Ginger is a very well known root, which is widely used around the world and has multiple beneficial properties from culinary usages to medicinal benefits. The taste of ginger is acquired and distinct, with a subtle spice and pungency and most of this flavour comes from the compound gingerol, present in ginger, which also has other beneficial properties as well.
Benefits of consuming ginger :
For digestion: Ginger promotes better digestion and can calm a stomach upset.
Anti–bacterial properties: The compounds in ginger can help your body fight germs and inhibit the growth of bacteria in the stomach and even in the oral cavity, as the bacteria in the mouth can cause oral infections like periodontitis (gum infections).
Can help ease the feeling of nausea: A lot of people suffer from sea sickness, nausea due to chemotherapy, nausea due to stomach upsets or pregnancy related nausea. Ginger juice can help ease this nauseous sensation and queasy stomach.
Muscle pain: Ginger juice will not get rid of the muscle pain immediately, but can ease sore muscle pain over time.
For arthritis or osteoarthritis: Ginger has anti-inflammatory properties which can help reduce swelling in the body and treat the symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis or osteoarthritis and provide relief from the pain. (Ginger compress for pain relief recipe below).
For the skin: drinking ginger juice can provide an antioxidant effect to the body and can protect the skin against aging as it improves the appearance of the skin by removing the harmful toxins and stimulates blood circulation, which can help deliver the essential nutrients to the skin.
For hypopigmental scars: Hypopigmentation refers to those patches on your skin which are lighter than your overall skin tone (while hyperpigmentation refers to the dark patches on the skin, darker than the actual skin tone, so it is not to be confused) . Application of ginger juice can help reduce the appearance of these scars to a large extent.
To soothe burns: Since ginger has antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties, ginger extract or slices of ginger applied on the burn can help soothe the pain and promote faster healing. Application over the burnt area, using slices of ginger can help reduce the scars of the burn.
For blood sugar and cholesterol: Drinking ginger juice can help regulate blood sugar levels and reduce the levels of LDL or bad cholesterol and triglycerides.
For weight loss: When combined with a healthy diet and exercise, drinking ginger juice can help promote weight loss as it keeps the stomach fuller for longer periods of time. READ MORE – MATCHA – SUPERFOOD FOR BEAUTIFUL SKIN
Here’s how you can make ginger extract/juice at home:
There are two ways in which you can extract ginger juice, below is method 1:
Take the quantity of ginger you want to make juice of and wash the ginger properly. Then peel out the skin and grate the ginger using a grater. Then using a muslin cloth, into a bowl, squeeze out the ginger extract.
Tip: You can reuse this grated ginger after the juice is extracted, to flavour your tea. Just add in a little into the water you are boiling to make your tea.
Method 2: Consuming ginger directly will be too concentrated and therefore you can make a simple homemade ginger drink:
Recipe:
- water – 1 cup
- Grated Ginger – 2 tbsp
- Lemon Juice – 1 cup
- Honey (to taste)
Method:
In a blender, add in the ginger juice, lime juice and water and blend everything together. Pour this mixture into an ice cube tray and let it freeze. Add 1-2 ginger ice cubes into a mug and add in the water. Use a tablespoon of honey, stir well and enjoy.
Tips:
- You can replace the water with any other fruit juices (like orange juice, pineapple juice etc) for an enhanced flavour.
- You can increase or decrease the quantities of the ginger and lemon as per your taste.
- You can refrigerate the ginger juice for some time and drink it chilled.
Ginger compress for pain relief:
Ingredients:
- 1 medium sized ginger piece
- 2 tbsp cinnamon powder
Method:
Grate the ginger using a food grater and you can leave the skin on as it is not going to be consumed. Now in a large bowl, add in this ginger with the cinnamon powder. Then to this, add in about two cups of boiling hot water and let this mixture sit for 10 to 15 minutes or until it is warm. Then dip a small towel into this liquid mixture, wring it out so some of the liquid comes off and then wrap it over the affected/sore area, until the cloth gets cool and then dip it back into the warm liquid mixture again. Do this process two to three times. You can warm up the liquid over the stove or in the microwave, if it has cooled down too much. This process has to be done two or three times in a day to get the best results of pain relief. READ MORE – HEALTHY MORNING DRINKS for health and beauty
Please Note: If your pain is very severe, then do this process only on alternate days while on subsequent days, you can do a cold ice pack compress. Start off with the cold compress on day one and ginger compress on day two and so on, alternatively.