Ginger: It’s Not Just for Nausea Any More

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You may be familiar with using ginger for nausea, motion sickness, morning sickness and upset stomach. And it is wonderful for all those things. I take ginger and turmeric capsules for minor muscular aches and pains and it works better than pain relievers for me.

I just read some interesting research that compares powdered ginger to the leading prescription migraine drug, sumatriptan (Imitrex). This is big news!

It is estimated that approximately 37 million people in the U.S. experience migraine headaches. Migraine.com says:

“Some migraine studies estimate that 13 percent of adults have migraines and about 2 to 3 million suffer from chronic attacks. Also, almost 5 million people experience at least one migraine attack per month.”

That is a lot of people affected and being able to use food rather than a drug with negative side effects is a great option. A double-blind randomized controlled clinical trial put ginger up against Imitrex,  one of the world’s top-selling migraine remedies. Amazingly, researchers discovered that a quarter-teaspoon of ginger worked just as fast (in about two hours) and just as effectively.

Often people think an expensive drug has to be more effective than just food, but keep in mind, pharmaceuticals are huge money makers and researchers are willing to do these in-depth trials. Ginger is inexpensive, readily available and safe, so there’s no money to be made here.

Immitrex and other migraine drugs work by constricting blood vessels as well as blocking pain pathways in the brain. While it brings about almost immediate relief for many patients, headache recurs in almost 40% of people within 24 hours after taking the drug.

Minor side effects include nausea, dizziness, drowsiness and muscle weakness as well as the possibility of more serious side effects such as coronary artery spasms, heart attacks, stroke, abnormal heart beats and seizures. I’d say that makes ginger definitely worth considering before resorting to a dangerous drug.

Would you try ginger for a migraine before using a drug based on this information?

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