Healthy Lifestyle

Keeping the theme of healthy food going as per my last post Healthy Foods: Garlic, I thought I’d take one of the great accompaniments to the smelly bulb and write about the health benefits of ginger.

Ginger is not actually a root, as many people believe, but its actually the stem of the plant that lies beneath the soil and from which the plant’s leaves grow. The swollen dull yellowish stem is the part that provides us with the bulk of the nutrients that we use.

A common flavouring in curries, many Chinese, Thai and other Far Eastern dishes as well as sweetmeats, cakes biscuits and puddings, ginger is a big all-rounder for flavour as well as being a healthy food in its own right.

Medicinally, ginger is classified as both a stimulant and carminative and as such is used frequently for dyspepsia and colic. It stimulates the gallbladder to release bile and is often prescribed to deal with gallstones. Ginger has been shown to decrease pain in the joints from arthritis, though studies have shown inconsistent results.

Ginger may also have blood thinning and cholesterol lowering properties, although more studies need to be done in this area, which should prove its usefulness in treating heart disease.

The warming properties of ginger make it useful when brewed as a tea for reducing the symptoms of colds. It is also useful as a stomach settler and digestive aid. More recent studies have shown promising results in the field of treating diabetes, although more studies need to be carried out to be conclusive.

All in all, ginger is a very useful health promoting food that everyone should keep in their larder. Here’s a tip - keep a piece of ginger in the freezer for those times when you run out and the shops are closed. You can take it out frozen and grate it over food, then pop it straight back in the freezer again for another day!

See you again soon…

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