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.
No comments:
Post a Comment