Ginger

Ginger is another one of my fav’s. Ginger tastes sweet, hot, spicy, and a bit sour, and can be thrown into anything. Ginger and I get along in smoothies, desserts, marinades, teas, curries, many Asian dishes, salads and salad dressings, in stir-fry’s, and pickled, crystalized, and candied.

  • Ginger has been used thousands of years for stomach related ailments including promoting a happy, soothing digestion and a booster in the elimination of intestinal gas. Very necessary.
  • Going on a boat or airplane? Nibble or drink something yummy with ginger. Studies have shown that ginger is ideal in preventing the symptoms of motion sickness and seasickness.
  • Ginger has crazy potent anti-inflammatory compounds called gingerols. These have been shown to reduce pain in those who have osteoarthritis or rheumatoid arthritis. Two clinical studies, involving patients who responded to conventional drugs and those that did not, found that 75% of arthritis patients and 100% of patients with muscular discomfort experienced relief in pain and/or swelling after consuming ginger.
  • Those wonderful compounds in ginger may also help protect against types of cancer. A study presented at 2003’s Frontiers in Cancer Prevention Research meeting found that gingerols can inhibit the growth of human colorectal cancer cells. Research presented at the 97th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer also found that those amazing gingerols kill ovarian cancer cells by inducing death and self-digestion of cancer cells.

Vegukate Tips:

Choose fresh ginger over dried ginger whenever possible. Not only is the flavor stronger, but fresh ginger also contains more gingerol and anti-inflammatory compounds than dried.

Store fresh ginger in the refrigerator for up to three weeks, or in the freezer for up to six months. Dried ginger can be stored in an airtight container in a cool, dark place for up to six months.