Did You Know?- The Benefits Of Ginger

Having the knowledge of something gives you the consciousness to use it and get the full results and not abuse it.

Micky

Hey! Hey!! Hey!!! It’s been quite a long while we came your way with some spicy gist on a “did you know” article but alas here we are. Today’s episode is to see the benefits in one of the most used spices in this world by almost everybody. Ginger being one of the most used spices as stated earlier is or can be found in almost every home and restaurant.

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Ginger is said to be a member of the plant family that includes cardamom and turmeric. One amazing fact about ginger in the 13th century was, the value of pound of ginger was said to be equivalent to a sheep. That’s an interesting fact right? Imagine the number of sheep one has eaten in this era. Also, Queen Elizabeth the 1st is credited with the invention of the gingerbread man, which later became a very popular iconic Christmas treat. After this post you will look at ginger from a different point of view, give it the respect it deserves and also eat it with the awareness of what it can do to your body. As safe as ginger is, one has to consult his or her doctor before consuming it in large amounts. The unique fragrance of ginger comes from its natural oils with the most important of them being gingerol.

Benefits of Ginger

Ginger contains a substance called gingerol which has powerful medicinal properties and has a very long history of use in various forms of traditional and alternative medicine.

         IT MAY AID IN DIGESTION ISSUES

Drinking ginger tea once a day has the ability of freeing or exempting you from constipation and indigestion. For those who drink sobolo (a locally made Ghanaian drink) daily can testify to this amazing ability of ginger. I once sold a bottle of sobolo to a man at the hospital who complained of suffering from constipation for several days and after drinking half a 500ml bottle of sobolo, he testified of a relieve.

WEIGHT LOSS

I think this is one of the easiest ways to lose weight if you want to skip the early morning and gruesome exercises. In 2016, a study was made on 80 women with obesity identified that ginger had the ability to reduce the body mass index (BMI) and Insulin levels.

May significantly reduce menstrual pains

One of the traditional uses of ginger is pain relieve which includes menstrual pains. Friends who listened to me and took in ginger tea everyday saw a reduced pain in their menstrual cycle. It is okay to take it before or during the pain.

MAY HELP LOWER CHOLESTROL LEVELS

MAY HELP PREVENT CANCER

Ginger containing gingerol appears to have protective effects against cancer. However, more studies is needed to ensure the authenticity of this proof.

HELPS RELIEVE NAUSEA, ESPECIALLY MORNING SICKNESS

The effectiveness of ginger to relieve nausea is very high. According to a review of a study that was taken among a total number of 1278 pregnant women and 1-1.5 grams of ginger was given to them. It was then found out that ginger could significantly reduce morning sickness. To those who feel sick when traveling on a long journey, I advise you to get a little piece of ginger on you so you can chew it along the way.

WORKS AS AN ANTI AGING SUBSTANCE

To those who are conscious about how their skin looks at all times, I have good news for you. Ginger is packed with an anti-oxidant gingerol that has the ability to fight free radicals and as a result, it gives you an even tone and a glowing skin. Looking at another side of this, ginger tightens the skin and fights the various signs of ageing.

GOOD FOR YOUR HEART

Suffering from cold, flu or a blocked nose, ginger is one of the best things to treat yourself with. For my fellow Ghanaians, this is one way to treat colds very fast and it’s done by cutting ginger into pieces and adding a little bit of sugar to it. Your relieve is in a few minutes after chewing the ginger dipped in sugar.

HOW TO MAKE GINGER TEA

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Note: I’m not going to give a measure of what to use because I don’t want to restrict anyone from making a little or too much of the ginger tea but per your own discretion, make something that won’t go to waste.

Use a zester to grate the ginger or crush it and put it in a bowl.

Boil some cups of water and add the crushed or grated ginger into it.

Once the water has boiled enough on a medium to high heat for about 5-10 minutes, remove the boiling water from the stove and allow to sit for another 5-10 minutes.

Strain the liquid if you grated the ginger or pick the ginger pieces out if it was crushed.

Add honey and stir well. You can squeeze lemon to it if you like your tea with some lemon.

See you in the next episode of Did you know. Till then, stay safe and protect yourself from COVID-19.

©Micky Amankwah 2021