Malcolm Henry
Benjamin Franklin famously said “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure,” and it’s a statement we should all take to heart. After all, it’s easier and cheaper to ward off disease than it is to treat it.
There are numerous well-known benefits of a healthy diet. Some foods even have medicinal qualities that can not only stave off disease, but fight it if it crops up — and one basic spice rises head and shoulders above the others.
Ginger has been used for centuries to eliminate gastrointestinal discomfort, reduce inflammation, and fight nausea. And, according to a study published in the Journal of Food and Chemical Toxicology, “some pungent constituents present in ginger… exhibit cancer preventive activity in experimental carcinogenesis.” In other words, eating ginger may prevent cancer cells from developing in your body.
But the benefits don’t end there. Research suggests ginger has the power to kill colorectal, ovarian, and prostate cancer cells — and, unlike chemotherapy, it doesn’t harm healthy cells in the process. However, this doesn’t mean cancer patients should abandon medicine in favor of a ginger-heavy diet, as more studies are needed to prove ginger’s cancer-fighting power.
But adding more ginger to our diets certainly can’t hurt. Why not make a batch of gingerbread cookies?
(H/T: Health Online Central)
