With its distinctively sweet and spicy flavor and pungent aroma, ginger stars in many of our favorite baked goods. While it lends a delicious flavor to cookies, cakes, and of course, gingerbread creations of all types — not to mention savory dishes from around the globe — ginger also has some beneficial properties that can help support your overall well-being.

An introduction to ginger

Ginger, or Zingiber officinale, is native to southeastern Asia. While the fresh above-ground stems of the ginger plant are used in some Asian dishes, it's ginger's fat, knobby rhizomes, or underground stems, that are most prized for eating and healing purposes.

Ginger can be used fresh, dried, ground, or preserved. It adds a zingy flavor to savory dishes like stir-fries and curries, and a warm, spicy element to tea, baked goods, and other sweet treats.

Health benefits of ginger

Anyone who has experienced nausea, vomiting, or upset stomach has probably either used ginger or had it suggested as a potential remedy. And for good reason: Ginger has a long history as an effective and safe treatment for nausea and vomiting, particularly when the symptoms are caused by pregnancy or chemotherapy treatment. Similarly, ginger is also effective at relieving bloating and intestinal gas as well as motion sickness.

Ginger's digestive health benefits are largely attributed to the presence of gingerol, a bioactive compound that boosts the rate at which food exits the stomach and moves through the digestive process.

While ginger is most often associated with relieving an upset stomach, it has anti-inflammatory properties that may also contribute to other health benefits. These include:

• Pain reduction: In a review published in Phytotherapy Research,researchers found that eating ginger or applying it to the skin could help alleviate pain and inflammation associated with premenstrual syndrome, muscle soreness after exercise, knee osteoarthritis, and migraine.
• Controlling inflammation associated with ulcerative colitis, Crohn's disease, rheumatoid arthritis, psoriasis, and lupus.

In addition, researchers are investigating whether therapeutic doses of ginger may have a protective effect on the heart and blood vessels.

Ginger powder

Ginger powder has similar health benefits to fresh ginger, but slightly less anti-inflammatory impact.

Ginger supplements

Ginger supplements have a similar nutritional profile to fresh ginger, although some of the nutrients, vitamins, minerals, and bioactive compounds may be reduced in supplement form.