The benefits of red ginger to maintain a healthy body and overcome various diseases have been known for thousands of years. Thanks to the content of natural substances and compounds in it, this one spice is widely used as traditional herbal medicine.
Red ginger is one of the herbal plants that has many benefits and is widely grown in Asia, including Indonesia. When compared to regular ginger, red ginger has a slightly stronger and spicy taste and aroma.
Various Benefits of Red Ginger
Most of the benefits of red ginger come from the content of essential oils or essential oils and the various bioactive compounds in them, such as gingerol, shogaols, and paradols. The content of essential oils and bioactive compounds in red ginger is slightly higher than white ginger.
In addition to working as antioxidants, these bioactive compounds also act as anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, antifungal, and anticancer properties. Ginger also contains substances that can relieve pain and fever naturally.
Thanks to its many properties, it's no wonder that red ginger is widely used as herbal medicine to treat various diseases. Here are some of the benefits of red ginger that are important for you to know:
1. Reduce nausea
Herbal teas or herbs made from red ginger have been known for a long time to treat various digestive problems, such as stomach pain, nausea, flatulence, and constipation.
Apart from being in the form of herbal teas, red ginger extract in the form of herbal supplements can also help reduce nausea due to certain conditions, such as side effects of drugs and chemotherapy, motion sickness, or morning sickness which is often experienced by pregnant women.
Although red ginger is safe for consumption, pregnant women should first consult a gynecologist before regularly consuming red ginger drinks.
2. Maintain oral health
Red ginger is also considered good for consumption to help maintain healthy teeth and mouth. This is thanks to the content of bioactive compounds in it called gingerol.
Several studies have stated that gingerol has antibacterial, antifungal, and antiviral effects that can fight bacteria, fungi, and viruses that cause disease in the mouth, especially bacteria that cause gum disease (periodontitis) and inflammation of the gums (gingivitis).
3. Maintain endurance
Red ginger is believed to help keep the immune system strong, so the body can be stronger to ward off bacterial and viral infections that cause disease.
Red ginger extract also has a natural anti-inflammatory and fever-reducing effect. Therefore, this herbal plant is good for consumption to support the recovery process when you are sick, for example when you have a cold.
4. Relieves pain
The next benefit of red ginger is that it can relieve pain, such as headaches, toothaches, and joint and muscle pain. Some research also states that red ginger extract can help reduce joint pain due to arthritis (osteoarthritis).
This benefit is thought to be due to the natural anti-inflammatory and pain-relieving substances contained in red ginger.
5. Relieves menstrual pain
In addition to relieving joint and muscle pain, the anti-inflammatory effect of red ginger can also help relieve severe menstrual pain. In fact, there is research that says that the potential benefits of red ginger are almost as effective as pain relievers, such as paracetamol and ibuprofen.
For women who often experience menstrual pain, you can try consuming herbs or herbal teas from red ginger for approximately 3 days with a dose of 2 cups per day.
6. Inhibits the growth of cancer cells
Red ginger is known to have anticancer and antioxidant properties that can inhibit the growth of several types of cancer cells, such as colon cancer, stomach cancer, breast cancer, and prostate cancer.
However, the benefits of red ginger cannot replace the role of other cancer treatments, such as surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation therapy. Until now, more research is needed to prove the benefits of red ginger as an effective cancer drug.
In addition to the various benefits of red ginger above, this plant can also help lower blood sugar and cholesterol, control blood pressure, and reduce the risk of heart disease.
Although the effectiveness of red ginger still needs to be investigated further, there is nothing wrong with making this spice one of your daily healthy foods or drinks.
If you want to consume red ginger that has been packaged in powder form or herbal supplements, choose a product that has been tested for safety and has a distribution permit from BPOM.
If you want to use red ginger to treat certain diseases, you should first consult with your doctor, yes.