Ginger

The holidays are not far away, and some people’s favorite holiday spice, ginger, is soon to be popping up on the store shelves in many forms: cookies, cakes and candies. Did you know, however, that ginger is not just for holiday baking? Ginger root is very healthful and has many benefits when added to the daily diet.

The benefits of ginger have been known for a long time. Ginger is great for stomach ailments including morning sickness and motion sickness, regardless of whether those symptoms are caused by plane, pregnancy or radiation therapy from cancer treatments. Ginger can also assist with diarrhea and gas, and it is also a natural decongestant and can be used in a tea, with lemon, first thing in the morning to clear out the sinus passages and mucous membranes.

Ginger also helps with blood flow. Due to this, ginger can possibly help alleviate the pain and appearance of varicose and spider veins, and its blood thinning properties can make it a nice addition to aspirin therapy for heart patients. Make sure, however, that you talk to your doctor about ginger before adding it to your diet for this purpose, particularly if you are currently on blood thinners.

Can’t think of how to incorporate ginger into your diet? Many people often think of ginger as the root you sometimes see in the organic or health food aisle of the grocery store or something you can only find in health food stores, but, in actuality, you can find ginger in powder, oil and juice forms as well as in root. Due to this versatility, it is easy to utilize ginger in your favorite tea or health drink as well as a powerful and tasty addition to many recipes. Ginger does tend to have a very strong taste, however, so very little goes a long way. Regardless of ginger’s health benefits, use it very sparingly until you know how it will taste. It will do no good in your favorite recipe if it ruins the recipe and you don’t or can’t consume it. Following this article is a list of foods that go well with ginger as well as a ginger-based recipe for you to try.

So, as you can see, ginger is good for a lot more than just flavoring your favorite cookie. Incorporating it as a regular in your diet could contribute to your health and well-being in many ways.