GINGER TISANE ( Ginger tea)

Photo by: stefan.erschwendner

I found some text about ginger... I mean, WOW! That herb is really good for our body! Lots of people already enjoy the ginger beer , ginger ale or ginger used as spice in foods. That's so great, because there are great benefits of using ginger. After a little research, I decided to post a ginger tisane recipe ( or tea with ginger ). But, as usually, before recipe, some little interesting info about the herb ginger.

If you don't know how ginger looks, you can see it on the next photo. The photo represents ginger root, because that is the part of ginger that is mostly used for spicing the food or for other preparations of ginger.

Photo by: RobotSkirts

Latin name for ginger : Zingiber officinale

GINGER TISANE (or ginger tea) benefits:

Ginger and stomach :

• ginger is a good help for upset stomach , because ginger can soothe or calm an upset stomach ,
• contains special enzymes responsible for the catalysis of protein in food, and because of that ginger helps in digestion and prevents stomach cramping ,
• ginger prevents or relieves stomach discomfort and bloating (gas in the gastrointestinal tract) ,
• ginger eases morning sickness, especially seasickness, morning sickness, nausea and vomiting caused by motion or due to chemotherapy,
• ginger stimulates mucus secretion and because of that can help in prevention of ulcer - gastric mucosal damage.

Ginger and flu (colds):

• ginger has anti-bacterial, anti-fungal and anti-toxic properties, that's why ginger can be used to help prevent colds and flu ,
• ginger stimulates mucus secretion and thereby relieves cough and relieve pain in the throat, so according to that ginger can be used as tea for sore throat (lots of people asks if ginger is good for sore throat).

Other ginger benefits:

• ginger is an anti-histamine, and therefore helps with allergies ,
• ginger has anti-inflammatory properties, for which can be used in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis, osteoarthritis and other musculoskeletal diseases of bone and connective tissue ,
• ginger reduces cholesterol levels and prevents the formation of blood clots,
• ginger is used for the treatment of gastric diseases such as dyspepsia (this is what bothers me) and colic. In third world countries, ginger is used to treat diarrhea.

GINGER TISANE RECIPE ( or how to make ginger tea ):

• Peel the ginger root 
• slice two or three thin slices of fresh ginger root
• boil 2 cups of water
• when water reaches boiling point remove the pot aside 
• put ginger slices in that water
• leave it like that for 5-10 minutes before drinking
• if you want spicy flavor of ginger tea you have to drink it while it's hot, but if you prefer mild taste, cool it down for more than 10 minutes before drinking or add few ice cubes.

PS: This was recipe for pure ginger tisane! But, as i found out ginger is great when added to other tisanes because it boosts healthy benefits of other herbs. So, in some upcoming posts I'll write about tisanes in which ginger is just one of compounds, like popular ginger & lemon tisane (ginger &lemon tea). Until then... enjoy your ginger tisane! :)


CHEERS!