How You Can Stay Warmer and Healthier This Season with Ginger Tea
It’s cold out there! We just had snow in 27 states so many of us could use a ginger tea warm up. What are the many benefits of ginger tea? Well, the evidence shows it can be quite beneficial to your health! This is the first of a 2 part series where we’ll be diving into ginger tea today then on to warm lemon water next week. There are numerous benefits of each, like a boost to your immune system, help with digestion and much more. Be happy and healthy - ginger tea can help!
Ginger has been used in Ayervadic and eastern medicines for hundreds of years. I started drinking ginger tea for my finicky stomach and to help with allergies, and received the added boost to help me fight off that winter cold and flu. So how can ginger tea be so beneficial? Well it has properties that can be of assistance for a number of minor irritations as well as more serious maladies like cancer and Alzheimer’s.
Benefits of Ginger Tea
Digestion – Ginger tea can be helpful in the 3 primary steps of digestion: digestion itself, absorption and elimination making it helpful for relieving gas and heartburn. Though not as helpful as fresh ginger tea, this is the reason my mom always gave me flat ginger ale when I had an upset tummy as a child. This herb may also help with morning & motion sickness too.*
o Ginger in all forms aids in digestion and can help reduce hunger
o Nutrients can more easily be absorbed as ginger alleviates the damage done by various types of medicines and chemical residues in our food.
o Anyone who suffers from IBS (irritable bowel syndrome) or other inflammations of the gut see assistance from this herb as it reduces that inflammation. Ginger in foods has been shown to help with this too.
Sinus Congestion – Ginger tea has been shown to reduce congestion when consumed. Warm tea from the same pot can then be used to further reduce the sinus inflammation externally with a compress.
Stress Reduction – The adrenal glands secret cortisol when you are stressed and ginger tea can help balance the amount of cortisol in the blood stream and reduce/regulate your blood pressure
Blood Sugar Regulation – The herb has been shown in some studies to help regulate blood sugar levels and increase insulin levels in the blood stream.
Circulation & Blood Flow – It has been shown to increase circulation and improve blood flow so it tends to have a warming effect. Which makes it a fabulous drink to help you warm up on a cold day!
Ginger has been shown to be toxic to multiple forms of cancer because 6-gingerol, the active ingredient in this herb is toxic to cancer cells. Since it is also helpful for the many ailments above, it may also be of assistance with some of the symptoms as well.
The Memory and Alzheimer’s related benefits of ginger may be great. The ginger root herb has been shown to be helpful in slowing down the loss of memory cells as a result of dementia. It makes sense to note here that dementia frequently leads to Alzheimer’s. Additionally, it is thought to generally help attention, reaction time and memory for all of us, though this is still under more study.
Cautions Against Ginger
Ginger when consumed in large levels or for certain people, may not be advisable. I experienced the resulting insomnia once after drinking many cups for many consecutive days. It’s important to note I was drinking about 5-6 cups a day! Keep in mind that anything should be consumed in moderation. There can be too much of a good thing!
Do not consume large amounts of ginger tea or ginger generally.
Women who are pregnant can experience contractions of the uterus.
Ginger should not be consumed before surgery as it can result in additional bleeding (thins the blood) and slower healing times.
In large quantities it may create arrhythmia of the heart.
Insomnia can be a result of drinking ginger tea in large quantities.
Some research shows when consumed in large quantities the ginger herb can lead to an increase in bile which enhances/increases gallbladder attacks.
How to Make Ginger Tea
Ginger Tea comes in the form of bags or you can buy the fresh root. Personally I’ve tried both and do use the tea bags at my office in the event that I’m feeling under the weather or allergies are particularly bothersome. I’ve found fresh ginger is the most effective and tastier.
How to Make Ginger Tea? It’s super super easy!
Slice a few (2-3) pieces of fresh ginger root into a pot of water
I usually make a cup or two at a time so use your mug to measure
The longer you let it boil the stronger and more potent it will be. If you don’t mind the spice and it’s been a while since you’ve had it, spicier is fine. You don’t want too much ginger on a daily basis though
Pour the tea into your cup! You may choose to strain out the ginger root itself.
Optional: for intermittent consumption try freezing the ginger root and slice it frozen into your pot or you can pre-grate before freezing.
Try ginger tea out for yourself to stay warmer and healthier this winter so you can be happier too! If you are in need that quiet moment, heat up your tea, and close your eyes for a few minutes to enjoy it's warming benefits and relax yourself.
If you like what you read here please like below and check out my other posts and the next one in this series, on warm lemon water!