Ginger may improve digestive complaints and motion sickness - includes related information

Herbs have been used for digestive complaints for centuries untold, and figure prominently into the "folk"-medicine traditions of many cultures.

Of these herbs, ginger certainly stands out. Originating in southern Asia, it is now cultivated in the tropics of India, China, Jamaica and Nigeria. A rhizome (rootlike stem) of the plant Zingiber officinale, there are different varieties, including African, Cochin and Jamaican.

The herb's actions are most often associated with its volatile oil, an oil responsible for its characteristic odor, and with an oleoresin (volatile oil and resin) responsible for its pungency. According to Varro Tyler, Ph.D:, Sc.D., in his Herbs of Choice (1994), the principal components of the volatile oil are "the sesquiterpene hydrocarbons, zingiberene and bisabolene. Nonvolatile pungent components include the shogaols and the gingerols."

Interestingly, ginger is one of many botanicals that are considered excellent for digestive health, especially as a carminative, that is, a compound which:

* Causes a brief initial increase in passage of gas followed by relaxation of the esophageal sphincter muscle;

* Increases stomach secretions resulting in improved digestion;

* Limits the development of "bad" microorganisms (through its antiseptic action); and

* Promotes bile flow (facilitating digestion and absorption of nutrients) and relaxes intestinal-smooth-muscle (allowing passage of intestinal gas).

In Chinese herbal medicine, ginger is called chiang, or sheng-chiang. Chinese Herb Medicine and Therapy (1982) by Hong-yen Hsu, Ph.D., and William G. Peacher, M.D., lists some of the constituents of ginger as: essential oils, fat, gingerol, resin, zingerone (a ketone related to capsaicin and vanillin), phellandrene, camphene, cineol, borneol (a yellow oil with phenolic properties), citral, and gingerol, although there are others.

It is listed by Hsu and Peacher as being helpful for: "colds, sputum, nausea, asthma, distention, food poisoning, yang deficiencies, slow pulse, [and] cold extremities."

David G. Spoerke, in his Herbal Medications (1980), would add that "ginger is used as a gastrointestinal irritant for dyspepsia and griping In general, the toxicity of this plant is low and its use in normally available (and tolerated) amounts is not expected to produce toxicity."

Since the early 1980s, many respected researchers have studied ginger's [medicinal] properties and functions, including Daniel B. Mowrey, Ph.D., in his book, The Scientific Validation of Herbal Medicine (I 986). After he observed that the ingestion of ginger supplements prevented him from vomiting during an influenza episode, he and D. Clayson decided to look into the effects of ginger on motion sickness, what Tyler refers to as "a readily controlled producer of nausea."

They studied 36 college students who were judged to be highly susceptible to motion sickness, and compared results between those who received 940 mg of ginger and those who received 100 mg of dimenhydrinate (a standard antimotion-sickness antihistamine).

The authors concluded that the ginger was "superior" to the antihistamine in "reducing symptoms of nausea" when consumed approximately a half-hour before undergoing motion testing in a tilted, rotating chair. Since this trial, there have been at least five major clinical investigations of ginger: two in the United States and three in Europe. The overall findings on ginger's favorable effects on motion sickness have been sufficient to "convince Commission E of the German Federal Health Agency that ginger is effective not only for indigestion, but also in preventing the symptoms of motion sickness," Tyler wrote.

Writing in Anesthesia in 1993, S. Phillips cites a study which compared the effects of ginger, or a placebo, in 120 women who had undergone laparoscopic gynecological surgery.

Forty-one percent of the women who took the placebo experienced nausea compared to twenty-seven percent of those who took the powdered ginger root.

Phillips noted that the ginger supplementation did not bring on some of the usual side effects of prescription anti-nausea drugs, such as itching, abnormal movement, or visual disturbance.

The German commission recommends an average daily dose of 2,000 to 4,000 mg, although Tyler points out that, for prevention of motion sickness, ordinarily four 250 mg capsules (1,000 mg) are swallowed 30 minutes before departure, and then two to four more if symptoms recur.

In fact, in The Alternative Health Medicine Encyclopedia (1995), James Marti points out that "many consider it [ginger] superior to Dramamine, a commonly used over-the-counter drug."

In addition to its long-standing reputation as a digestive aid, Tyler added that "there are numerous references in both the medical and popular press suggesting that ginger is useful in preventing or treating a variety of human ailments, including migraine headache, elevated cholesterol levels, rheumatism, hepatotoxicity, burns, peptic ulcers, depression, aging penile vascular changes and impotence."

RELATED ARTICLE: Ginger: from the garden to the medicine cabinet

Ginger (Zingiber officinale) grows in the garden or as a window-sill plant and has a spicy, hot characteristic aroma of ginger powder. It is always available in root form at most health food stores in the organic produce section.

In addition to its culinary uses as a complement to a variety of dishes, ginger has many medicinal applications, some of which are discussed here:

* Digestive aid: The fresh ginger, as well as a small amount of the powdered ginger, is stimulating to the digestive organs. While it may seem sharp to the tongue, it seems to quiet and tone the system.

Ginger tea can be used to help with nausea (you'll find that a lot of home spices can be used as an antinausea aid), and the hot tea also helps to relax and calm any internal spasms. In China, it is used to overcome mushroom poisoning, and even to check dysentery.

When the body doesn't digest protein well, it often creates too much acid. In extreme cases, this is called gastritis, and this uncomfortable problem sometimes occurs after stress or tension. A slice of ginger root or a pinch of ginger powder can be added to tea to calm the body. This can even be helpful in gastritis due to excessive alcohol intake.

* Menstrual aid: Hot ginger tea is useful in stimulating a delayed menstrual period, especially if it is due to a cold. Ginger tea can also help allay severe menstrual cramps.

* Detoxifier (Cold prevention/remedy): I have found that ginger tea is a marvelous aid in preventing colds. I frequently use a combination of peppermint, a pinch of ginger, and a pinch of clove powder, or two bruised cloves. Chamomile tea with grated ginger, honey, and lemon is particularly soothing for laryngitis or bronchitis. Ginger is one of the useful herbs during the winter, as it will help to keep the body warm and stimulated. You can certainly add it to any herbal drink during flu weather. However, remember that for flu prevention there is nothing like cayenne pepper or cinnamon bark or cinnamon oil tea.

SOURCE: Buchman, Dian Dincin. Herbal Medicine: The Natural Way to Get Well and Stay Well. New York: Gramercy Publishing Company, 1979, pp. 31, 32.

REFERENCES

Hsu, Hong-Yen, Ph.D., and Peacher, William G., M.D. Chinese Herb Medicine and Therapy. New Canaan, Conn.: Keats Publishing, 1994.

Phillips, S. "Zingiber Officinale (Ginger)--An Antiemetic for Day Case Surgery." Anaesthesia August 1993, pp. 96-99.

Spoerke, Jr., David G. Herbal Medications. Santa Barbara, Calif.: Woodbridge Press Publishing Company, 1980.

Marti, James E. The Alternative Health Medicine Encyclopedia. Detroit, Mich.: Visible Ink Press, 1995, p. 85.

Mowrey, Daniel B., Ph.D. The Scientific Validation of Herbal Medicine. New Canaan, Conn.: Keats Publishing, 1986.

Tyler, Varro E., Ph.D., SC.D. Herbs of Choice: The Therapeutic Use of Phytomedicinals. New York: Pharmaceutical Products Press, 1994.

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