There’s More To Ginger Than Meets The Eye

There’s More To Ginger Than Meets The Eye

By Kurtis Bright

Surprising New Study Shows That Ginger Can Help Fight Cancer

When you think about the jumbled mess of contradictions that we humans really are, the mad society we’ve created actually begins to make sense, at least in terms of cause and effect. We just keep on trying, no matter what, and we cobble together societies that are imperfect, ridiculous, absurd, infuriating and delightful, just like people are.

No matter how confused, lost or off-track a person may appear, there is always hope they will find their way, simply due to the stubborn insistence of humans to keep trying, especially when it comes to treating diseases like cancer. And one promising new avenue of research on this front is the humble ginger root.

We’ve known for some time that ginger is effective in treating gastrointestinal distress including motion sickness. And it has long provided relief for pregnant women who suffer nausea and are reluctant to rely on medication.

But ginger also has anti-inflammatory properties in the form of what are called gingerols, a substance that has been demonstrated to help reduce the pain and discomfort of osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis. Ginger has helped countless people regain lost mobility due to these diseases.

But promising new research is now showing that ginger may help in fighting cancer. According to researchers from the University of Minnesota's Hormel Institute, gingerols may inhibit the growth of colorectal cancer cells in lab mice.

Agroup of lab mice were specifically bred lacking an immune system, and were fed half a milligram of gingerol three times a week before being injected with colorectal cancer cells.

In a mere 15 days, 13 tumors were found in the control group. But the exciting finding was that only four tumors were identified in the group that received the gingerol treatments. The study reached its 38^th day with one mouse in the gingerol group still showing no measurable tumors at all. On the other hand, all 49 of the mice in the control group had to be euthanized because their tumors had grown to one cubic centimeter in size.

Certainly more research is needed, of course at some point using human subjects, in order to discover if gingerol supplements might have a similar effect on people.

But given all its other proven benefits--many have compared ginger to turmeric, the latest “it” substance, in its abilities to both help with our health as well as spice up our food--it can’t hurt to find some creative ways to use ginger in your every day meals and beverages.

Gingerbread cookies, ginger waffles, ginger in cocktails--there are almost limitless ways to get your daily dose.

And hey, if it can be delicious while it helps prevent colorectal cancer, some sweet desserts and drinks are a nice bonus.

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