Ginger — A health hero for inflammation, autoimmunity, and more!
Ginger is one of those spices that’s been hailed for its health benefits for millennia.
Whether in tea, soup, or crystallized in cubes, we’ve all likely been offered ginger to heal what ails us. And for good reason! Ginger is truly a health hero.
It’s played an important role in traditional Chinese and Indian healing modalities, and has been used cross-culturally to abate inflammation and pain, especially in the digestive tract.
Many of us are aware of the use of ginger for quelling nausea and a queasy stomach. In fact, clinical studies have shown it to be more effective than several over-the-counter anti-nausea medications.
I’ve focused on the health benefits of ginger before, first with this yummy Tahini Ginger Dressing and also the ever-favorite DIY Chai. But today I’d like to highlight the anti-inflammatory magic of ginger, and offer you one of my favorite soup recipes.
Anti-inflammatory Powers of Ginger
Ginger is touted for its use in addressing several inflammatory conditions, from asthma to influenza to fibrocystic breasts.
Our focus here is on inflammation in the digestive system, which will affect every other system in the body.
Digestive inflammation may appear in the form of gas, bloating, constipation, diarrhea, heartburn, reflux, and the more serious conditions of IBD (inflammatory bowel disease) such as Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis.
Ginger helps to combat these sorts of inflammation, cleanse the colon, and reduce spasms and cramps. It assists in remedying sores and wounds, which can appear on the inner skin of your digestive tract, as well as your outer and more visible skin.
There have been several studies measuring the inflammatory markers of mice with IBD. One of these studies showed that ginger lowered those inflammatory compounds up to 73%!
So whether you want to relieve a little bloating, or you’re looking for health heroes to help with a more serious inflammatory condition, here’s a recipe that’s sure to satisfy both your health and your taste buds.
(Note: For those with kidney stones or who take anticoagulants, please tread lightly with ginger.)
gingery miso fish stew
In our house, we’re fans of soup any time of year. There’s been a nasty bug circulating around these parts of the Pacific Northwest — complete with aches, chills and sore throats. This light stew will do the trick to alleviate what ails you as the weather shifts, but ginger is particularly healing this time of year. Pungent flavors like ginger are great for digestion and soothe the fires of inflammation. October is here and soup’s on!
Ingredients
- 1 Tbspn coconut oil
- 1 onion, sliced into half moons
- ½ tspn sea salt
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 3 large carrots, coarsely chopped
- 3 Tbspn minced ginger
- 8 cups filtered water or stock (vegetable or chicken)
- 3 cups zucchini, cut into matchsticks
- 4 cups loosely chopped spinach
- 1 ½ pounds fresh halibut, rock fish, or other white fish cut into 1-inch cubes
- Juice of 2 limes
- ½ cup coconut aminos
- 3 Tbspn chickpea miso
- 1 cup chopped cilantro leaves
Preparation
In a large pot, heat coconut oil on medium heat. Add onion and sea salt and sauté until completely soft, about 10 minutes. Add garlic, carrots, and ginger and sauté another few minutes until fragrant. Add water or stock and bring to a boil.
Simmer for 15 minutes and then add zucchini and spinach.Simmer for 5–7 minutes more.
Add fish and simmer another 5 minutes. Turn off heat. Add lime juice and coconut aminos.
In a small dish, place miso and add some of the warm stock from the soup, stirring until thinned. Add miso back to the soup, stir in cilantro, and serve warm.
recipe created by Andrea Livingston for the Functional Nutrition Alliance
I could eat buckets of this stew and I love the other ginger recipes included above. Have a favorite recipe that features ginger? Share it with us on the FxNA Facebook page. I’m always looking for more ginger-inspired recipes ideas and welcome the conversation and inspiration.
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Andrea Nakayama is a functional nutritionist and educator leading thousands of clients, students, and practitioners around the world in a revolution reclaiming ownership over one’s own health. In the curriculum of the Functional Nutrition Lab, her online school for practitioners, Andrea teaches the science and art of the functional nutrition practice through the lens of where food meets physiology.
Within her own clinic at the Functional Nutrition Alliance, Andrea and her team of nutritionists work with the chronic ailments most providers pass over, and she is regularly consulted as the nutrition expert for the toughest clinical cases in the practices of world-renowned doctors.
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Sources:
The effect and safety of highly standardized Ginger (Zingiber officinale) and Echinacea (Echinacea angustifolia) extract supplementation on inflammation and chronic pain in NSAIDs poor responders. A pilot study in subjects with knee arthrosis. http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/14786419.2016.1236097
The use of ginger (Zingiber officinale Rosc.) as a potential anti-inflammatory and antithrombotic agent. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12468270
Effects of a ginger extract on knee pain in patients with osteoarthritis. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11710709
Biological properties of 6-gingerol: a brief review. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25230520
