Affordable Medicine, Ginger Root Is A Must Know Chinese Herb

Did you hear the news? A new study on ginger root found this Chinese herbs helps reduce colon inflammation and may reduce colon cancer risk.

The interest in Chinese herbs is growing all the time.  New studies on the cancer prevention properties on herbal remedies which have been used for centuries are multiplying.  Westerners are learning some of the age old practices well known in Asia for centuries.  Ginger is used both as a food and as a medicine in Asia cultures.

“Interest in this is only going to increase as people look for ways to prevent cancer that are nontoxic and improve their quality of life in a cost-effective way,” said lead author Suzanna Zick in a news release. Zick is a naturopathic doctor and a research assistant professor at the University of Michigan Medical School.

This latest study on ginger root supplements found that evidence of ginger’s benefits (2 grams daily) after just 28 days of use.  The participants were at normal risk for cancer of the colon, they had no family history of the disease and no evidence of the disease.  The participants underwent sigmoidoscopies at the beginning and end of the study.  Researchers examined colon inflammation levels and found that those taking the supplements had a drop in colon inflammation markers as well as a tendency toward substantial decreases in other markers.

Ginger is often used for indigestion, nausea, upset stomach and digestive difficulties  in Traditional Chinese Medicine.  It is very common to find a small amount of  ginger root  (2-3 grams ) in many Traditional Chinese herbal formulas to help balance and harmonize a formula of many herbs.  I always keep some frozen ginger root tucked away in the freezer, just in case.  

 

More articles on Ginger here:

Use Ginger Root after exercise for less pain

Chemo Nausea Treated with Ginger

Ginger better than a placebo for Nausea

The National Cancer Institute funded a study on ginger for nausea resulting from chemotherapy which included 644 patients. The most effective doses of ginger were 0.5 grams and 1.0 grams per day. The study participants also took traditional anti-nausea drugs in this double blind study.  All doses of ginger were found effective and all doses significantly reduced nausea compared with a placebo.

Ginger root has been used in Traditional Chinese Medicine as a medicinal herb for thousands of years. Ginger is one of the most common herbal remedies found in Chinese herbal formulaginger[1]s for colds and flu, nausea, it’s used to warm the body, improve digestion and reduce phlegm in the lungs. There have been numerous studies on the effects of ginger conducted in China. Many do not get translated into english. However, one particular study published by Evidence-based Complementary and Alternative Medicine Journal concluded that “ginger was able to protect the gastric mucosa from stress-induced mucosal lesions and inhibits gastric acid secretion, due in part to inhibiting growth of h. pylori as well as offering anti-oxidant protection against stress induced gastric damage”.