The Health Benefits of Turmeric and Ginger.
There has been a lot of blogging about the health benefits of turmeric and ginger. These two roots are used in the Asian kitchen quite a lot. You can’t think of them not being used in the Asian diet. The taste of ginger is impressive, even in cakes and chocolate.
Turmeric is often used in curries, a mix of several spices mixed in Indian cuisine. It usually is combined with garlic in meals. I love the taste so much. It makes the meal orange/yellow.
What is Turmeric?
Turmeric belongs to the Ginger family, Zingiberaceae, called Curcuma longa; it is a flowering plant. The plant is native to the Indian Subcontinent and Southeast Asia, needing temperatures between 68 and 86 F( 20 and 30 C). Mostly the roots, rhizomes, are used for cooking. The powder has an orange-yellow color commonly used as a coloring and flavoring agent in many Asian cuisines if they are grounded. The taste is warm, bitter, and earthy, with a peppery flavor.
The plant Curcuma longa is also available in garden centers. You can buy them in different colors. I bought one that was purple, but I had difficulties keeping her. It has a beautiful flower.
What is Ginger?
Ginger is also a flowering plant with rhizomes; ginger is used as a spice or medicine. Her official name is Zingibar officinale. Turmeric and Ginger come from the same family, Zingiberaceae. The plant has its beginning in Southeast Asia but reached via Austronesian and the Indo-Pacific, Hawaii. The spice trade arrived in Europe and was used by ancient Greeks and Romans, peppers and cloves, and other spices. We can’t miss Ginger in Asian foods anymore. But it is used in many different cultures too.
What are the Health Benefits of Turmeric and Ginger?
Both spices come from the same family and have nearly the same benefits. Whereas Ginger is used as a natural painkiller, the anti-inflammatory compounds in both roots are unique and make them a superfood.
Ginger is used for centuries as natural pain relief. Curcumin is the anti-inflammatory compound in turmeric and Gingerol in Ginger, which helps relieve pain in arthritis and colitis and other inflammation in the body. They are often taken together because of the significant improvement in the body’s most inflammatory processes. Even doctors have recognized the healing ability of these powerful plants.
Rich in antioxidants, they help the body on a cellular base with detoxification by fighting oxidative radicals.
They may help prevent heart disease and cancer. This makes them together with garlic, chili and pepper, and onions, an excellent natural antibiotic. If you press these ingredients together and cover them with olive oil, you have a tincture, a natural antibiotic. If you suffer an infection or you have a cold, you could try the mix. They boost the immune system.
I used to take them in my smoothies and salad daily, and they amazingly healed my gut and whole body. But I am always for the entire body approach. That means that I consume many different nutrient-rich foods daily, all organic.
If you are suffering from any disease, always visit your doctor. These statements are not meant to replace your doctor.
The nutrients, antioxidants, and anti-inflammatory compounds are helping to improve brain and heart function. They may lower LDL cholesterol, known as the ‘bad” cholesterol, reducing heart disease and stroke conditions. Together with garlic, they are mighty! Tumeric and Ginger need to be taken daily if you want to have any effects.
What is better? – fresh or powdered?
I am always for real food, which means, in this case, a fresh root. It isn’t easy because every fruit or vegetable shipped from other countries is likely harvested unripe. They will have a reduced amount of nutrients.
Also, to receive health benefits, you need to include them in your diet daily. It is not difficult because I make my smoothies, and I love the taste. But for you, it might be challenging to consume these roots daily if you don’t like the taste.
If the processing of roots into powders is done gently, you will benefit more by taking a powder in capsules. The concentration is higher, so you will have the right amount to improve inflammation, infection, and pain. Also, the careful processing of the roots keeps all nutrients and antioxidants. That is an excellent way to receive the whole benefits of these plants.
I use them in my cooked meals, smoothies, teas, salads, and pure water, including a lemon. So I use quite a lot of ginger and turmeric in my diet.
If you get up in the morning, you could fill a glass of water, take the juice of half a lemon and some pressed ginger into your water, and drink this shortly after you left your bed. This helps your metabolism and cleanses your body.
Also, try to drink some Turmeric and Ginger milk or tea throughout the day. I love to drink coffee!
This milk is an excellent substitute for coffee.
Ingredients:
haver-, almond-,or cashew milk( it doesn’t matter, whatever you like. If you make tea, use water)
pressed piece of Turmeric and Ginger root
coconut blossom sugar
optional, some cloves or cardamom,
Put everything together and cook lightly; don’t boil the milk.
Take a sieve, pour the milk through the sieve, drink the milk warm. It is excellent in the winter. You could also put some cinnamon in the milk. The taste is fantastic! Try it every day; you will get addicted to the taste!
