Ginger is a common household herb and has been for a while now. Yet its excellent healing properties have come to the fore only recently. In both Japanese and Indian cuisines, ginger plays a prominent role. It serves as a flavoring agent while also boasting of anti-inflammatory and digestive properties.
Ginger capsules provide a greater dose of its active ingredients than the rhizome itself, which is why some people may prefer to consume the capsules instead of having it in food. Another reason to have ginger capsules is to avoid the strong, pungent flavor of ginger and still benefit from its goodness.
Here are a few benefits of consuming ginger in significant doses, as can be obtained from ginger capsules.
1. It’s An Excellent Digestive Agent
Having ginger capsules before a meal can stimulate the production of digestive juices and digest even the heaviest of meals. Not just this, ginger is also gastroprotective. It helps keep the digestive system healthy and free from parasitic infections. What’s more, ginger also can reverse the damage done to the stomach lining by pain killers! It helps reduce the incidence of peptic ulcers.1
2. It Has Anti-Cancer Properties
In lab studies and in vitro tumors, ginger has exhibited the ability to reduce the growth of cancer cells. Vallinoid compounds like ginger and paradol have the ability to inhibit cancerous growth selectively.2 This is a major breakthrough because conventional treatments for cancer tend to harm all cells invariably, or have unbearable side effects.
Ginger is also used to relieve chemotherapy patients of nausea and vomiting.
3. It Treats Knee Pain
Patients with osteoarthritis often experience crippling pain in the knees. A highly concentrated extract of ginger helps these people with pain management. The best part is that unlike potent painkillers, ginger actually helps relieve the pain without adversely affecting the digestive system.3
4. It Relieves Morning Sickness
Morning sickness is a combination of nausea, vomiting and general unease that plagues many women in the first trimester of pregnancy.
Ginger in concentrated doses is showing promise clinically as an excellent relief for morning sickness. While further studies are needed to confirm this effect, you can consult your doctor on using ginger capsules for this purpose.4
5. It Has Antioxidant Properties
Like many other herbs and spices, ginger too has exhibited some antioxidant property in lab studies. Phenolic compounds in ginger are the components that provide this antioxidant property.5
Ginger extract, as may be found in capsules, has a more potent effect than the whole rhizome consumed as such.
There you have it! Ginger falls under the class of foods that can be termed as functional. Not only do they help alleviate existing conditions, they also help in the maintenance of overall health and well-being. Consult your doctor or Ayurvedic practitioner about the dosage of ginger capsules.
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