6 Benefits of Ginger, From Preventing Nausea To Fighting Cancer

Derived from Southeast Asia, ginger then spread to various countries. Famous for its distinctive aroma, ginger is used as a food ingredient as well as alternative medicine in China, India, to the Middle East. Yes, the benefits of ginger in the field of health has long been proven. What are the benefits of ginger that we can get?

The benefits of ginger for health

1. Overcome digestive problems

Ginger has a long history of digestive problems. Known from generation to generation, ginger is one of the alternative ingredients to facilitate the digestive system. Phenolic content in ginger serves to relieve symptoms of gastrointestinal irritation, stimulates saliva, prevents the contraction of the stomach, to help the movement of food and drink while in the digestion. Ginger is also referred to as carminative , a substance that can help remove excess gas in your digestive system. Digestive problems such as colic and dyspepsia can be treated with ginger.

2. Reduce nausea

The benefits of ginger that you know most probably is to relieve nausea, especially caused by morning sickness during pregnancy, vertigo, and side effects of cancer treatment. You can eat ginger raw or make it drink, ginger in the form of candy can also work well especially in overcoming nausea suffered by pregnant women.

3. Reduce the pain

A study conducted at the University of Georgia states that the consumption of ginger supplements every day can reduce muscle pain caused by exercise up to 25%. Ginger can also reduce pain due to dysmenorrhea , pain during menstruation. In one study, it was mentioned that 60% of women feel the pain caused by menstruation is reduced after eating ginger.

4. Helps detoxify and prevent skin diseases

Ginger is one type of food called diaphoretic, this means ginger trigger sweating out. Spending on sweat is beneficial to you especially when you're having a fever or flu. In addition to helping the process of detoxification, sweating also turns out to protect you from microorganisms that can cause infection of the skin. Experts research a type of protein called dermicidin , produced in the sweat glands and protect the body from bacteria such as E. coli, staphylococcus aureus, and fungi that can cause skin diseases.

5. Protect you from cancer

The benefits of ginger to prevent cancer may not be widely known. One component of ginger that plays a role in preventing cancer is gingerol, phytonutrient in ginger which also gives a unique flavor to ginger. Gingerol can prevent the growth of colon cancer cells. University of Minnesota conducted experiments on a group of mice. In the gingerol group, there were 4 mice with bowel tumors, while in the untreated group there were 13 mice with tumor growth.

Until the 49th day of the study, all the mice that were not given gingerol were injected with death because the tumor growth was too large, while in the ginger-treated mice the size of the tumor was half the size of the injected mouse.

The same researchers then tested whether in addition to preventing the formation of tumors, gingerol can also prevent the spread and reduce the severity of tumor cells. The study gave positive results. Gingerol is considered capable of preventing the spread and increased severity of tumor cells that are not operable.

6. Anti-inflammatory

Gingerol was also anti-inflammatory. This explains why people with joint disease such as osteoarthritis and rheumatism report less pain after taking ginger regularly. Eating ginger not only reduces pain but also reduces swelling in the affected part. Ginger is thought to inhibit components that play a role in inflammatory processes in the body such as cytokines, chemokines, chondrocytes, and leukocytes.

What kind of ginger is good for health?

To get the benefits of optimal ginger, you should select fresh ginger. Fresh ginger has a stronger flavor compared to ginger powder. Gingerol content is good for health is also still there in fresh ginger. To take advantage of fresh ginger, you can mix ginger with dishes such as seafood processed dishes, salad toppings, and your smoothie or juice mix.

But if you choose ginger in powder, make sure you choose pure ginger powder. Drinks of ginger powder sold on the market usually contain additional sugar. Store the ginger powder in a tightly sealed container and store it in a dry, dark place, and not stuffy or hot.

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