Final Thought
Ginger and Turmeric are very beneficial spices that support the body and the body’s healing process, diminishing inflammatory diseases. It is easy to include them in your daily diet. You could take them in capsules too if you don’t like the taste. But to consume them daily will improve your health very much. The health benefits are to be sought in the nutrients and the anti-inflammatory compounds like curcumin and gingerol.
I would like to hear what your thoughts are about Turmeric and Ginger. Did you use them? Please let me know! What are your experiences?
To your health,
Sylvia
6
20
20
20
This article was so awesome and enjoyable to read duo to it’s simplicity and readability. I personally like Turmeric and Ginger so this was a great and useful information for me. I will always go with fresh. It is a better thing for me, always. Thanks for this fantastic article and I wish you all the best.
Thank you very much! Yes, I try not to complicate everything. You are doing very well, what I can read here. You are on the right way. Fresh is really the best you can do! But if you have inflammation, it might be good to increase the concentration by taking a capsule.
Are you cooking with Ginger and Turmeric, or are you taking them with your smoothies?
This article resonates with me. I started to use Ginger and Tuneric more since the pandemic situation.
From my home country, using natural ingredients in every thing is a way of life for everyone.
Most people use ginger and other natural ingredients to blend and treat health ailments
Instead of visiting the hospital, people in my home country prefer to use a blend of ginger and other natural ingredients for everything that you can think of. That’s how much trust we have in these ingredients
I only started using tumeric in other things than making a curry dish, since researching its benefits. It has awesome benefits, much more than we are giving it credit for.
I love your recipe, even though this is the first time I’m hearing about ginger milk. I am curious to give it a try
Overall, this article was very informative, and it gives a lot of food for thought.
Thank you very much, Simone, for your thoughtful comment! You are so right! In other countries, they know about the efficiency of Turmeric and Ginger for centuries. And I even like the taste very much. Curry is a great dish. I love to eat Asian food very much, more than the German or Dutch cuisine which is similar to each other. The health benefits are really amazing. I thank you so much for your confirmation! Try the milk; it tastes so yummy! Please let me know how you like the milk.:)
Fabulous article Sylvia. I live in the Indian subcontinent and can totally vouch for these wonderful plants. They form a staple spice additive in Indian food, all day.
The Health Benefits of Turmeric and Ginger are well known and documented. They are in fact treated as medicines and not just spices and have confirmed medicinal properties. Both are extremely useful for increasing immunity within us, and must be taken, especially in these days of CORONA.
Thank u Sylvia. Regards,
Aparna
Thank you very much, Aparna! Yes, you know very well how beneficial Turmeric and Ginger are. I love Indian cuisine so much! You are very right; They are great for increasing immunity, which is so important these days! 🙂
It may sound weird but these are not staples in my kitchen, I rarely use either of them. However, this pandemic had me googling plants and their benefits more than anything else. I am not a fan of meds, otc or not, so I wanted to increase our immune system through natural alternatives. So glad I’ve found your blog, can’t wait to try your turmeric and ginger milk, it sounds so yummy!
Thank you, Vanessa, for your comment. I am glad you think about natural alternatives. Every person should strengthen their immune system and only take, for example, antibiotics when really needed. You will love this milk! I recommend drinking it very much! 🙂
I buy ginger root and for my turmeric I rely on powders, I find it works better for me since I almost never find turmeric root in stores near me. I have horrible period cramps and ginger tea seems to be the only thing to alleviate it besides tulsi tea.
Hi Cora, Thank you very much for your comment! You are right! Ginger is excellent for pain relief. Of course, you need to consume it regularly, and the best is raw in smoothies or salads. You can buy dried ginger in higher concentrations in capsules. For period cramps, it is good to use warmth; it will help to soothe the cramps.
I am ADDICTED to golden milk! Switched to a vegan diet four years ago and stumbled upon this recipe while browsing through Pinterest. Both plants are incredible but mixed with warm coconut milk and coconut oil you get the best of both worlds. My go-to drink, spring through winter and even my teenage daughter is into it now.
Hi Christine, Thank you very much! You are so right! It is easy to get “addicted” to this milk. 🙂 It tastes so delicious. And it is healthy!
Wow, I had no clue the health benefits of turmeric and ginger span through so many areas! Not a fan, I find their distinct taste hard on my palate but I guess this is all due to my very traditional, east-European diet.
Yes, I hear you, Bianca! You could put them into your smoothie with some sweet-tasting fruits. That is a good way to consume them. But there are possibilities to take them as a capsule. They are higher concentrated!