Aunts can be very wise.
They are frequently maligned, but they can provide great wisdom, encouragement, and stuff your parents could never let you have, like a cotton candy sandwich.
Ten years ago, I’d just bought a house on my own, was working fourteen-hour days on a high-profile project, and a good friend was dying of incurable cancer. Within three months, my central nervous system went into a tailspin, and my main symptom was daily, severe, unrelenting nausea.
“Ginger tea,” Aunt Bettie suggested. “Works wonders.”
I’d never heard of such a thing, but decided that at worst, it would be harmless, and I picked up a box of Lipton Ginger Twist Herbal Tea at the grocery store. The next morning, I tried it out. Whoa. My nausea didn’t disappear, but it did recede for the first time in months.
I got curious about the tuber and read up. It seems that ginger root in many forms has been used for thousands of years to treat nausea, the common cold, and even menstrual cramps. Who knew? Well, Aunt Bettie did.
Although my nervous system has more or less righted itself, my addiction to ginger tea remains. In the morning I push the cat off my face, roll out of bed, and stagger downstairs for the thing that keeps me going, my morning cup. My grocery store no longer carries the Lipton brand, so I go out of my way to get Yogi Tea at Whole Foods. This is a bit more peppery than Lipton, but is stronger, and I love it.
What’s next? Some people make their own out of ground ginger, or ginger juice. Sounds good to me! Aunt Bettie will approve, I know. In fact, she’ll probably want me to make some for her, too.
We carry a ginger mate and a ginger peach black tea and one other I believe..escapes me right now. I really enjoy ginger and like the ying yang of ginger with various sweeteners (not as healthy). We have a gentleman who comes by often for a very stronger brew of ginger mate.
And an iced ginger and strawberry drink we do is very popular as well.
Today, I ordered an iced green tea from a regional chain while off for a day in the desert, a chain which purports to do well by loose leaf tea. I watched in horror as the barista loaded a clump of loose leaf into the espresso machine portafilter and proceeded to scald it into bitterness, then pour the resulting shot of concentrated bitter tea over tiny ice cubes, melting every one of them, and handed me a cold-ish glass of bitter, watered down tea with absolutely no ice left in the glass. $2.00 for 12 oz.
Tea Shops: WE CAN DO BETTER THAN THIS! Let’s show them how it’s done!! :)
Which reminds me: Tomorrow the “Tea Time at Starbucks’ promotion begins.
Onward and upward!
Don’t you just love it when a simple tea does the trick. There are so many wonderful plants and herbs out there. I’m hoping, given the pathetic state of our health care system, that more and more people will try centuries old health remedies. Most seem to be quite effective. No prescription needed. Thanks for reminding us.
Thanks Connie. Ginger is one of the great medicinal herbs of the world. Although it is wonderful for nausea, whether associated with motion sickness, pregnancy or chemotherapy, it also has many other powerful benefits. One of the most significant is its anti-inflammatory effects. It is great for arthritis and other chronic inflammatory conditions. There is evidence of anti-cancer effects as well as cardiac benefits, including lowering cholesterol and blood thinning to prevent clotting. I think that probably the main cardiac benefit comes from its anti-inflammatory effects, now that we know that inflammation is a key factor in heart problems. It is also great for colds and used in a poultice or an oil of ginger for joint pain. Ginger tisane should be a regular beverage in everyone’s diet.
The best way to drink your ginger is to buy it fresh at a health food store that sells organic produce and spices. Buy as big a root as you think you will use up in a period of time (it will dry up over time). I would also recommend buying a ginger grater. These can be found in Chinese or Indian food stores and are just small, ceramic dishes will small bumps on the surface and created on a slant with a little well at the bottom. You break off a section of the root, take the edge of a spoon and scrape off the skin and then rake it across the raised bumps on the grater. It will produce juice that drips down into the well. Prepare a cup of hot water and then pour off the fresh juice into the water. Just try a small amount at first to test your tolerance level for the amount of spiciness. You can increase or decrease to taste. You can also use a regular fine cheese grater and just take the pulp that is produced and squeeze out the juice into your cup of hot water.
An alternative is to use an herbal alcohol tincture of ginger. Another easy, and fun, way to carry ginger around with you when you go out is to keep some ginger candy in your bag. It is especially good as an after meal digestive aid.
Whatever you wind up doing, ginger can be another powerful natural health aid, in addition to drinking tea regularly. Enjoy.
This was a delightful post, well written and humorous. I knew it had anti-inflammatory properties, but nausea? I’m going to try this.
Ginger is also said to cleanse and tone the gastro-intestinal system and is supposed to have some antibiotic properties.