A Little Ginger Goes A Long Way...

Ginger is a root herb that has been around for thousands of years.  It has so many benefits to the body I love to call it a superfood or superherb.  Ginger has been used in Asian cuisines for eons and it is great with sushi as it aids in the digestion.  Ginger has many medicinal properties to help with many different ailments but in today’s blog, I love to talk about how ginger helps tremendously with inflammation.  Inflammation is the cause of many chronic illnesses like cancer, heart disease, diabetes, stroke, etc.  Inflammation does not have to be the typical swelling of a joint to where you can see the difference.  The inflammation we are talking about today is minute.  It is so small but drastically effects one’s overall health.  Most of American’s receive their inflammation from emotional stress, sugar and toxins.  Americans consume 120-150lbs of sugar on average per year.  Sugar is known to cause inflammation within the body.  Emotional/Mental stress is known to cause the body to become more acidic which promotes inflammation within the body and of course, toxins have their way to damage cells, tissues and eventually organs.  Toxins are known to cause inflammation all over the body depending on where they are located.

So, how does ginger help in this process?  Ginger has a chemical in there called, “Gingerols.”  These substances are believed to explain why so many people with osteoarthritis or rheumatoid arthritis experience reductions in their pain levels and improvements in their mobility when they consume ginger regularly. In two clinical studies involving patients who responded to conventional drugs and those who didn’t, physicians found that 75% of arthritis patients and 100% of patients with muscular discomfort experienced relief of pain and/or swelling.

Even though ginger helps with reducing inflammation, it helps with so many other things such as:

• Anti-Cancer
• Motion sickness and nausea remedy
• Prevents gas and bloating
• Reduces pain and inflammation
• Cold and Flu Prevention and Treatment
• Migraine relief
• Menstrual cramp relief
• Prevention of diabetic nephropathy
• Anti-inflammatory
• Boosts immune system
• Antibiotic
• Heart Health

Now you know why I call it a superfood or superherb.  So, you can cut up some fresh ginger and put in a stir fry, use as a marinate to your favorite meats, put in soups and much more.  I will share with you a recipe of how I make my own ginger tea and with a slight alteration to this recipe, you can make your very own, “ginger ale.”

Fresh Ginger Tea

1 cup of water

1 inch of ginger (slice the one inch of ginger into many small pieces.  Smaller, the better)

Boil the water, put the ginger in the boiling water and let it boil for 5 minutes.  Then take the pot off the stove and let it simmer for another 10 minutes.  Strain the pieces of ginger and you will have fresh ginger tea.

To make it more like a ginger ale, you will let it cool down to room temperature or put into a refrigerator and then when you want to drink it, mix it with a touch of stevia and sparkling water and you have your very own, fresh ginger ale.  Now, if you own one of those carbonation machines, you can just run it through that (at room temperature).

Explore, enjoy and experience the many benefits of consuming ginger daily!  Until next time, BE well…  LIVEwell…  The CHOICE is yours…

Dr. Vic Manzo Jr

“Wellness Chiropractor”

www.drvicmanzo.com