Fuel Your Body

Ginger

It’s not hard to find lots of sources announcing the health benefits of ginger on the web. With a history over thousands of years and many established cultures adapting and using ginger in both medicinal and culinary practices – ginger’s benefits are well-worth investigating.

Usually referred to as the root, the brown, thin-skinned, knobby ginger is in fact a rhizome, found growing deep in soil. It’s readily available year-round in groceries and supermarkets and if bought fresh, can last for several weeks if kept unpeeled in the refrigerator.

The two most common medicinal problems ginger is used to treat are digestive ailments and inflammation. On the digestive front, it’s often used to ameliorate gas, bloating and digesting fatty foods. With regard to treating inflammation, it can be helpful in reducing the effects of arthritis and ulcerative colitis.

According to Indian ayurvedic practice, ginger is considered one of the best foods available. Ayurvedic principles are based on balancing the body’s internal energies and ginger falls into the “warming” category. Thus, it’s effective in stimulating circulation of the blood. The warming effects mean it’s often used as a decongestant and a useful agent in treating colds.

Not only used in traditional Indian remedies, ginger has also been incorporated into Asian and Arabic treatments. Ginger’s strong taste and healing properties are derived from its volatile oils: gingerols and shogoals. These oils cause more digestive enzymes to be produced which in turn neutralise acids causing nausea and cramps, thus assisting in the digestive process.

Ginger has been used in cooking for hundreds of years. Chinese stir-fries frequently see garlic and ginger used as the base for whatever vegetables, seafood or meats chef is using. Similarly, in Indian cooking, garlic and ginger may be blended into a paste before becoming the base of a delicious curry. Those of you who are sushi lovers will be familiar with the pickled ginger that accompanies the green, wasabi paste with your dragon rolls in Japanese restaurants. In western cuisine, ginger is commonly used in baking – gingerbread anyone? While a little further east, in the Caribbean, a wicked ginger beer is a terrific beverage in its hot climate.

At Canada’s National Ballet School, ginger consumption is encouraged by making ginger tea available  to students and staff. Its preventive measures in combating inflammation are what make the tea a huge benefit to the school’s students. To make it at home, thinly slice fresh ginger and put 3 or 4 slices into a mug of boiling water. Let it steep for several minutes – if you’re not wildly keen on the taste, add some lemon and honey, and in no time at all, you’ll be addicted!


By Joanna Gertler
(published September 28, 2010) 
As marketing director at Canada's National Ballet School, Joanna Gertler makes a trip to the cafeteria each day to pour ginger tea into her mug. .