• Helps alleviate respiratory problems
• Fights many forms of cancer
• Stops and reduces incidence of migraine headaches
• Prevents blood clots
• Anti-microbial─even kills hydatic cysts

Relieves Nausea and Improves Digestion

Ginger is most famous for its ability to relieve the nausea caused by irritants and things like stomach flu, sea-sickness, and even morning sickness. I drink ginger tea often just to promote good health, but the same recipe can be used to fight nausea:

1. Grate or use a spice grinder to grind about two slices of organic ginger, about one tablespoon of grated ginger
2. Boil enough water to fill your cup twice after loss from evaporation
3. When the water is boiling, remove from heat and put the grated ginger in the tea pot or pan
4. Let steep for about fifteen or twenty minutes, but not long enough that it gets cold
5. Strain into a cup
6. Add a teaspoon of raw honey
7. Add lemon juice to taste
8. Drink one cup whenever you feel nausea coming on.
9. Drink the second cup about half an hour later.

(Good recipe for morning sickness. Drink a cup or two every morning.)

It is ginger’s ability to stop nausea that helps make it a good treatment for motion sickness. Lein, et. al. in Taiwan completed a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled study that was approved by the University of Michigan Institutional Review Board to determine the mechanism ginger uses to alleviate the symptoms of motion sickness. They used circular vection (the illusion that you are moving in a circle) to induce motion sickness in 13 subjects.

They determined that pretreatment with ginger reduced nausea, tachygastric activity (increased electrical activity in the stomach), and vasopressin (stimulates contraction of the muscles) release induced by circular vection.

This is interesting because I found other documents that claimed ginger was not effective at reducing the symptoms of motion sickness. However, the negative documents were all opinion documents. For example, a document on Pub Med contained the advice of one doctor to other doctors about how to treat motion sickness. It had the smell of an article paid for by Big Pharma.

Promotes Fertility and Sexual Health

Ginger works to improve and maintain our reproductive systems in many ways.

It increases luteinizing hormone levels. Luteinizing hormones spike in females to cause ovulation. In men, they stimulate the production of testosterone. In a study of infertile men, ginger increased luteinizing hormones by up to 43 percent.

Also in infertile men, ginger increased sperm motility by an average of 47 percent, increased ejaculate volume by 36 percent, sperm count by 13 percent, and sperm viability by 40 percent. Luteinizing hormones may be the pathway ginger uses to increase testosterone in men. In a study where infertile men were given ginger for three months, testosterone levels increased an average of 17 percent.

Anti-inflammatory

Ginger’s anti-inflammatory powers aren’t often discussed. This may be because it is so good at relieving digestive problems that’s what most people believe it is for. However, it is an anti-inflammatory that has been proven to relieve or moderate even the pain of arthritis.

Researchers at the hahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences in Yazd , Iran, completed a randomized, placebo controlled, double-blind clinical trial to determine if ginger could moderate the pain of osteoarthritis.

Initially, there was no difference in the levels of cytokines that cause inflammation between the group receiving a placebo and the group receiving 500 mg. of ginger powder. However, after three months there was a significant reduction in the serum levels of tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) and interleukin-1β (IL-1β), both of which cause chronic inflammation.

In another recent study, ginger powder was found to reduce inflammation levels in osteoarthritis patients by an average of 25 percent. While that doesn’t seem like much, if combined with other herbs that help control arthritis pain, it could help make a significant difference to the quality of life of arthritis sufferers.

Protects the Blood Vessels

Many herbs help control the oxidation that destroys arteries and veins and ends in heart attacks and early death.

Ginger is yet another such herb. It’s ease of use and availability help to make it a good choice for those people who have or are in danger of developing atherosclerosis. It is clearly a better choice than bigpharma’s statin drugs, which don’t even target the real cause of arterial disease. They are a farce that will definitely let you die early, if they don’t actually hurry your death along.

The pathway ginger uses to protect the endothelial cells that line the artery walls is a bit novel. Most herbs offer this protection by scavenging for reactive oxygen species (ROS) or other oxidizers. Ginger is a strong antioxidant, and ROS levels do go down when it is ingested. However, its main thrust to protect artery cells is through a process known as autophagy. Autophagy is a process cells use when stressed to get rid of damaged material. Damaged cellular material is isolated, broken down into its atomic or molecular components, and recycled, rather than being allowed to cause apoptosis of the cell.

Wang et. al. in China performed a study to determine the mechanisms ginger uses to prevent heart disease. They found that the active ingredient in ginger, 6-gingerol significantly reduced endothelial cell apoptosis by inducing autophagy and increasing the expression of the Bcl-2 gene, which inhibits cell death.

