Spanish Version

EL NUEVO HERALD
November 15, 2003
Section: SECTION: Gallery
Edition: EDITION: Final
Page: PAGE: 6E
Memo: LIVE MORE

GINGER: A SEASONING WITH MEDICINAL VIRTUES
SOURCE/CREDIT LINE: EFE

This weed original from Asia, grows in moist and shadowy soils of the forests and pastures. It is approximately 60 centimeters high and it is used as cooking seasoning and in the Anglo-Saxon cakes and pastries, and it has worthy healing qualities. Among other applications, ginger acts as a tonic and it stimulates circulation and digestion, and it is an effective help for a wide range of disorders from arthritis or flu to inflammation.
The zingiber officinate plant, which is cultivate in most of the tropical regions of the planet, is an evergreen herbaceous with an erect red-colored stem, big heart-shaped leafs, greenish yellow-colored flowers grouped in spikes, and a tube root or ashcolored rhizome with wrinkled aspect. Ginger is related to curcum and it has a strong, rather acid and spicy flavor and very aromatic. The fresh rhizome of the plant used with medicinal purposes, and it is conserved whether entire and in pieces, it is prepared as essential oil, infusion, capsules, tinctures and plasters, and it is very rich in volatile oils such as the zingiberol (which is responsible of its characteristic smell) and resins such as gingerol (with stimulating properties) that provide it with the therapeutic benefits.
This plant has multiple effects: it is anti-vomiting, carminative (It benefits the expulsion of digestion gases), circulation and digestion stimulating, anti-inflammatory and analgesic, laxative, expectorant, antiseptic and feverfew (it stops fevers), and also it is an aperitif (it whets one's appetite). However, it requires some precautions. It is not suggested to take ginger in medicinal dosages if you have a peptic ulcer or gall stones, and it is convenient to avoid taking very concentrated dosages as well as to take the essential oil (the most powerful form of the plant) without a professional’s control.
Although some experts recommend ginger to avoid nausea due to gestation, it is better to abstain from taking it during pregnancy and breastfeeding, and from giving it to children under six years old. Moreover, in high dosages, the plant is emetic.
Experts suggest to take ginger as a digestive tonic if you had plentiful and heavy meals, if you are going make a long and moved trip or if you often suffer from an stomach or indigestion disorder.
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The different compounds of ginger cause heat feeling at a gastric level, they increase the contraction capacity and the muscle tone of intestines, they have the capacity of preventing spasms in the digestive tract and they make easier the food digestion.
All the above mentioned turns it into an unique help for treating innumerable digestive disorders: indigestion, gases, inflated stomach, colic and diarrheas, and also for treating more severe states as intoxication caused by taking food in bad conditions or by the irritable colon syndrome.
Ginger is also effective against the pain and inflammation. This weed is useful for both relieving and for preventing migraine. Likewise, it is effective against different types of pains (muscular, rheumatic, stomach) since it reduces the tissues inflammation, it helps to take the blood to the inflamed and painful zone and it inhibits the liberation of substances that send nerve signals.
Ginger benefits the heart and blood vessels health. It is a powerful anti coagulant that prevents the formation of thrombus in blood, it is better than garlic and onion. Also, by increasing the body temperature with a vasodilator effect, it stimulates blood circulation and helps it to get to the body surface, that is why it is a good remedy for chilblain and for the bad circulation in hands and feet. Improving the circulation is a good allied against elevated blood pressure. Additionally, ginger reduces cholesterol levels in blood, by reducing its absorption and by stimulating its conversion into gall gases.
And not just the above mentioned: this plant is considered as one of the best natural remedies against nausea, vomits, seasickness and giddiness caused by the movement of aircrafts, boats, trains or cars during traveling or due to post-operating disorders. But this weed does not cause the secondary effects of the classic anti-nausea medicines (weakness, palpitations, hazy sight), since it does not act on the central nerves system but on the gastrointestinal tract.
It is also beneficial for the respiratory diseases. Ginger is calorific and calming for the cough, colds, flu and for other problems of the respiratory tract. Plasters are useful for treating the common cold and for improving the sputum; its alcoholic extract stimulates the breathing function. In the other hand, ginger tea is a popular medication used in many countries for “breaking” colds. As anti-infections agent , ginger is a natural antibiotic, particularly prescribed for salmonellosis.
The therapeutic virtues of this weed act inside and outside the body. Applying over the chest a hot cataplasm (prepared by boiling two soup spoons of linseed and one of ginger in half glass of milk), helps to soften the accumulated mucosity, relieving congestion. Dipping feet and hands in hot water which was boiled for five minutes with a soup spoon of smashed or powdered ginger root, helps to relieve blood circulation and chilblains.
Experts in medicinal plants recommend different preparations with ginger for relieving several disorders:
• For headache. Prepare feverfew leafs tinctures, ginkgo and mint and of ginger rhizome. Combine ingredients and take it with a dropper (a small spoon at a time) as necessary, to a maximum of eight times a day.
• An effective multiuse infusion. Take 30grams of fresh root (you can buy it powdered or you can grated it) or 15 grams of dry root, and cook it with half liter of water. Let it boil for 10-20 minutes, without putting the lid on so the liquid will be reduced by a third and the extract will be concentrated. Then filter it. Sweetened it with honey, it will make easier the digestion and it relieves the period pains: and if you add a cup of honey and lemon, it helps to relieve colds and throat pain and to clean the respiratory tract.

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