preview

Ginger, The, Or Underground Growing, Part Of The Zingiber Officinale Plant

Best Essays
Open Document

Ginger is the rhizome, or underground-growing, part of the Zingiber officinale plant.
Discussed in Greek literature dating as far back as 200 B.C., it has been used for various reasons throughout history and in the present day. Its popularity is attributed to its multi- purpose benefits in humans ranging from medicinal advantages to economic. Furthermore, ginger is used as a memory stimulant, digestive stimulant, and opener of hepatic obstructions, aphrodisiac1 Ginger is a main staple in traditional herbal medicine for many different cultures, such as the Chinese, Japanese, and Americans. While its popular use may be culinary, ginger is used, in the medical field, for much more than just cooking because of its ability to target such a wide …show more content…

Confucius wrote that he did not go without ginger when he ate. In the
Chinese culture, ginger was found to be very helpful in treating toothaches, symptoms of cold, influenza, and hangover. Today, the most common use of ginger, in Chinese medicine, is as a spice in cooking, and as a medicinal combatant of nausea due to morning sickness,

Elana Masikhaev motion sickness, and food contamination. Ginger is usually given either in the form of a tea, or as a powder for easy consumption.5 Before British surgeon, Dr. James Lindt, discovered that lime can treat scurvy, 5th century Chinese sailors were using ginger for the same effect due to its vitamin C value.1
Also acting as a staple in Japanese culture, ginger was used to treat spinal and join pain. There have been experiments conducted that examine the effects of ginger on arthritic knee pain in attempts to find natural alternatives to non-steroidal anti-inflammatory agents.
These studies have found that ginger can be placed slightly below ibuprofen for managing arthritic pain.2 A retrospective study was conducted, involving 28 patients with rheumatoid arthritis, 18 with osteoarthritis, and 10 with muscular discomfort. The study found that the patients who took ginger reported less pain and inflammation. More research has to be done on the exact mechanism, but there is some speculation that this effect is due to the anti- inflammatory effects that ginger possesses in blocking cyclooxygenase

Get Access
Related
Get Access