If you ever had the pleasure of enjoying a cup of ginger tea, you will know exactly how relaxing it is for your body and mind. There is something inherently good about ginger. It is a popular cooking ingredient in many cuisines across the world and also used in many home remedies.
Despite the hype all over the internet about the numerous health benefits a cup of ginger water holds in itself, does all the hype have a grain truth to it? Let’s find out.
How to make ginger water
The good thing about ginger water is, it is so easy to make and it doesn’t hurt you if you want to try it out. Grate from fresh ginger, add it to one or two cups of water, bring it to boil and let the ginger steep in the boiling water about 5 to 10 minutes. Cool down this mixture, strain out the grated ginger and drink the water.
You can either drink it lukewarm or cold depends on your preference. However, don’t get too excited and add some sugar to it. Sugar can potentially deplete all its health benefits.
Health Benefits
Despite all the hype over its health benefits, you will find it really surprising to know that there are very limited scientific studies on ginger to prove its usefulness. However, whatever the limited research studies we have on ginger at present seems promising indeed.
Anti-inflammatory
Inflammation has become a major health problem recently due to our lifestyle and food choices. Bad lifestyle and poor food selection can contribute to elevated levels of inflammation and harm your body.
Ginger may play a big role in reducing or preventing a lot of this inflammation when you consume it every day. A recent study found that ginger could potentially reduce allergies reactions, in which inflammation has a big role to play.
There is another small study which showed that people who took the ginger supplement every day after a workout experienced less muscle pain over the group of people who took a placebo. It is important to note that muscle pain can be triggered by inflammation.
Antioxidant
Oxidative stress in our body leads to many health conditions such as cardiovascular disease, neurodegenerative diseases, cancer, and symptoms of aging.
There are studies that found ginger is a potent antioxidant and greatly reduces oxidative stress in your body, which is caused due to excessive alcohol intake, smoking, and bad food choices.
One study found that ginger could greatly slow down or even prevent kidney failure. Furthermore, there is another study that shows its preventive effect on certain types of cancer.
Ginger can help reduce nausea
If you feel nauseated then drinking a cup of ginger water can be a great idea. Ginger has been found to be very effective against morning sickness and nausea induced by chemotherapy.
Relieves period pains
There are numerous home remedies on the internet that claims to reduce the pain during that particular time of the month. However, most of these remedies do not have scientific backing. This is not the case with ginger. A clinical trial study published in the Archives of Gynaecology and Obstetrics found that ginger greatly helps to minimize or reduce menstrual cramp pain.
Health experts believe anti-inflammatory properties of ginger are responsible for relieving menstrual pain in women. Next time when you have to deal with your menstrual pain, you know what to do.
Helps in regulating sugar levels
Adding a bit of sugar or honey to make your ginger tea taste good doesn’t help here. In a study published in the Journal of Complementary and Integrative Medicine found that patients who suffered from type 2 diabetes greatly improved their condition by consuming three grams of ginger powder every day.
May help with weight loss
No, ginger doesn’t dislodge those unwanted fats in your body or does it enhances your metabolism. Despite, all the promising claims about its ability to make you lose weight, there is very little scientific proof to back them.
One study showed that ginger was effective in suppressing obesity in rats despite feeding it with fat and cholesterol-rich diet. Another study found that people who drank ginger water after eating felt fuller and had less craving for more food later.
If ginger water can make you feel full over drinking plain water, then it has a couple of benefits: 1. It suppresses your craving, 2. It contains zero calories. Both of these can easily put you on track with your weight loss efforts.
May Help Ease Nausea and Vomiting During Pregnancy
Vomiting and nausea can be a big problem for pregnant women, especially during the early stages of pregnancy. A study found that ginger was very effective at reducing these nausea related symptoms in pregnant women. Another study found ginger is completely safe to consume during your pregnancy period.
May help with detox
Detox methods are used to slowly get rid of excessive levels of toxins burdening your liver and other vital organs. Many people suggest drinking lime water mixed with ginger extract to increase the detox effect. However, there is no real scientific backing on its effectiveness.
Ginger may still help you to combat germs, microbes, pathogens, inflammation, and cancer. A little ginger water two or three times a day could actually make you more healthy.