The Spicy Truth About Nausea and Ginger

Written by
Kimberly Lush

Are you pregnant?

Are you leaving the house with a sick bag? 

Does it take you an hour to get out of bed in the morning?  

Does the smell of food make you feel like vomiting? 

Are you questioning the effectiveness of ginger?

 

You’ll be happy to know that this isn’t just a myth! Research has found that ginger may help to relieve the symptoms and severity of morning sickness.

This is great news! 

 

Now for the important questions…how much do you need, and how should you take it?

There are over 30 phytochemicals in ginger that work together to improve gastric emptying (so that food isn’t just sitting in your stomach making you feel sick), and boost serotonin secretion in your brain to make you feel better! 

While the phytochemicals in ginger can help to improve nausea, they won’t decrease your risk of vomiting. 

Now, we do have to talk about the risks. Ginger acts as an anticoagulant – this means it reduces blood clotting. So, if you get a cut, your bleeding takes a while to stop. 

This is a particular concern for pregnant women who have a history of bleeding and clotting disorders, are close to labour, or are already taking anticoagulant medication. 

Moral of the story here is that ginger is safe!! But it’s important that you do not overconsume ginger! So be careful if you are taking supplements – make sure you read the label!

So how much is safe??

Up to 1000mg appears to be a good daily dose for nausea. 

250mg of ginger up to 4 times per day is a good way to take it. More isn’t always better, so if you’re taking a supplement, check the dosage! 

This 1000mg per day could also look like 1 teaspoon of freshly grated ginger or 4 cups of ginger tea.

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