Adding ginger to your diet

Just back from Waitrose

From The Times today (Peta Bee):

"Drink ginger tea or use it in your cooking — in July food biologists at the Technical University of Munich in Germany discovered that gingerol, the compound that gives ginger its distinct flavour, also acts to stimulate the enzymes in saliva that break down the substances that cause halitosis.

Professor Thomas Hofmann, the study’s author, found that the levels of one odour-fighting enzyme, sulfhydryl oxidase 1, shot up sixteen fold seconds after ginger was consumed."

Ginger is so good for you in so many ways:

"Digestion

The phenolic compounds in ginger are known to help relieve gastrointestinal (GI) irritation, stimulate saliva and bile production, and suppress gastric contractions as food and fluids move through the GI tract. At the same time, ginger also appears to have beneficial effects on the enzymes trypsin and pancreatic lipase, and to increase motility through the digestive tract. This suggests ginger could help prevent colon cancer and constipation.

Nausea

Chewing raw ginger or drinking ginger tea is a common home remedy for nausea during cancer treatment. Taking ginger for motion sickness seems to reduce feelings of nausea, but it does not appear to prevent vomiting. Ginger is safe to use during pregnancy, to relieve nausea. It is available in the form of ginger lozenges or candies.

Cold and flu relief

During cold weather, drinking ginger tea is good way to keep warm. It is diaphoretic, which means that it promotes sweating, working to warm the body from within. To make ginger tea at home, slice 20 to 40 grams (g) of fresh ginger and steep it in a cup of hot water. Adding a slice of lemon or a drop of honey adds flavor and additional benefits, including vitamin C and antibacterial properties. This makes a soothing natural remedy for a cold or flu."

Truly a wonder food/supplement. Once again, we'll believe try anything we read in the paper.