Power of Ginger
Recently I been advised to take lots of ginger and drink lots of ginger tea. This advise been given to me by my masseuse who felt my body to be very "yin" and has heavy water retention problem, my friends who knew I am trying to have a baby, friends who knew about my painful monthly cramps, etc. In short, ginger seem to be the be all and end all of my problems.
As a Chinese, Ginger or Ginger Root are often recommended to help stimulate organs, bring heat and Chi “气” back to the body, improve blood circulation which will help with our body's natural rejuvenation. When our body shows signs of sore throat, cold hands and feet, joint pains - it is often a manifestation of lack of Chi or blood circulation.
So what exactly is Ginger?
"Ginger or ginger root is the rhizome of the plant Zingiber officinale, consumed as adelicacy, medicine, or spice. It lends its name to its genus and family (Zingiberaceae). Other notable members of this plant family are turmeric, cardamom, and galangal." - Wikipedia
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| Old Ginger |
In my quest to start drinking ginger regularly, I been advised to go for "Old Ginger". You can tell an old ginger by how fibrous it feels and looks when you cut through it. I find that with old ginger, you can keep it outside the fridge and it will not shrivel up. My mum use to have it handy near the kitchen sink, where she prepares her dishes, cut a few slices from the stem, and put it back near the sink, without keeping it in the fridge. I've been advised that the old ginger is spicier and works better to rid the body of "wet" 湿, "cold" 寒 and warms up the body. You can tell that your body is in such a state especially through your stools. When your stools are sticky and slimy, it is a sign that there is too much "wet" in your body.Naturally, when there is "Old" ginger, there is also "Young" ginger! The taste is similar to old ginger, but less spicy (Which I find to be more of a myth)
However, in Singapore supermarkets, I also came across "Blue" ginger and "Yellow" ginger (also known as turmeric). These ginger to have their own unique taste and smell. They are often used in South East Asia cooking.
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| Young Ginger |
So how can we benefit from Ginger?
There are many ways we can benefit from ginger - the most common way is to include it in our cooking. Very often in dishes and soup, you can put some sliced ginger to enhance taste of the dish or soup.
Here are some therapeutic uses:
- Boiling ginger and making it into a tea - For this method of use, it is best to pound the ginger so it allows the essence of ginger to seep through. Cutting or slicing will not achieve as potent an effect
- Seeping it in hot water - this is just like drinking tea
- Taking ginger powder - in pills or stirring it in water
- Ginger Tinctures - taken straight or with water
- Ginger Essential Oil - use on body for massage or ease muscle ache!
- Ginger Compress - heat it up by steaming, and apply on body aches