How Ginger Helps Ease Anxiety & Creative Ways To Cook With It

Now more than ever, macronutrients (fats, carbs, and proteins) and micronutrients (minerals, vitamins, and phytochemicals) are topics of interest in neuropsychiatry, the branch of medicine that deals with mental disorders attributable to diseases of the nervous system.

The search for foods that balance brain chemistry and replenish neurotransmitters has produced the new interdisciplinary approach of nutritional neuroscience.

According to a report1 in the journal Nutrients: "From now on, psychobiotics, different animal foods, fruits, edible plants, roots, and botanicals will be seen as natural sources of neurotransmitters."

Ginger is a root vegetable that is well recognized as a form of herbal medicine. It is a member of the same plant family as cardamom and turmeric.

Ginger has benefits beyond flavoring your favorite stir-fry recipe or easing an upset stomach. In fact, ginger is purported to have a variety of powerful therapeutic and preventive benefits. There is clear evidence of the effectiveness of ginger as an antioxidant, anti-inflammatory agent2. It also may be helpful for treating nausea. Ginger is known to decrease markers of age-related oxidative stress3, such as inflammation, swelling, and pain, and has been used for thousands of years for the treatment of hundreds of ailments like these.

Animal studies have indicated that it can raise serotonin levels4 and, therefore, may reduce anxiety.

With its delightfully tangy and invigorating scent and flavor, ginger is one of the most commonly consumed dietary condiments in the world. The resin from its rhizomes (roots) contains many bioactive components, which is why this pungent ingredient is believed to produce a variety of remarkable pharmacological and physiological effects.

Interest in ginger has increased significantly in recent years. From scientific studies, we now know that ginger exerts its anti-inflammatory power by suppressing the action of COX-2, the enzyme responsible for swelling and pain, and inhibiting the biosynthesis of the inflammatory mediators prostaglandin and leukotriene5.