It is used a lot for digestion and immunity.
Reducing blood sugar peaks during the day has become the key to limiting cravings, sweet cravings and weight gain. “Smoothing” your blood sugar is not always easy, but fortunately plants can help… like ginger. “Beyond curative, ginger is one of the roots that is relevant to include in the diet. It’s a healthy, delicious and comforting super food that you can easily incorporate into your juices, preparations that remain easy to make and quite accessible.“, immediately tells us Carmen Tanguy, naturopath, reflexologist, author and trainer. Above all, it is a plant which presents very few contraindications and which is very well supported by most people (however, people who who are taking medication to control their blood pressure should only consume ginger on medical advice.)
“The hypoglycemic effect is not the primary virtue of ginger“, reestablishes our interlocutor. We use it rather to support the digestive sphere, for its anti-nausea side (in case of travel problems, or in pregnant women), tonic or energizing. This is also why “It is often found in “energy shots” with lemon for winter or for immunity.Let’s be honest, when we support a person in managing their blood sugar levels, this is not the plant that we will recommend first. We will rather go for cinnamon, gymnema or white mulberryspecifies our expert. That said, it is true that there have been several studies demonstrating the effectiveness of ginger on blood sugar levels, particularly in people who suffer from diabetes or insulin resistance.“.
One of the researches, published in the journal Complementary Therapies in Medicinein fact showed that daily consumption of 3 g of ginger in capsules for 8 weeks in patients with type 2 diabetes led to an overall reduction in fasting blood sugar and glycated hemoglobin, a reflection of blood sugar levels. Another study, conducted at the University of Sydney and published in the journal Planta Medicashowed that ginger was able to increase glucose uptake by muscle cells, which is linked to better blood sugar control.
“There are certain active ingredients in ginger (gingerols, editor’s note) which affect inflammation and which have interesting results on blood sugar levels. But the results remain significant only with daily intake of very concentrated ginger, for example as a cure (capsule or extract sold in pharmacies, drugstores or herbalists) for at least 2 to 3 months, and not by consuming from time to time a little root in water“, comments the naturopath. For digestion, however, it remains really effective.