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Ginger as a Chinese Herb

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Ginger is something we are all mostly familiar with- whether it is as the main ingredient in ginger ale, or as that fibrous  root with the pale yellow color and spicy bite that lends its flavor to those delicious stir frys, Yum! Ginger makes a great additive to soy sauce or honey in marinades and can even be found as a sugary hard candy. But this root has a much deeper and richer history as a Chinese herbal remedy.

Ginger is known as Sheng Jiang in Chinese herbal medicine and if you’ve ever put a piece of fresh ginger root in your mouth, you instantly recognize that its classification as a pungent, warm herb is spot on.  In terms of what it treats, from a TCM point of view,it travels to the Lung, Spleen, and Stomach channels in the body and falls under the group of herbal medicines that are known to” Release the Exterior” in the case of  a pattern or illness called “Wind Cold Invasion”. The Lung channel is the first port of call for invasion by “Wind”….a Chinese term often equated with the bacteria or virus that cause the common cold. The Cold aspect of a” Wind Cold Invasion” indicates that the patient is suffering from a cold that doesn’t involve sweating and usually has a tongue with a white coating. By opening the pores i.e. (Release the Exterior) and inducing sweating, which ginger certainly can do, you theoretically expel the pathogens and can decrease the amount of time a patient is struggling with the cold symptoms! Makes sense huh??.

Ginger also travels to the Spleen and Stomach channels; two channels that have a great deal to do with digestion. This is where ginger’s Chinese herbal medicine actions correspond closely with how Western medicine might use this herb. Ginger is a great anti-nausea and anti-emetic, or anti-vomiting,  supplement. It is typically prescribed for nausea and vomiting related to motion sickness, pregnancy, or chemotherapy.  Several studies involving powdered ginger have shown promise for motion sickness and even for those that showed that ginger didn’t perform significantly different from the anti-nausea medications, it is important to remember that ginger won’t cause the drowsiness associated with those pharmacological meds. When prescribed for morning sickness in pregnancy, ginger performed well and women who took 1 gram a day for 4 days (short term use is recommended) felt less nauseous and didn’t vomit as much as those that didn’t. Of course, it is always recommended for pregnant women to speak with their doctor before starting any herbal therapy.

Another potential medical usage is found in the relief of joint pain from osteoarthritis. This joint pain would most likely be dull and achy in nature and improve when warmth is applied to the area. This indicates that the joint pain is classified as Cold. Thus the warming nature of ginger would help decrease the pain when taken internally.

It must be mentioned that despite the superior effects of ginger, too much of the spicy, warming herb can irritate the digestive tract. Perhaps this is why it is recommended that patients take it internally as a powdered pill or tea instead of as a raw herb and moderate its long term usage.

Luckily ginger is readily found. Many people that consume ginger regularly take a powdered preparation of the root. It can also be used freshly sliced and placed into a cup of hot water or tea. This is one of my favourites when Im feeling a cold coming on! Try it! Youll sweat, but stop the cold in its tracks!. It is a commonly used spice and if you dont already use it, go out and get some today! Its invaluable for so many things. Anybody got any good recipes out there?

Acupuncture for Morning Sickness

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Acupuncture treatment for morning sickness is one of the most effective treatments available in my clinic, and quite often the lady is led to its effectiveness  indirectly – by having had Acupuncture to assist her conception and Fertility!

Its often a surprise to hear that Acupuncture can help her deal with and eliminate the horrors of Morning Sickness.  Quite often the lady WANTS  to experience the Morning Sickness as PROOF that she is actually pregnant, especially if she has been trying for quite some time to enhance her Fertility and become pregnant. But for most women, it is a misery, and thus a pleasant surprise when they learn that Acupuncture can cure their Morning Sickness. Obviously for those of you who have experienced it, a pleasant surprise!

Morning Sickness occurs in about half of all pregnancies, and most often between the 6th and 16th weeks, with weeks 8 to 12 being the worst, although it is possible in the unlucky few for Morning Sickness to carry on for most of the pregnancy!

The degree to which symptoms present and their severity varies from person to person. For some it can be slight queasiness, or nausea which occurs at different times throughout the day (Morning Sickness??)! For others, symptoms can be very severe with violent vomiting, and an inability to digest any food however small, and in most cases not even water. Obviously this is quite critical, as it can lead to severe dehydration, and in some cases may require hospitalisation. This is a condition known as Hyperemesis Gravidarum, and is obviously very distressing for the mum to be. But the good news is, that despite the severity of the vomiting, the growing baby is not harmed in any way. Nature has put a Bypass in place, and it still stays snug and nourished in the mums womb!

But dont just take my word for it that Acupuncture can help Morning Sickness! Obviously Im biased!! But thankfully several scientific studies have shown that Acupuncture is very effective in treating Morning Sickness, as indeed I have found this to be the case in my own practice.

“Here comes the science”…as a well known add used to say!

A study undertaken in an Adelaide Maternity Hospital, Australia in 2002 was undertaken on 593 women who were less than 14 weeks pregnant, and experiencing nausea or vomiting. They were randomised into 4 groups: Traditional Acupuncture, Pericardium 6 (P-6) Acupuncture, (P-6 is an Acupuncture point which is the basis for the commercial “sea bands”. It is located approx 2 inches above the wrist crease between 2 tendons), Sham Acupuncture, or no Acupuncture (control).

Results showed that women receiving Traditional Acupuncture or P-6 Acupuncture, demonstrated less nausea and less dry retching, than those receiving Sham Acupuncture or no Acupuncture.

They concluded that Acupuncture for Morning Sickness treatment is an effective procedure for women who experience nausea and dry retching in early pregnancy.

Furthermore, The Journal of Reproductive Medicine 2001, published a study to evaluate the safety and effectiveness of P-6 for the relief of Nausea and Vomiting in early pregnancy. Both this study and a similar one conducted by Dundee et al Evans et al 1993, conclusively showed that proper stimulation of the Acupunctue point P-6 reduced Nausea and Vomiting in patients.

So the proof as they say is in the pudding which you obviously dont have any intention of eating because you are so sick!! But try Acupuncture for your Morning sickness and start feeling well again.

Call me Mairead Fahy, Gorey on   0539483155 or 0876452409 if you have any queries relating to your Fertility and / or Morning Sickness. Ill be happy to talk to you.