Ginger

Healing essence of ginger

Anti-Alzheimer's
Cardioprotective
Anti-diabetic
Anti-cancer
Anti-oxidant
Anti-inflammatory
Zingiber officinale

It is added to sweet and savoury dishes, condiments, confectioneries, sweets, and is a component of many traditional cuisines, including Chinese, Indian, Japanese and Thai.

It has also been used in perfumes, cosmetics and is a valued medicinal plant.

It is used in folk medicine to treat colds and influenza and is an effective anti-emetic used in the treatment of both motion sickness, and the nausea and vomiting associated with pregnancy.

Numerous studies investigating ginger’s medicinal properties have also shown it to be effective in the prevention and treatment of many of our more serious chronic degenerative diseases.

Video: Health Benefits of Ginger

Medicinal Properties

Cancer

While its anti-tumourigenic effects have yet to be fully understood, they are thought to involve the following mechanisms:

Anti-inflammatory:
Cancer is often associated with inflammatory processes and ginger’s potent anti-inflammatory activity reduces the risk of inflammation-induced malignancy. Ginger is an effective COX-2 inhibitor, curtailing the activity of potentially damaging COX-2 enzymes, the overproduction of which may cause harm to several tissue types.

Cancer cell death:
The pungent vanilloids, gingerol and paradol found in ginger, are very effective in killing cancer cells. They achieve this both by direct cytotoxic activity against the tumour and indirectly by inducing apoptosis in the cancer cells.

Reducing tumour initiation and growth:
The compound, zerumbone antagonises the processes of both tumour initiation and promotion. It does this by inducing antioxidant enzymes and by weakening the pro-inflammatory signalling pathways associated with communication between cancer cells.

Prevents DNA damage:
Melatonin is an antioxidant produced by the body that is also found in some plants, such as this. It has the valuable property of being able to access most parts of the body, including brain and nervous tissue, and protects DNA against carcinogenic free-radical damage.

Antibacterial: This spice can eliminate all strains of Helicobacter pylori, the bacteria that are responsible for the majority of peptic ulcers, gastritis and stomach cancer.

Cardiovascular Disease

These lipid-modulating effects are partly due to the inhibition of fat absorption from the intestines.

In addition, its cardioprotective effects are enhanced by its ability to reduce platelet stickiness and in so doing further reduce the risk of heart attacks and thrombotic strokes.

Diabetes

This suggests that, in all likelihood, it is a valuable prophylactic spice against Type II diabetes.

Alzheimer's Disease

Moreover, zingerone, another of its antioxidants, neutralizes the powerful oxidant, peroxynitrite, which has also been implicated as an aggravating factor in Alzheimer's and other neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson's disease.

Obesity

Anti-oxidant effects

Melatonin, in particular, is not only a highly effective free-radical scavenger itself, but also stimulates production of the main antioxidant enzyme of the brain, glutathione peroxidase.

Anti-inflammatory properties

COX-2 Inhibition
It is a strong inhibitor of COX-2 enzymes, pro-inflammatory cytokines and prostaglandins that are all important components of the inflammatory response.

Abnormal tissue inflammation occurs when an excess of prostaglandins, cytokines and COX-2 enzymes are released by cells in joint tissue. The more of these molecules that are released, the more inflammatory cells and chemicals are attracted to the joints where they cause pain and damage to the joint surfaces.

These substances are integral to inflammatory mechanisms that can involve many tissue types, as well as the condition known as chronic systemic inflammation.

Several modern COX-2 inhibitor drugs are used to treat arthritis and other painful inflammatory diseases. These were developed in an attempt to replace the older non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs such as ibuprofen and indomethacin, which can have serious side effects including stomach ulceration and bleeding.

Unfortunately, although the newer drugs do have fewer side effects, there is some evidence that they may aggravate cardiovascular disease and precipitate strokes.

Ginger, on the other hand, has none of these side effects. Ironically it has actually been shown to be a valuable treatment for gastrointestinal conditions, as well as lowering the risk of heart attack or stroke.

Antimicrobial effects

Helicobacter pylori, however, is an unusually resilient bacterial species that thrives in the hostile, extremely acidic environment of the stomach. Once established, this bacteria causes a range of problems including indigestion, oesophagitis, gastritis, stomach and duodenal ulcers, and stomach cancer.

Ginger has traditionally been used as a treatment for stomach ailments, and it has recently been shown to kill all nineteen pathogenic Helicobacter pylori species.

The regular ingestion of this spice should help to kill these dangerous bacteria before they become established, and thereby pre-empt the need for antibiotics which destroy many valuable intestinal bacteria, in addition to their intended targets.

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Spice supplement

Important Phytonutrients

Others: Geranial, neral, paradol, phellandrene, zerumbone, zinziberene