Ginger

The use of natural herbs and plants in the kitchen and health has long been known. Many natural herbs which serve as important food ingredients also serve as medicinal commodities. One of those herbs is Ginger itself. Ginger, scientifically named as Gingiber officinale, is a herb whose rhizome is used essentially as a kitchen ingredient and also as a medicine. Originating from southern China, it was spread eventually to the Spice Islands. After that it reached other parts of Asia and finally to West Africa and The Caribbean. Ginger got to Europe through India as a result of a spice trading tradition. India is at present probably the largest producer of Ginger.

How should you take Ginger for Candida?

Recently researches have started to investigate the potency of ginger as an antifungal; in fact many researchers have established proof that ginger has a potent antifungal role. Ginger seems to have several ingredients which serve as antifungals. Most important of these ingredients are shagelol and gingerol which act as active antifungals. Ginger also boosts the immune system adding to the overall protection against all microbes. To back this claim up with some proof, let us look at two researches.

Recently an in vitro experiment was successfully conducted and was published in Journal of Dental Sciences and Research. In this experiment, colonies of Candida albicans were cultured in the laboratory, and were injected with increasing quantities (1g, 2g and 4g) of ginger extracts treated with ethanol and their effect on the colonies as studied over a period of 24 to 48 hours. Simple ethanol injection into the colonies was used as a control. After 24 hours it was observed that all the solutions containing ginger had a maximum inhibitory effect on the Candida colonies. Also their effect was more potent than ethanol injected alone.

How does Ginger for Candida work?

Traditional uses for ginger include motion sickness, nausea during pregnancy, chronic inflammation and a low immune system. However, in recent years researchers have begun to investigate the use of ginger extract as an antifungal. In fact, several research studies have looked specifically at ginger’s effect on Candida Albicans.

A study published in the Journal of Dental Sciences and Research attests to the potential benefits of ginger as an antifungal. The study was performed in vitro and used colonies of Candida albicans cultured in a laboratory. Several cultures were placed and inoculated on sterile filter plates and incubated at 37 degrees Celsius for 48 hours. The test was performed in order to see if three different concentrations of ginger powder (1g, 2g and 4g) dissolved in 99.9% pure ethanol had any impact on the fungal colonies. The same 99.9% ethanol solution without ginger powder was used as a control.

The effects of all the solutions were verified after 24 and 48 hours. All the solutions demonstrated the maximum inhibitory effect at the 24-hour mark. It was also evident that all three different concentrations of ginger powder had a more significant effect on the cultures than ethanol alone. The 4g (highest) concentration performed the best, as you would expect.