to relieve cause perspiration and a release of that heat.  A classic reaction to eating really spicy food.  This ultimately has a cooling effect on the body.  This same action, called diaphoresis, can be used to receive a fever.

Relieving a fever is one of the many ways that ginger can support our immunity.  The pungent nature of ginger, provides antimicrobial properties along with it.  Anti-viral, anti-bacterial, anti-fungal, and anti-parasitic are all actions that ginger offers us.

This makes it an excellent remedy to use in cases of colds, flus, ear infections, respiratory infections, and intestinal infections.

Ginger is able to break up excess mucous in the respiratory system, so that it may be expelled. It is a nice remedy for a cough that is not productive, where the mucous feels thick and stuck in the lungs.

Ginger is most commonly known for it benefits on our digestive health.  

It is well known to have anti-nausea and anti-emetic actions.  This means it both eases the queasy stomach that feels like it is going to throw up and also helps to stop actual vomiting.  This is helpful for easing motion sickness, morning sickness, food poisoning, and nausea due to chemotherapy treatments.

Ginger’s aromatic properties help to relieve indigestion, gas cramping and bloating.  This makes it a nice addition to digestive bitter formulas.  

Ginger is also known to help modulate blood sugar.  

Ginger relieves inflammation and pain and is considered to be an anodyne.  This is helpful against pain from arthritis, migraines, menstrual cramps, headaches, aching muscles, and tension pains in the head and back.

Ginger is an antioxidant and anti-mutagenic.  It has the ability to suppress the growth of a variety of cancers.  It helps the process of apoptosis, which is the bodies ability to kill cancer cells. 

Ginger supports our brain functions and cognition.  It also has the ability to help relieve depression and anxiety.

Ginger is very versatile in how we may work with it to improve our health. It is also widely available in every grocery store produce, spice, and tea isles.

Ginger can be taken internally in food as a cooking spice, an addition to baked goods and sauces, candied, or pickled.

Ginger can be enjoyed in drinks including tea, juice, smoothies, mocktails, cocktails, shrubs, and switchels. 

It can be prepared infused into an alcohol tincture, honey, vinegar, or glycerine.

It can be used topically (beware of it’s rubefacient property) in compresses, baths, oils, ointments, liniments, and salves.  Ginger infused oil can be rubbed into areas of muscle, arthritis, and menstrual pain to help find relief.

Medicinal and therapeutic effects can be found in a dietary dose (how you would normally cook with it) or an upper dietary amount (a little more than you would cook with).  Too much ginger can be too warming and end up potentially supporting inflammatory states in the body.  

I would say, enjoy it to tolerance.  Respect its strength and heat.  Don’t over do it.  

Dried ginger powder and root pieces are a lot more drying in action and spicy. When you use dried ginger therapeutically, you can use 1/10 less of a dose than you would fresh.

Ginger is considered a synergist in herbal formulas.  By dilating blood vessels and increasing circulation, it allows blood to carry herbal constituents, faster and more effectively for proper distribution through the body.

A classic combination is ginger with lemon and honey in a warm beverage, yielding a lovely flavor and health promoting properties.

Ginger is an important part of winter wellness.  It can warm you up, help you digest the rich holiday and winter foods, fight off colds and flus, and be a lovely spice to add to your meals.

Liquid Sunshine Tea

Ingredients:

Fresh Ginger Root

Lemon

Honey

Water

Directions:

1. Put 4 cups of water in a sauce pot.

2. Add 4 tbsp of chopped ginger root

3. Bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer.

4. Simmer for 20 minutes.

5. Strain into your favorite mug.

6. Stir in a spoonful of honey (to taste).

7. Squeeze in a slice of lemon (to taste).

8. Enjoy while sitting in a sunny window on a cold winter day.