Ginger Is More Than A Garnish For Sushi: New Study Shows The Root May Be Useful In Treating Cancer
It’s amazing sometimes to think about what a jumbled mess of contradictions humans are, as is the society we’ve created. In a world ravaged by war, on a planet heating up at a record pace, where animal species die off daily and a billion people are hungry, there is still room for hope.
The hope in this case is that there will come new treatments for the scourge of cancer out of new research being done on the humble ginger root.
We’ve already known for a long time that ginger is useful in treating gastrointestinal distress including motion sickness, as well as proving a boon to pregnant women who suffer nausea and are reluctant to rely on medication.
It also has anti-inflammatory properties to offer, in the form of gingerols, a substance that has been shown to help reduce pain and discomfort in people suffering from osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis. The use of ginger had helped countless people regain lost mobility due to these diseases.
But now research is showing that ginger may even be helpful in battling cancer. Researchers from the University of Minnesota’s Hormel Institute have found that gingerols may inhibit the growth of colorectal cancer cells in lab mice.
The study looked at a group of lab mice that were specifically bred to lack an immune system, and were fed half a milligram of gingerol three times a week before being injected with colorectal cancer cells.
In just 15 days time, 13 tumors were found in the control group but only four tumors were identified in the group that received gingerol. By the 38th day of the study, one mouse in the gingerol-receiving group still had no measurable tumors at all. However, all 49 of the mice in the control group that didn’t receive gingerol had to be euthanized because their tumors had grown to one cubic centimeter in size.
Certainly more research will need to be performed, using human subjects for starters, to find out if gingerol supplements might have a similar effect on people.
But with all its other proven benefits–ginger has been compared to turmeric in its abilities to both help with our health as well as spice up our food–it certainly couldn’t hurt to have some ginger around and finding creative ways to use it 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 if it can help prevent colorectal cancer, some sweet desserts and drinks are just a pleasant bonus.
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