Things You Really Should Know Before You Use Ginger

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Although you probably already know all the tasty reasons to eat ginger: kimchi, masala, ginger beer, ginger cookies, and rum with ginger, but did you know everything about ginger? Did you know that it has been shown to stop cancer? Help with chemotherapy? Improve your body’s absorption of nutrients?

Although you might have used ginger tea for an upset tummy or even taken nausea pills made from ginger, this root is known for being able to do so much more and it is being researched to find out just what else it might be able to do is that we aren’t even aware of!

Ginger is fairly common spice that is used all over the world but did you know:

Ginger has a long history. This root has been used for its medicinal compounds in both India and China for at least 5,000 years. It has also been used in cooking for at least that long. Words for “ginger” go back at least 3,000 years. Its current English names comes from the Middle English word gingivere.
Where does it come from? Ginger is actually related to capsaicin and piperine. The spiciness comes from the ketones in this root. When ginger is cooking, the gingerol changes to zingerone, which makes this spice sweeter and not as strong. Dried ginger, however, becomes twice as strong.
It was a major item in trading. More than 2,000 years ago, ginger was imported from India to the Roman Empire. After the Romans fell, the trade of ginger was controlled by Arab merchants who spread this spice far and wide.
Why is pickled ginger pink? If you love sushi, you’ve seen pickled ginger, but if ginger is yellow hen peeled, why does it turn pink when it is pickled? Believe it or not, young ginger root does turn to pink, but older roots do not. To make people believe that the ginger they are using is younger (fresher), the older roots are dyed pink.

Keep reading and find out all the health benefits this one simple root can give you.

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