Health Benefit of Ginger and Dry Ginger Powder
Rajan is a botany and chemistry major. He has worked as a poultry breeder for 23 years, breeding layer and broiler parents.
The Versatile Ginger
Overview
Ginger or zingiber officinale is a herb found chiefly in Asia. The root which is a rhizome is the part used commonly. It is used in cooking and has medicinal value in a variety of ailments.
It has been used in Ayurvedic medicine since centuries. It is hot and dry by nature.
Ginger can be kept fresh for long when covered with soil. Dry ginger/powder (called saunth in Hindi) also has medicinal uses.
Indian Ginger Tea
Benefit Of Ginger
Apart from the culinary uses of ginger, it has a variety of uses in inflammatory conditions, as a stimulant in respiratory and digestive complaints, as an analgesic in pains and cramps, as a nausea reliever, an antiemetic etc.
Ginger can be used by cutting it fine or crushing to make ginger tea or by using dry ginger powder, ginger juice or ginger ale.
Nutritional Value Of Ginger
Ginger root (Zingiber officinale) | ||
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Principle | Nutrient Value | Percentage of RDA |
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Energy | 80 Kcal | 4% |
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Carbohydrates | 17.77 g | 13.50% |
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Protein | 1.82 g | 3% |
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Total Fat | 0.75 g | 3% |
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Cholesterol | 0 mg | 0% |
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Dietary Fiber | 2.0 g | 5% |
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Vitamins |
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Folates | 11 Ág | 3% |
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Niacin | 0.750 mg | 4.50% |
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Pantothenic acid | 0.203 mg | 4% |
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Pyridoxine | 0.160 mg | 12% |
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Vitamin A | 0 IU | 0% |
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Vitamin C | 5 mg | 8% |
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Vitamin E | 0.26 mg | 1.50% |
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Vitamin K | 0.1 Ág | 0% |
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Electrolytes |
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Sodium | 13 mg | 1% |
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Potassium | 415 mg | 9% |
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Minerals |
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Gari Ginger - Japanese Pickled Ginger
Ginger Pickle Recipe
Ginger For Health
Ginger benefits health in the following conditions:
- Diarrhoea
Take 1/2 cup boiling water. Add 1 tsp ginger juice to this and drink this as hot as you can. Repeat hourly to get relief from watery motions.
- Stomachache
1 gram dry ginger, little asafoetida, and rock salt to taste. Take this with hot water for relief.
also, 1 gram dry ginger powder and little rock salt to taste in a glass of hot water relieves stomachache, constipation and indigestion.
- Digestive Problems
A. To 6 gms finely cut ginger add a little salt. Eat this once a day before meals. Continue for 10 days. It improves digestion, appetite, alleviates gas and constipation, improves the taste, clears phlegm from tongue and throat.
B. A mixture of dry ginger, asafoetida and black salt helps in removing gas.
C. Grind dry ginger and carom seeds together. Add just enough lime juice to wet this mixture. Dry this mixture in shade and add salt. Take 1 gm of this morning and evening. It relieves digestive problems like gas and abdominal pain due to gas.
D. Sauté ginger pieces in pure ghee. Add salt to taste. Take twice a day. It relieves normal stomach problems associated with digestion.
- Hiccough
Sucking freshly cut ginger pieces relieves hiccups. This is a natural reliever for all types of hiccough.
Also, drinking milk to which dry ginger has been added, boiled and cooled, relieves hiccough.
- Indigestion
Fresh ginger juice, lemon juice and black salt mixed and taken twice a day before and after meals gives relief in indigestion and digests food. It also stops headache due to gas and constipation.
- Pain and blood during urination
Grind dry ginger and sieve it. Add to milk. Stir in some candy sugar and drink.
- Pain in Ribs
Add 30 gms ground dry ginger to 1/2 a litre of water and boil. After cooling and straining this drink this 4 times a day. It stops pain.
- Piles, Jaundice and Swelling
12 gms dry ginger eaten with jaggery is helpful in these affections.
- Cough and Cold
A. Take 30 gms ginger juice and 30 gms honey. Just warm this mixture and take 3 times a day for 10 days. This is extremely beneficial in Asthmatic cough. Also useful in sore throat and cold.
Do not take sour things and curd.
- In Asthma, fry ginger in pure ghee and eat.
B. Add 12 gms ginger finely cut or crushed to 200 ml water. Add sugar and milk to make tea. This tea relieves cough and cold.
C. To 1 tsp ghee add 1 tsp honey and heat this till these combine. Add 5 gms dry ginger to this. This is 1 dose. Take this early morning empty stomach. It surely stops cough and reduces phlegm.
- Gums
In swollen gums gulp down 3 gms dry ginger with water once a day. It relieves toothache too.
If the toothache is due to cold put salt on ginger and keep this between the tooth.
- Cold
Take 1/2 spoon each of finely cut ginger pieces, carom seeds, fenugreek seeds and turmeric powder. Add a glass of water to this and boil on low heat till half the original quantity of water remains. Add little jaggery and strain this mixture. Drink before going to bed at night. Gives relief from cold.
- For Giving Strength To The Heart
Persons with weak heart, slow heartbeat and those having a sinking feeling benefit from the following:
Boil 5 gms ginger in 200 ml water till 50 ml water remains. Add salt to this to taste and drink once daily.
- Numbness of hands and feet
Take a pod of garlic and an equal amount of dry ginger. Add water and grind to a paste. Apply this paste to the numb hand or foot.
Also, chew 2 cloves of garlic with a little dry ginger early morning on empty stomach for 10 days. It helps.
