Ginger for colds
Why is ginger useful in the SARS season, how to use it correctly and in what cases the product is contraindicated – we understand together with an expert

Ginger is one of the most ancient spices. It comes from the ginger family, which includes turmeric, cardamom, and galangal. Ginger contains many active substances that help with diseases and strengthen the immune system. 

On sale, ginger can be found in different forms: pickled, ground, fresh. There is ginger oil and an extract from the root. But if you need to make the most of the healing effect of this plant, for example, with viral diseases, fresh ginger roots are recommended. How to use ginger for a cold? Dealing with nutritionist Irina Yablonskaya.

Is it possible to drink ginger with a cold

Even in the ancient Eastern treatises on medicine, ginger is mentioned as an antipyretic tonic, antiseptic. Tea with ginger root helps to warm up and alleviate the symptoms of the disease. In addition, ginger is a source of vitamins and minerals, useful as a general tonic. It contains a large amount of vitamin C, B vitamins, calcium, iron, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, zinc and others. (one)

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When buying ginger, if you have a choice, go for the denser, harder, heavier roots. Dryish, shriveled, rotten are not suitable for consumption.

What can you drink ginger with a cold

Ginger with honey

The taste of ginger may seem too tart and spicy. Honey will help smooth out these sensations, make the taste of the spicy root softer and more pleasant. In addition, both products in themselves are of great value as a cold remedy, and together they are even stronger. Ginger and honey can be combined in the preparation of tea, or you can prepare a ginger-lemon mixture, which during the treatment can be taken every day after breakfast in a teaspoon.

ginger tea for colds

Ginger tea is considered an express remedy for the first symptoms of a cold. It warms, helps to sweat, so after such a drink it is better not to go outside. For healing tea, it is better to use fresh ginger root, rather than dried powdered ginger. First, the therapeutic effect of the fresh root is much stronger. Secondly, the powder added to tea does not have the same taste and aroma. Save it as a spice for cooking.

Ginger with lemon for colds

A mixture of lemon and ginger is prepared for the future for the winter. But honey is almost always added to it (less often sugar) to soften the taste. It is recommended at the first signs of a cold and as a means of prevention.

It’s important

Ginger has antipyretic, analgesic, expectorant and diaphoretic properties. It is a good antiseptic that kills harmful bacteria and prevents inflammation. (2)

How to cook ginger for a cold

Ginger with honey

For 1 medium ginger root, take 2 teaspoons of honey. Peel the root, rinse with running water, grate on a fine grater (you can scroll through a meat grinder with a fine grate). Transfer the chopped ginger to a jar, add honey, mix. Close the lid, store in the refrigerator. But not more than one week. If lemon is added to the mass, then it can be stored for up to a month. 

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In the root of ginger, nutrients are closer to the skin, so it is advisable to cut it as thin as possible.

ginger tea for colds

There are several options. The simplest is when only ginger is brewed. But the therapeutic effect can be enhanced by various useful additives.

  • Lemon and honey. A few slices of lemon with zest are added to the finished tea, and so that it is not too sour, honey is added.
  • Cinnamon, cloves, cardamom – this oriental version is used for barking cough, when phlegm is difficult to separate. Spices are added in a teaspoon each, boiled for 10-15 minutes, and removed from heat, fresh lemon juice and sugar are added.
  • Rose hip. For brewing, it is better to use a thermos, because rose hips are brewed for a very long time.
  • Raspberry. Enhances the antipyretic effect. But it is raspberries or leaves that are added to ginger tea, but not jam.
  • Milk and badger fat. Recommended for severe wet cough. Milk is heated in a water bath, put in it ginger, a little badger fat and honey. Dilute with warm tea in a ratio of 1: 1.
  • Mint or Melissa. It is believed that these herbs have the most harmonious combination with ginger.

How to make ginger tea

Basic option: for 0,5 l of water we take a piece of ginger root 2-3 cm long, clean it, chop it with a knife. Put in a teapot, add a pinch of black or green tea, leave for 15 minutes under the lid. The tea is ready to drink.

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No need to clean the whole root. Break off a small piece that you will be brewing now, clean it. Pack the rest tightly (it dries quickly) and put in the refrigerator. The beneficial properties of ginger are not destroyed even with prolonged freezing. Therefore, you can store it in the freezer, cut into portioned pieces or whole.

Popular questions and answers

How to take ginger for a cold?

Ginger tea is drunk hot or warm, but in no case cooled down.

Is it possible to drink ginger with a cold with a temperature?

For all its benefits, ginger is contraindicated at body temperatures above 38 degrees.

Can pregnant women drink ginger tea for a cold?

Everything depends on the time frame. Ginger is not recommended for pregnant women in the later stages because of its ability to thin the blood, which is fraught with the development of bleeding. In the first trimester, it can help not only with colds, but also as a remedy that will help to cope with bouts of nausea and vomiting during toxicosis. But in this regard, it is still better to first consult a doctor. And ginger is completely contraindicated if the expectant mother has a history of hypertension, bleeding disorders, stomach or duodenal ulcers, cholelithiasis.

Can children drink ginger for a cold?

Maybe after two years. To prevent the child from being repelled by the burning taste of ginger, you can make the drink less concentrated, and to soften the taste, put apple peel during the brewing process. Ginger tea is especially useful for a runny nose and dry cough.

By the way, in the room where a sick child sleeps, you can clean the air with ginger essential oil. Put a few drops of oil on a hot saucer and place it next to the child’s bed.

Who is contraindicated for ginger?

People with gastritis, colitis and enterocolitis, stomach ulcers, diverticulitis in the acute stage should not use ginger. The spicy root is dangerous because it irritates the stomach. In a state of remission, the use of ginger in the form of non-concentrated solutions is allowed.

People with diseases of the cardiovascular system should be careful with ginger. Eating large amounts of it can lead to spikes in blood pressure and increase the risk of heavy bleeding.

Due to oxalates (salts of oxalic acid), ginger is not recommended for people with kidney disease.

An overdose of ginger can cause diarrhea, heartburn, intestinal disorders and allergic swelling in the mouth, even in healthy people. (3)

Sources of

  1. Instrumental methods in the study of the component composition of biologically active substances of ginger. Scientific statements. 2010. URL: http://dspace.bsu.edu.ru/bitstream/123456789/914/1/Gabruk%20N.G.%20Identification%20of%20biologically.pdf
  2. Ginger. Chemistry and life. 2012 No. 11. URL: https://hij.ru/read/1402/
  3. The benefits and harms of ginger. Rospotrebnadzor. URL: http://13.rospotrebnadzor.ru/content/polza-i-vred-imbirya

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