Ginger is a leafy plant with yellowish green flowers. The ginger spice is derived from the plant’s roots. Ginger is native to Asia’s warmer regions, including China, Japan, and India, but it is now grown in parts of South America and Africa. It is also now grown in the Middle East for medicinal and culinary purposes.
Ginger is commonly used to treat motion sickness, morning sickness, colic, upset stomach, gas, diarrhoea, irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), nausea, nausea caused by cancer treatment, nausea caused by HIV/AIDS treatment, nausea and vomiting after surgery, and loss of appetite.
Pain relief from rheumatoid arthritis (RA), osteoarthritis, menstrual pain, upper respiratory tract infections, cough, respiratory problems, migraine headache, bronchitis, and diabetes are among the other applications.
Ginger is also used to treat chest pain, low back pain, and stomach pain, as well as to discontinue the use of drugs known as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), anorexia, to stimulate breast milk, as a diuretic, and to increase sweating. It is also used to treat cholera, bloody diarrhoea caused by bacteria, baldness, malaria, inflamed testicles, poisonous snake bites, and toothaches.
Some people use fresh juice to treat burns on their skin. Ginger oil is sometimes applied to the skin to relieve pain. Insect bites can also be avoided by applying ginger extract to the skin.
Ginger is used as a flavouring agent in foods and beverages.
Ginger is used in the production of soaps and cosmetics as a fragrance.
One of the chemicals found in ginger is also used in laxative, anti-gas, and antacid medications.
How does it function?
Ginger contains chemicals that have been shown to reduce nausea and inflammation. Researchers believe the chemicals work primarily in the stomach and intestines to control nausea, but they may also work in the brain and nervous system.
Ginger is a warming, zesty spice that has been used for thousands of years in culinary and medicinal applications. The aromatic root is widely used to flavour foods, candies, and beverages.
Our ginger powder is made from the organically grown Zingiber officinale root. Ginger root powder can be used as a spice in cooking and baking recipes after being infused into herbal extracts and syrups.
Ginger root promotes healthy digestion and relieves occasional stomach upset and nausea.
Ginger has been valued for centuries as a zesty spice and dependable herb, with the first recorded uses found in ancient Sanskrit and Chinese texts. It has also been used in Greek, Roman, Arabic, and Unani Tibb traditional medicine practises, and it is now a well-known herb throughout most of the world.
It is used as a flavouring agent in beer, soft drinks, and candies, as well as a common spice and condiment in many countries. Ginger essential oil is found in a wide variety of cosmetics and perfumes.
Ginger is a tropical, aromatic, perennial herb that is most likely native to tropical Asia. It is a member of the Zingiberaceae family, which also includes turmeric (Curcuma sp.) and cardamom (Amomum sp. and Elettaria sp). (yet has been cultivated for so long that the exact origin is unclear).
The part used is the fleshy rhizome, which is frequently misidentified as a root. Many tropical countries grow ginger extensively. In 1547, the Spaniard Francisco de Mendosa is said to have transplanted ginger from Southeast Asia or the ‘East Indies’ to the ‘West Indies’ (most of the Caribbean) and Mexico.
The Spanish cultivated it extensively and then exported large quantities to various European countries. Previously, ginger in Europe was obtained from Arab spice traders.
The genus name is derived from the Latin gingiber, which was derived from the Sanskrit srngaveram, which breaks down to the word for horn or srngam and the word for body, vera, denoting the horn-shaped root.
Ginger has surpassed fennel seed to become one of the top twelve spices consumed in the United States. Ginger is currently produced primarily in India, China, Indonesia, Nigeria, the Philippines, and Thailand, though it is also produced in other countries such as Jamaica.
The ‘white ginger,’ or peeled rhizome, is commonly produced in Jamaica, while the ‘black ginger,’ or unpeeled rhizome, is primarily produced in Sierra Leone and China.
The main producers of pure essential oil are India and China, and the major importing countries are the United States, Europe, and Japan.
Ginger was first recorded in the ancient Chinese herbal Shen Nong Ben Cao Jing, written by Emperor Shen Nong around 2,000 B.C.E., and the ancient Sanskrit text of India, the Mahabharata, around 400 B.C.E. A recipe with stewed meat and ginger is described in the latter text.
One of the many Sanskrit names for ginger in Ayurveda (India’s traditional healing system) is shunthi or sunthi, which is thought to be derived from the ancient city of the same name mentioned in the epic Indian text, the Ramayana (which was from around the same time as the Mahabharata). By 200 B.C., this city was regarded as an ancient capital of the ginger trade.
Various accounts claim that ginger was exported from India to the Roman Empire around 2000 years ago. It was used as a flavorful spice and herb at the time. Ginger has been used in Europe since ancient times and was highly valued during King Henry the VIII’s reign in the 1500s. One pound of ginger was worth one sheep in England by the 16th century.
Ginger has been used in love spells for centuries because of its ‘heating up’ properties, and it has been considered a love herb since ancient times. Ginger was thought to hasten the success of any spell, and planting a ginger root would ensure financial abundance.
Steven Foster writes in his book Herbal Emissaries: Bringing Chinese Herbs to the West, “Ginger is truly a herbal emissary in the broadest sense.” Except for garlic, perhaps no other herb crosses all cultural, historical, and geographic barriers—food versus medicine, Western versus Oriental, scientific versus folk tradition. In every way, ginger is a universal herb.
Ginger has been used in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) for thousands of years and is thought to affect the lung, spleen, heart, and stomach meridians.
Gan jiang refers to the dried, older winter rhizome, while shen jiang refers to the fresh, young, and tender rhizome. Fresh and dried ginger are thought to have very different qualities, as their different names suggest.
Fresh ginger is thought to be more moistening and energetically warm, whereas the dried root is thought to be more drying and energetically hot. Both have been used to treat diarrhoea, vomiting, and nausea, among other things. Fresh ginger is preferred in TCM for nausea because dried ginger is too warming. Fresh ginger is used as a diaphoretic and to aid in the elimination of toxins.
Ginger is still a popular herb in Europe and is widely imported into Germany. It is listed in the Commission E monographs and can be found in a variety of preparations throughout Europe.
Ginger has been and continues to be widely used as a flavouring: as a condiment in the form of a paste, sliced and pickled, or powdered, as a flavouring agent for soft drinks and ginger beer, as an essential oil, and as a candy or lozenge.
Ginger comes in a variety of colours, from light Jamaican ginger to the darker, more pungent African ginger that is frequently used in the production of essential oils.
Ginger root is considered hot and acrid in TCM and pungent and sweet in Ayurveda. Dried root for tincturing, infusions, and topically applied applications.
Precautions
There are no known precautions. Before using herbal products, we recommend that you consult with a qualified healthcare practitioner, especially if you are pregnant, nursing, or taking any medications.
*The Food and Drug Administration has not reviewed this statement. The purpose of this product is not to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. Only for educational purposes.