The International Journal of Food Sciences and Nutrition
recently published a study which reports that ginger could be the new
alternative therapy for the prevention of diabetes and its side effects.
According to a different study published in the American
Diabetes Association’s journal Diabetes Care, ginger belongs to the same family
(Zingiberacea) as turmeric, another spice with numerous medicinal properties,
and it has only recently been proven to be 100% efficient in inhibiting the
onset of
The new ginger study, titled “The effect of ginger
consumption of glycemic status, lipid profile and some inflammatory markers in
patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus,” involved 70 type 2 diabetic patients
in a double-blinded, placebo-controlled clinical trial, which was aimed at
evaluating the influence of ginger consumption on glycemic status, lipid
profile and some common inflammatory markers linked to this condition.
In the study, the participants were divided randomly into
two groups – a ginger group and control group. The first group was given 1600mg
ginger, whereas the second 1600mg placebo every day for 3 months. Several
parameters including blood sugar levels, blood lipids, C-reactive protein,
prostaglandin E2 and tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNFα) were measured in the
patients before and after the experiment.
The results of the study revealed that ginger treatment
drastically lowered the following parameters in comparison to the placebo
group:
Fasting plasma glucose
HbA1C (aka glycated hemoglobin) – a measurement of how much
damage is caused to red blood cells in the body by sugars, as well as how much
damage is caused to the body by chronically elevated blood sugar
Insulin
HOMA (the homeostatic model assessment) – which measures
insulin resistance and beta-cell function (the pancreatic cells that produce
insulin)
Triglycerides
Total cholesterol
C-reactive protein (CRP) – a marker of inflammation
Prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) – a marker of inflammation
There were no substantial differences in HDL, LDL and TNFα
between the two groups (p > 0.05).
The study concluded:
“Ginger improved insulin sensitivity and some fractions of
lipid profile, and reduced CRP and PGE2 in type 2 diabetic patients. Therefore
ginger can be considered as an effective treatment for prevention of diabetes
complications.”
How Much Was Used?
As for the amount of ginger used in the study, the subjects
were given two doses of 800mg, delivered twice a day, in the form of capsules.
This amounted to 1.6 grams, which in culinary terms equals about ¼ teaspoon. In
addition, it was found that higher doses does of complex plant extracts within
the spice category are not always better, and in some cases, can even produce
counter-effects. Namely, this study discovered that rosemary at a lower dose
(750mg) improved cognition while a higher dose (6,000mg) hampered it. To
conclude, lower doses, such as used traditionally in cooking, passed down to us
for generations as ‘recipes’ (literally: ‘medical prescriptions’), are in fact
more health beneficial than higher ones.
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