Botanical Name: Zingiber officinale
Rosc.
Family: Zingiberaceae
Vernacular names of Fresh ginger:
Common Name: Ginger
Sanskrit: Aardraka, Aadrika
Hindi: Adarakha
Tamil: Injee, Inji
Bengali: Ada
Gujarati: Adu
Kannada: Alla,Hasishunti
Malayalam: Inchi
Marathi: Ardrak, Ale
Punjabi: Adi, Adrak
Telugu: Allamu, Allam
Urdu: Adrak
Vernacular names of Dried ginger:
Sanskrit: Shunthi, Vishvaushadh
Hindi: Sonth
Tamil: Sukku, Chukku
Assamese: Adasuth, Aadar Shuth
Bengali: Suntha, Sunthi
Gujarati: Sunth, Sundh, Suntha
Kannada: Shunthi
Kashmiri: Shonth
Malayalam: Chukku
Marathi: Sunth
Oriya: Sunthi
Punjabi: Sund
Telugu: Sonthi, Sunti
Urdu: Sonth, Zanjabeel
Description:
Ginger is a flowering plant whose rhizome, ginger root or simply ginger, is widely used as a spice or a folk medicine. It is a herbaceous perennial which grows annual stems about a meter tall bearing narrow green leaves and yellow flowers.
Ginger is a wonder herb that is used
as an aromatic spice and medicine for hundreds of year. This spice is the
underground rhizomes stem of a creeping perennial plant Zingiber officinale. It
is native to Southeast Asia and now commercially cultivated in nearly every
tropical and subtropical country in the world. In India, ginger is mainly
cultivated in Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal and
Maharashtra.
Ginger is used both in dried and
fresh form. Dried ginger is known as Sunthi or sonth in Hindi. Many Ayurvedic
medicines contain it as an ingredient. One such famous and well known medicine
is Trikatu.
Benefits of Ginger
Ginger is a useful remedy to treat
many common digestive and respiratory ailments. Ginger tea is an excellent
remedy for common cold, cough and flu. It has inflammation reducing and pain
relieving property due to which it gives relief in joint pain, arthritis,
rheumatism and similar condition. It is a handy remedy to treat nausea,
vomiting, motion sickness and morning sickness. Ginger stimulates blood
circulation and aids in detoxification. Chewing a piece of ginger, sprinkled
with black salt, after meals solves many digestion related complaints
(indigestion, gas, digestive weakness etc).
Medicinal uses of Ginger
Ginger works as medicine due to
presence of various phytochemicals. Due to presence of such active compounds in
ginger stimulates digestion, assimilation, relieves gas, increases muscular activity
in the digestive tract and gives relief in respiratory ailments. It also
significantly reduces nausea and vomiting. Ginger is an antioxidant that
protects body cells and improves body immunity to fight infections.
Ginger Health Benefits and Medicinal
Uses
Ginger is a useful remedy to treat
many common digestive and respiratory ailments. Ginger tea is an excellent
remedy for common cold, cough and flu. Learn how to use ginger to cure everyday
health problems.
Ginger is available in fresh and
dried form. Dried form is more warming compared to fresh form. In treatment of
nausea, vomiting, digestive complaints dried form should be used. Fresh form is
more suitable for respiratory ailments such as cold, cough and flu.
Cold, cough and flu:
Ginger is very good remedy for cold,
cough and flu condition. It acts as expectorant, relieves phlegm and
infections. Drinking ginger tea gives relief in
cold and cough.
Ginger juice (5 ml) with honey (5
ml) is a useful remedy for cough and cold. It should be taken 2-3 times a day.
This can also be taken as preventive measure for fever, cold cough, and flu.
For sore throats, hoarseness, and
laryngitis
Chew a piece of fresh ginger. This
stimulates saliva flow and gives relief in these conditions.
Prepare ginger tea and take 2-3
times a day.
Bronchial Asthma, cold, cough
Extract ginger juice (1 teaspoon).
Mix this with garlic and honey, each one teaspoon. Take this twice or thrice a
day.
Or, take two grams of trikatu churna
with honey, 2-3 times a day.
Take ginger juice (1 teaspoon) with
tulsi (ocimum sanctum) leaves juice and honey.
Influenza
Mix ginger juice (1/2 teaspoon),
Pippali powder (1/2 teaspoon) and honey (2 teaspoon). Take this three times a
day. Prepare a tea by boiling dry ginger powder (3 gm), kali mirch (5) and
tulsi leaves in water, till volume reduces to half.
Whooping cough
Extract ginger juice (1 teaspoon).
Mix this in fenugreek decoction. Add honey and take to get relief in cough.
Bronchitis
Boil 5 gram dry ginger powder in 1
glass water. Cook till volume reduces to half. Filter and drink.
Improving appetite
Ginger improves appetite. For this
purpose, 2 gram dried powder of ginger or Sunthi should be taken with ghee or
hot water in morning. Chewing piece of ginger or eating ginger pickle is also
helpful.
Pharyngitis, loss of voice due to
shouting, rhinitis, tonsillitis
In such cases, ginger piece should
be chewed with clove and some salt.
Indigestion
Ginger stimulates digestive enzymes
secretion. It also relaxes and soothes the intestinal tract and helps in
removal of toxins from body. Drinking ginger tea in condition of excessive gas,
indigestion and flatulence is very helpful. Sunthi can be taken in dose of 2-4
grams a day to cure indigestion.
In case of indigestion due to heavy
meal, mix ginger juice (1/2 tablespoon) with mint and lemon juice (both 1
tablespoon) and take. Or soak freshly cut thin pieces of ginger in lemon juice.
Add some salt and chew few pieces after meal.
Digestive weakness
Ginger has stimulatory effect on
digestion. In case of sluggish digestion mix, 5 ml ginger juice with 5 ml onion
juice and drink.
Migraine
If taken regularly it helps to
reduce the occurrence of migraine attacks.
Pain during Menstruation
Ginger reduces the pain during
periods. For this ginger tea with brown sugar can be taken.
Diabetes
Ginger lowers lipid, cholesterol and
blood glucose level. All these properties are even confirmed by modern science.
The juice of ginger reduces serum glucose levels in experimental animals. For
diabetic patient including ginger in daily diet reduces the chance of kidney
damage. Ginger juice can also be taken in recommended dose.
Nausea and vomiting, motion sickness
Ginger has anti-vomiting action and
is very effective in relieving the severity of nausea and vomiting. It should
be taken in dose of one gram.
Constipation
When suffering from constipation mix
ginger juice with ajwain and lemon juice and drink.
Premature ejaculation, impotency,
spermatorrhoea
The common home remedy is to take
ginger juice 5 ml, with one boiled egg and honey daily once a day, at night for
one month.
Dose of ginger
The recommended dose of ginger is
3-9 g for fresh ginger; 2-5 g for dried powder, to be taken 1 to 3 times a day.
Cautions and Contraindications:
There are few conditions in which
ginger is contraindicated. Such conditions are gallstones, acidity, peptic
ulcer, ulcers, and in persons with aggravated pitta.
Ginger may amplify blood-thinning
drug activities. It may cause reaction when taken in combination with
anticoagulant medicines such as aspirin.
Ginger has strong antiplatelet
(decrease platelet aggregation and inhibit thrombus formation) activity, so
experts recommend it should not be used by people with blood clotting
disorders.
Ginger intake should be avoided in
low platelet counts. During pregnancy, it should not be taken in excess. So use
it cautiously.