The Magic of Ginger

At least once a week, I have a craving for sushi and not just because I grew up loving California rolls, sliced fresh tuna, and crab salad. In fact, my favorite part of the raw Japanese meal by far has to be the little lump of often peach-colored pickled ginger that sits in the corner of the plate. Snapping up the slices of ginger from all of the plates on the table in one delicious yet spicy mound is the best part of my night. I never really thought that consuming that much ginger could be preventing future body pain, I just love the taste. The good news is that this wonderful root can actually help lessen a whole host of ailments.

 Ginger is commonly used in cooking as well as for medicinal purposes. Ginger, also known by its Latin name Zingiber officinale, is often used in Asian cultures as a way to treat nausea or stomachaches usually associated with post surgical symptoms, pregnancy, chemotherapy aftereffects, or motion sickness. This reason may be why it is served with sushi—although it is called Gari instead of ginger when used in this manner—besides its original intention as a palate cleanser.” Many American dietary supplements contain ginger for its anti-nausea and vomit relief.

Ginger has also been used for treating osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis as well as muscle and other joint pains. Ginger comes in many forms: tablets, capsules, liquid, extract, tea, dried roots, or fresh root (as in my pickled kind at sushi). According to the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM), is conducting experiments on the different drug interactions ginger may cause as well as whether or not ginger can be proven to help inflammation.

According to experts so far, there are few side effects due to taking small doses of ginger, such as: gas, bloating, heartburn, and the occasional case of nausea and these reported cases are from patients who took powdered ginger.

However, a 2006 study conducted at the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center, shows that powdered ginger—while it may have some side effects in small doses—may also help reduce ovarian cancer. The researchers studied a high-grade ginger powder in the laboratory against ovarian cancer cells. They found that the ginger when dissolved in a solution and applied to the cells caused them to die.

Two types of cell death occurred: apoptosis, in which the cells commit suicide, and autophagy, in which the cells attacke each other or digest themselves. Lead author and researcher, Dr. J. Rebecca Liu, the University of Michigan’s Medical School assistant professor of obstetrics says that the emerging results of their ginger study is a big leap for ovarian cancer research, “Most ovarian cancer patients develop recurrent disease that eventually becomes resistant to standard chemotherapy—which is associated with resistance to apoptosis. If ginger can cause autophagic cell death in addition to apoptosis, it may circumvent resistance to conventional chemotherapy.”

As with all preliminary verdicts, there is much more research to be done and dozens more studies to conduct before any final results can be made. The next step is to test these findings on animals within the lab before any human trials can be done. Since ginger has little to no side effects, the upside to it being a cancer treatment is that it is natural and not as harsh as radiation, chemotherapy, or surgery and it can potentially inhibit the growth of ovarian cancer cells as an added bonus.

If ginger is delicious in sushi, the spice can be used in savory dishes like our nutrition columnist’s own chicken soup or salad dressings and it can also be enjoyed in sweet treats. Gingersnap cookies are a favorite, same as gingerbread figures and houses around the holidays. Whatever foods you enjoy ginger in, just remember that beyond tantalizing your taste buds, you just may be saving your body from some serious and not so serious harm.

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