Native to parts of Asia, such as China, Japan, and India, ginger has a leafy stem and yellowish-green flowers. The spice comes from the rhizome (underground stem) of the plant.
Ginger has been used for medicinal purposes in China for more than 2,500 years, and it has had a prominent role in Chinese, Indian, and Japanese medicine since the 1500s.
How Much Do We Know?
There have been many studies of the use of ginger for health purposes in people.What Have We Learned?
- Ginger has been studied for several types of nausea and vomiting. Almost all of these studies tested dietary supplements rather than foods.
- Research shows that ginger may be helpful for mild nausea and vomiting associated with pregnancy.
- Most studies of ginger for motion sickness haven’t shown it to be helpful.
- In general, ginger hasn’t been shown to relieve nausea and vomiting associated with cancer chemotherapy, although it might be helpful if taken in combination with certain types of chemotherapy or certain drugs used to prevent nausea and vomiting.
- It’s uncertain whether ginger is helpful for postoperative nausea and vomiting.
- A small amount of research suggests that ginger dietary supplements might be helpful for menstrual cramps.
- There’s not enough evidence to show whether ginger supplements are helpful for symptoms of knee osteoarthritis.