Helps alleviate respiratory problems

Ginger impacts the respiratory system in several ways. It strengthens the immune system against invaders. And if a bug or two gets established before you ingest ginger, it is a strong antimicrobial that kills many of the bacteria and viruses that infect the lungs.

But it also helps to improve respiratory function for people with asthma, COPD or other respiratory problems. It is a bronchodilator that opens the bronchial passages and allows more oxygen to reach the lungs and be absorbed into the blood.

Many studies have investigated ginger’s ability to perform these beneficial functions. One of the most recent was done in Thailand at the Suranaree University of Technology. Researchers found that ginger contains the essential oils, citral, and eucalyptol, which work together to dilate the bronchial tubes.

Also, because it is an anti-inflammatory, it reduces inflammation so the lungs can heal.

Fights Many Forms of Cancer

The effects of ginger and its constituents on cancer are just now starting to be studied. I found studies that showed the active compound in ginger, [6]shogaol, is the most active anticancer compound. It has been shown to cause apoptosis in Laryngeal cancer (Hep-2) cells.

Researchers at the Universiti Kebangsaan, Malaysia Medical Centre showed that ginger extract inhibited the TNF-α (Tumor Necrosis Factor) protein that is responsible for regulating the immune system and inflammation but is elevated in cancer cells. It also inhibited the NFκB (nuclear factor kappa-light-chain-enhancer of activated B cells) protein in liver cancer cells. NFκB at normal levels controls DNA transcription, cytokine production and cell survival. In cancer cells it protects the cell from apoptosis.

Other cancers ginger has been shown to fight include cervical, breast, prostate, skin, colon, pancreatic, brain, gastrointestinal, and many more.

Stops and Reduces Incidence of Migraine Headaches

In a double-blind, randomized clinical trial at the Zanjan University Of Medical Sciences, Iran, researchers compared the effectiveness of ginger against the migraine drug, sumatriptan. They gave two randomly assigned groups of fifty migraine sufferers either ginger concentrate or the drug. They found that the ginger was just as effective as the drug, and recipients were willing to continue taking it:

“The effectiveness of ginger powder in the treatment of common migraine attacks is statistically comparable to sumatriptan. Ginger also poses a better side effect profile than sumatriptan.”

Prevents Blood Clots

Many studies have shown that ginger protects against unwanted blood clots that can cause stroke or heart attack. One of the most interesting studies that I read described the danger ginger, garlic, ginkgo, St. John’s wort and ginseng posed to people taking warfarin, Big Pharma’s blood thinner. Since I don’t EVER take drugs my take on the results of the research was:
“With all those natural choices to thin your blood, without the dangerous side effects, who needs warfarin?”

Antimicrobial

Throughout this book, I’ve had a hard time with this topic. It’s impossible for me to list all of the microbes a particular herb kills. Not just because they kill lots of different infectious microbes, but because they simply haven’t been tested for their ability to kill all of the bugs that infect us.

Let me just say that ginger is a very strong and broad-spectrum antimicrobial. I use it often. If you want to make it even stronger, and don’t mind smelling for a couple of days, chop a clove of garlic up, smash it with the back of your knife, and add it to the ginger tea recipe below when you add the honey.

Since garlic, ginger and raw honey all have antimicrobial powers, you will have a very powerful, very broad-spectrum bug killer. Take it three times a day for bronchitis, pneumonia, colds and flu.

If you get a particularly tough bug, you can take it every two hours. You can even supercharge it more by taking a couple of oregano oil soft-gels with it. If you drink a cup of this tea as soon as you feel something coming on, it will probably kill it before you feel the complete symptoms.

Other Benefits

Ginger can also help decrease the discomfort of menstrual cramps and sore muscles. It is great for longevity as it helps reduce inflammation throughout the entire body, one of the reasons it is used for the alleviation of arthritic conditions.

Dosage

Several forms of ginger are used medicinally. My personal favorite is ginger tea, but in some cases concentrates allow larger doses and are more practical.

One teaspoon of fresh, grated, organic ginger root weighs about 2 grams, and is about equivalent to 500 mg (half a gram) of dried ginger root.

For nausea, herbalists usually prescribe between 1 to 3 grams of dried herb.

For supplemental purposes, 1 gram of dried herb is the usual dosage.

For testosterone boosting and fertility, researchers found 14 grams of dried herb per day to be optimal. This dosage is probably better taken in concentrate form, and can be divided into three doses per day.

Side Effects and Interactions

Side effects are rare, and usually only happen to people taking large doses (5 grams or 5000 mg per day).

If you are taking blood thinners seek professional advice before taking Ginger as you may thin your blood too much if you take both the prescription drug and Ginger.

Ginger may interact with drugs for diabetes and high blood pressure.

Pregnant women shouldn’t take more than 1500 mg (1.5 grams) per day.