- Paralysis
A. Warm ground lentil (Phaseolus radiatus) in ghee. Add some jaggery and ground dry ginger. Make small balls when cool. Consume one ball daily.
B. Also drinking water made with the above-mentioned lentil with dry ginger aids in paralysis recovery.
- Backache and pain related to wind accumulation
1 spoon ginger juice and 1/2 spoon ghee to be taken internally.
- Headaches including Migraine, Neck pain, Body aches
If due to indigestion or digestion-related causes:
Make a paste of ground dry ginger with little water and warm this slightly. Apply on the pain area. It might burn a little initially but relieves pain.
- If the headache is due to cold
Mix the ground ginger in hot water to make a paste and apply.
Sniffing dry ginger causes sneezing which relieves headaches.
- Bad Breath
Add 1 spoon ginger juice to 1 glass hot water and gargle with this for relief.
- Joint Pains
1 spoon dry ginger and 1/2 piece of nutmeg to be ground and added to sesame oil .Dip cloth in this oil and bandage around the joint for relief.
- Gout
boil 10 gms dry ginger in 100 ml water. Cool. Add honey or sugar. Drink this.
- Earache
If due to cold, wax retention, boils or injury, warm a little ginger juice. Put 2-3 drops in the affected ear. Can be repeated after some time if pain persists.
- Mucus and stomach problems
Indigestion is the root cause of this leading to digestive disturbances and other stomach related diseases. Back pain, Arthritis, indigestion, insomnia and headache are also caused by mucus.
All these are relieved by taking 2 spoons of ginger juice every day, empty stomach in the early morning.
- Fevers
6 gms ground dry ginger in 6 gms honey to be mixed well and licked.
- Hoarseness
A. In a piece of fresh ginger make a hole the size of a whole black gram seed. Fill this hole with asafoetida. Tie this ginger in a cloth and warm it. Then grind it and make pea sizes pills. Sucking one pill at a time. Up To 8 pills can be sucked in a day. It helps.
B. Add 1 tsp honey to 1 tsp ginger juice and licking this too helps.
C. 1/2 tsp ginger juice taken internally every 1/2 hour clears hoarseness due to cold and consumption of sour things. The ginger juice can be held in the throat for some moments before gulping it down. It clears the throat.
The above are some health benefit of ginger.
Eat ginger for health.
Caution
In case of vomiting of blood and in hot weather ginger should not be consumed. If extremely necessary use as little as possible of it, the user being the best judge.
Ginger Ale

By Hisakazu Watanabe (Flickr) [CC-BY-SA-2.0 (www.creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)], via Wikim
Homemade Ginger Ale
Other hubs on Ginger
- Benefits of Ginger - Health Benefits of Ginger Revealed
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Ginger - The constituents and benefits. This hub also give the recipes for some home remedies using Ginger.
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Disclaimer
The information provided in this hub is not a substitute for professional medical advice. Please consult your physician, or health care provider before taking any home remedies or supplements or embarking on a new health regime.
This content is accurate and true to the best of the author’s knowledge and does not substitute for diagnosis, prognosis, treatment, prescription, and/or dietary advice from a licensed health professional. Drugs, supplements, and natural remedies may have dangerous side effects. If pregnant or nursing, consult with a qualified provider on an individual basis. Seek immediate help if you are experiencing a medical emergency.
© 2011 Rajan Singh Jolly
Comments
Rajan Singh Jolly (author) from From Mumbai, presently in Jalandhar, INDIA. on April 04, 2019:
Thank you for this useful information, Peggy.
Peggy Woods from Houston, Texas on April 03, 2019:
Hi Rajan,
To answer your question, I have had ginger foil wrapped and frozen for many months at a time with good results. I do the same with horseradish.
Rajan Singh Jolly (author) from From Mumbai, presently in Jalandhar, INDIA. on November 13, 2018:
Yes, freezing ginger is a great way to preserve it. How long does it stay good? Glad you liked the article. Thank you, Peggy.
Peggy Woods from Houston, Texas on November 09, 2018:
I keep fresh ginger root in our freezer wrapped in foil. It is easy to take out and grate when frozen to be used in various cooking methods. My husband and I enjoyed some pickled ginger just yesterday when dining in a Chinese restaurant. Nice to know that there are so many health benefits!
Rajan Singh Jolly (author) from From Mumbai, presently in Jalandhar, INDIA. on February 04, 2013:
moonlake, sugar can be replaced with the healthier option honey. I do that. Thanks for stopping by.
moonlake from America on February 04, 2013:
I have to try ginger tea. I love ginger ale. I give it to our kids when they were sick now they won't drink it at all which is good I guess because it does have to much sugar. Great hub voted up.
Rajan Singh Jolly (author) from From Mumbai, presently in Jalandhar, INDIA. on November 03, 2011:
Nature has provided us so many health giving herbs, fruits, vegetables and spices we have yet to explore their full potential. It is heartening to learn of the benefit of ginger that your mother is getting. Martie,thanks for reading, commenting and voting it up.
Martie Coetser from South Africa on November 02, 2011:
What a fantastic herb ginger is! My mother reaps the benefit of drinking ginger tea daily - at the age of 72 she is still as fit and healthy as a fiddle. Thanks for all the info, rajan. Voted up and bookmarked.
Rajan Singh Jolly (author) from From Mumbai, presently in Jalandhar, INDIA. on November 02, 2011:
Thanks for your compliment.
WD Curry 111 from Space Coast on November 02, 2011:
rajan, you are beautiful, man. I love ginger. It not only taste good, it is medicinal. Can I talk you into moving to Florida? I have no health insurance and American medicine is weird, anyway. Maybe you could hook me up in India? Never mind. I don't want to compete with Indian artists.