Ginger Attacks Nausea At Its Root

This underground stem, or rhizome, packs a real medicinal wallop.

There are few things in life more warming and delicious than a slice of warm gingerbread with a spoon of whipped cream on a chilly fall day, but the spicy flavor of ginger is also a marvelous natural remedy for a majority of what ails you.

Ginger is a rhizome, an underground stem that looks like a root. Many of you gardeners are familiar with rhizomes, especially if you are fond of Irises. The ginger plant produces a gorgeous and fragrant flower, but aside from its uses in Asian and other ethnic cooking, it has a real medicinal wallop. As spicy and pungent as ginger is, it can be taken with ease thanks to the vegetarian gelatin capsule. It's also a soothing and beneficial tea to relieve nausea, gas, and cramping. It works wonders as a preventative for motion sickness, and in 1982, The Lancet, the respected medical journal of Great Britain, touted its power to quell this uncomfortable feeling—quite an achievement for a natural remedy!

Got a nasty stomach flu? Try ginger as a tea or chew on a small piece to allieviate vomiting and diarrhea. Chinese medicine has relied on ginger to stop indigestion and gas for many centuries and it has also been used to help with headaches, high cholesterol, rheumatoid arthritis, and stomach ulcers. That's a lot of relief in one little rhizome. You can get goodly amounts of ginger chopped up in your food or by drinking ginger ale, as long as it's made with real ginger and not an artificial flavoring. Make tea from a bit of grated ginger or try the powdered form. You should be able to taste it in your mouth to know you've had enough to help you. Going boating or on a cruise? Take along some Ginger capsules for quick relief.

Thirty-six nausea prone college students in Salt Lake City, Utah were given powdered ginger or Dramamine before they were spun around in a tilting, rotating chair (makes me dizzy to write it), and "surprise!" the ginger group had less nausea and vertigo than the students who received the Dramamine—and they didn't get drowsy.

Since nausea and vertigo originate in the brain as well as the digestive tract, it appears that ginger works in both areas to conquer those heaves. For pregnant women experiencing morning sickness (and I know how awful that can be) a few caps upon arising can be taken with safety. But please, expectant Moms, never take anything without asking your doctor's advice first. And now for that Gingerbread!

Dr. Yvonne Kleine, also lovingly known as Dr. Boots, is a Naturopath and PhD Nutritionist who lives and practices in Bayport, NY. Dr. Kleine is available to answer your questions concerning natural health, including topics about healing; supplements; herbs; and practices such as Reiki, acupuncture, Reflexology, and acupressure. To find out more about her practice, please visit www.Maywoodholistichealing.com.