Relieve Nausea and Reduce Muscle Pain with Ginger
Okay, raise your hand if your Mom used to hand you a glass of ginger ale when you had an upset stomach as a kid. Mmm hmm, I thought so, most of us have our hands in the air. Mine would be except it’s hard to type with one hand, but take my word for it that when I felt nauseous as a child, the Canada Dry would be hitting the glass before I knew it. Actually, there is a lot of sound medical advice in this theory, as the herb ginger has been historically linked to quelling the queasies. Granted, the amount of actual ginger in your glass of ginger ale probably varies pretty widely depending on the brand but the theory behind this practice definitely seems to be rooted in some pretty definite empirical proof.
Ginger, or Zingiber officinale, has been used since ancient days for its medicinal powers. Way back when, people used ginger to help soothe upset stomachs, and Chinese herbalists have used ginger for more than 2,500 years as both a flavor and a medicine. Early settlers of America drank ginger beer if they felt sick to their stomachs. Scientifically, ginger is related to turmeric and marjoram, and it grows in Southeast Asia and also now in Jamaica. The rhizome or stem that grows underground contains all of the power for seasoning your cooking and medicinal reasons.
The main ingredients in ginger that help account for its apparent stomach-soothing abilities are called gingerols and shogaols. According to the Whole Healthmd website, these two naturally-occurring substances have been found to help neutralize stomach acids, increase the amount of digestive juices and tone the muscles that line the digestive tract.
One reason that people often like to use ginger to help combat nausea is that it tends to be pretty free of side effects. Medicines that help control nausea often cause drowsiness because they do their work through the central nervous system. Because ginger works directly on the digestive tract, it does not tend to have this side effect.
We value and respect the experiences of all of our HERWriters, but everyone is different. Many of our writers are speaking from personal experience, and what's worked for them may not work for you. Their articles are not a substitute for medical advice although we hope you can gain knowledge from their insight.
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