The 10 Best Ginger Teas for a Warming and Zesty Drink

Things to Consider Before Buying Ginger Tea

Ginger has been used in medicine and to spice and even preserve foods for thousands of years. The Ancient Greeks wrapped ginger in bread to treat digestive problems and eventually the ginger began to be baked into the bread, making the earliest form of today’s gingerbread!

Ginger belongs to the Zingiberaceae family, along with turmeric and cardamom. The ginger plant is a creeping perennial that grows up to three foot in height and contains thick and tuberous underground roots or rhizomes, and it is these roots, with their earthy flavour with a bite, which are used in cooking and traditional medicines.

Ginger grows in warm and tropical regions and is native to India, southeast Asia and China. The Romans first imported ginger into Europe from China in the ninth century and it soon gained popularity, becoming the second most popular spice after pepper.

By the mid-sixteenth century, Europe received more than 2,000 tonnes of ginger per year from the East Indies. Today’s main producers of ginger are India, Jamaica, Indonesia, Fiji and Australia. Ginger is also grown along the eastern coast of Texas, in Hawaii and Florida.

The root or rhizome of the ginger plant is suitable for consuming fresh, dried, powdered, as a juice or oil. Ginger contains hundreds of metabolites and compounds and some of these may contribute to health and wellbeing.

One of the main compounds of importance include gingerols, which act as potent anti-inflammatories and help stop the formation of inflammatory cytokines – messengers within the immune system. This may be the reason that those with disorders such as rheumatoid arthritis can obtain some relief with ginger supplementation.

Other compounds of interest to scientists include shogaols, beta-carotene, caffeic acid, curcumin, salicylate and capsaicin.

Ginger for Helping Nausea and Motion Sickness

Ginger with its gingerols and volatile oils can help reduce some of the symptoms of nausea in pregnancy, surgery and chemotherapy.

Ginger is recognised as being safe for taking while pregnant, although there are some concerns that when taken in high doses it could increase the risk of miscarriage. A high dose is considered to be 1,500 milligrams or above.

It may also be an acceptable alternative for those undergoing chemotherapy who are unable to take typical anti-nausea agents.

Ginger also contains phenolic compounds which can help relieve irritation to the gastrointestinal (GI) system and stop gastric contractions when food moves through the GI tract. As it is doing this, it is also having a beneficial impact on pancreatic lipase and trypsin enzymes and increasing their motility through the GI tract. This means that ginger may help relieve constipation and possibly help prevent cancer of the colon.

Ginger has long been associated with motion sickness and although an older study did show that it helped, more recent research has not been able to confirm this benefit. Although taking ginger may not have any effect on vomiting, cold sweats and dizziness, it may still help with nausea symptoms so is worth trying. Ginger can also help relieve some of the nausea symptoms caused by vertigo.

Ginger Nutrition

Although the nutrition in ginger teas is lower and some of the nutrition is lost through processing of the ginger, 100 grams of fresh ginger root contains 79 calories and 17.86 grams of carbs. It also contains 3.6 grams of dietary and 3.57 grams of protein.

It also contains 14 milligrams of sodium, iron, vitamins B6 and C, potassium, magnesium, zinc, folate, phosphorus, niacin and riboflavin. Ginger does not contain any sugar.

Side Effects of Ginger Tea

There can be some side effects from regularly consuming ginger tea or other forms of ginger, but unless you consume very large amounts, probably more than 5 grams per day, the risk of side effects is very low.

Side effects can include heartburn, gas, bloating and nausea. Some people may experience an allergic reaction to ginger – this is usually recognized by developing a rash in the mouth or discomfort in the mouth or stomach after consuming ginger or drinking ginger tea.

Ginger can lower blood pressure, which means light-headedness can also be a side effect. It can act as an anti-coagulant or blood thinner, so if you are on blood thinning or blood pressure drugs, you should check with your health practitioner before consuming ginger.

Because ginger also contains a moderate amount of oxalate, those who are prone to oxalate-containing kidney stones should avoid consuming too much ginger to minimize the risk of developing stones.

Ginger for Healthy Hearts

Although it is still early days of research, ginger may help to reduce blood pressure and the risk of blood clots. It may also protect against heart disease by lowering cholesterol and improving circulation and it could possibly play a role in preventing heart attacks.

Ginger in Obesity and Diabetes

A 2012 study showed that when 10 overweight men were given hot ginger tea (made from ginger powder dissolved in water), it reduced hunger and increased their feelings of fullness. A number of animal studies have also shown that ginger may be helpful in managing obesity and obesity-related complications. Ginger is also linked with improvements to blood sugar control, insulin levels, triglycerides and A1C in type 2 diabetics.

Inflammation and Pain Relief

Some studies have shown ginger to be effective in relieving the pain of osteoarthritis of the knee and it may be ‘modestly efficacious and reasonably safe’ to treat this osteoarthritis-related inflammation.

Taking ginger daily may also help reduce muscle pain caused by exercise. In one study, participants took part in a weight-training exercise to induce muscle pains and they were then given heated ginger, raw ginger or a placebo. The pain intensity was observed by researchers over the following three days and those who had taken heated raw ginger or heated ginger experienced less pain than those who were given the placebo.

Taking ginger is also linked with reducing symptoms of dysmenorrhea or severe menstrual pain and headaches.

Both ginger and turmeric contain curcumin and it is this compound thought to be responsible for the intensive anti-inflammatory actions at the molecular level in our bodies. In fact, curcumin has been shown to be as effective as some anti-inflammatory drugs, but without their side effects! Curcumin also acts as an antioxidant.

Ginger, The Common Cold and Sore Throats

Ginger may help boost immunity and fight some of the symptoms of the common cold. Ginger is also a diaphoretic, which means it promotes sweating and warms the body from the inside.

Ginger is also thought to act as an antimicrobial and may help fight bacterial or viral infections. In a test tube study, a 10% ginger extract was able to inhibit three microorganisms, including a strep, that often cause oral infections. Another laboratory study showed that ginger was able to stimulate the immune system to kill viruses which may help ease symptoms and reduce recovery time from viral infections.

When ginger is combined with honey the antimicrobial capability may also be enhanced, especially as honey has been shown to have some antimicrobial properties.

Ginger extract was also compared to antibiotics on strep-causing bacteria in the laboratory. The ginger extracts made with alcohol (ethanol) were more effective than ginger extracts made with water and the alcohol-based extract was as effective at inhibiting bacteria growth as the antibiotics.

Because ginger acts as an anti-inflammatory it may help soothe sore throats. The pain we have with a sore throat is because of the inflammation and itchiness caused in the throat by our body’s immune response to the infection. Ginger has also been shown to reduce the pain from tonsillitis and pharyngitis in combination with other herbs.

Because ginger acts as an antioxidant, it may help provide some protection and healing benefits against infection.

These effects are best observed with higher quantities of ginger, such as raw or ginger extract, however, ginger tea does still contain, although in smaller amounts, some of these powerful molecules and compounds.

Studies into ginger and immunity have been very small to date, and with most carried out in the laboratory it will be some time before it can be confirmed that ginger can be effective against the symptoms of colds and flu.

Ginger in Cancer Prevention

Some laboratory studies have shown that cancer can fight some different cancer cells and singer supplements were also able to reduce the risk of colorectal cancer developing in a group of 20 study participants.

Conclusion

In this article we have looked at ten popular ginger teas and the pros and cons of each. We also reviewed some of the early research which has taken place into ginger and its possible uses for health and well-being. Like anything, too much ginger can cause some side effects, but you would have to consume a very high dose of it and from drinking ginger tea, the chance of consuming anywhere near this dose would be very low.