Ginger becomes medicine from the kitchen

Tag: Dried Ginger

PERHAPS not too many Filipinos who plant ginger in their farms or gardens are aware that the gnarled, bumpy root is a potent medicine. Unknowingly, there's more to ginger than just the popular and traditional health drink "salabat."

Ginger has been used medicinally in Asia for millennia. In China, for instance, a drink made with sliced ginger cooked in sweetened water or a cola is used as a folk medicine for common cold. In India, ginger is applied as a paste to the temples to relieve headache.

The ancient Greeks welcomed the arrival of ginger and quickly put it to good use as a digestive aid. To lighten the load of a big meal placed on the digestive system, the Greeks would end an evening of fabulous fasting by eating some ginger wrapped in bread. Eventually, this practice evolved into the world's first cookie -- gingerbread. In the United States, ginger is "generally recognized safe" by the Food and Drug Administration, though it is not approved for the treatment or cure of any disease and is sold as an unregulated dietary supplement.

Motion sickness can make even the most enthusiastic traveler miserable. A 1982 study revealed that people prone to motion sickness who took ginger lasted 57 percent longer in a computerized rocking chair than people who took over-the-counter remedies.

Another study showed that taking two to four capsules of dried ginger before traveling in a car, boat, plane, or trains prevented motion sickness in 90 percent of the people who participated in the study. "To combat travel sickness, take a quarter of a teaspoon of powdered ginger or a one centimeter slice of fresh root ginger at least 20 minutes before you get in the car or board a ferry," suggests an article which appeared in Reader's Digest.