Scientific name being zingiber officinale, ginger is a plant whose rhizome is used famously around the world for many purposes. As a child, I hated this particular vegetable because of its harsh and hot taste.
Whenever I was down with a cold, I was forced to chew it in its raw state, sometimes with sugar to lessen the hotness of it. I hated it but it worked wonders to eradicate the cold. Now grown and better informed, I know ginger is worth more than my childish prejudices.
Ginger is a very good traditional remedy for sore throats and coughs. Boiling water and pouring it on cleaned, cut pieces of ginger provides for a soothing drinking aftermath. One can add sugar or honey to sweet en up a ginger tea but its potency will not be lost. Ginger contains vitamin C and antioxidants which is great for helping to release you from common viral infections like cold. There’s the time of the month where females abhor seriously.
During the time where a woman’s uterus is shedding layers of its inner walls, which we know as menstruation, ginger comes in handy. Drinking ginger wa ter or tea with ginger components is one of the solutions to pain during periods. Ginger provides anti- in f lammatory components which help to ton down the discomfort, gaseous exchanges and bloating in such times. Ginger also has food value and is used in cooking as a spice.
Ginger provides for an aromatic and spicy taste in foods while still providing the consumer with all its enormous benefits like gingerol, magnesium, zinc among others. All in all, ginger has proven to go beyond the negatives I had about it as a child. In fact now, I embrace it in all its glory and beneficial characteristics.
Featured image: Photo by sentot setyasiswanto on Unsplash
