Ginger: remedial root

After the chocolate chip cookie post, and before I do a post about the amazing meal that my brother prepared for our recent ‘wedding’ dinner feast, I think it would be appropriate to introduce all of you to something that can help process all this rich food. The first time I took a ginger shot, it was like I’d stepped for a brief moment into a flame bath: a wave of heat swept me from heat to toe and made me squeek “whoo!” Sometimes in this modern world of pill-popping, we don’t realize (through sheer lack of experience) how powerful a simple, natural remedy can be.

ginger & lemon for Vata

Ginger is one that will get your attention and make you think twice about natural medicine, if you’re a skeptic or just new to holistic living. You really know there must be something…LOTS…to it, once you taste it straight. I met someone yesterday who said that sadly, in all his life, he’d never tasted ginger before (at least not straight; I’m sure he’d had it in Chinese or British Indian restaurants, though the dishes might have been too heavily spiced to discern subtleties). He couldn’t wait to buy some on the way home.

I’m a bit sensitive to ginger. Recently, on a week-long holiday in the Lake District, I was taking a thin slice of ginger before lunch and dinner. The slices gradually increased in size as the week went on, accompanied by honey (one of the very few sweet substances that is heating and aggravates Pitta). Sure enough, a week later, any bit of ginger sent me hiccoughing through the roof. I’m very predominantly Pitta, with moderate Vata and low Kapha. For someone like me, ginger really isn’t necessary on a regular basis, unless you were indulging the way I was in Cumbria: much more cheese, wheat, peanut butter, cake, etc. than usual. By the time we got back, I didn’t need extreme eating coupled with powerful remedies, I needed the soft gray happy-medium of soothing kitchari (posting on this to come soon). What I’m saying is, you might be this way too, so listen to your body, its needs and reactions. You also might really need ginger, so give it a go.

Dry ginger is best for Kapha (damp, heavy, cool, mucousey qualities and characteristics, and climates). I sprinkle dry ginger on tapioca, yoghurt, and other slimy cool substances. That creates balance and helps digest things that might otherwise weigh you down. Fresh ginger is wonderful for Vata because of the wetness- it’s less stimulating than the dry powder, which is subtle and penetrating in comparison. Fresh is also best for Pitta in small quantities, especially if it’s cooked with other foods to take the edge off.

In this Kapha-laden place called England, ginger has become a very good friend. I simmer slices in water on the stove and sip it as a tea in the autumn, winter and spring when my Vata goes up and my circulation goes down (ginger is known to increase circulation). I stick my head over the pot and inhale the steam to get some in my lungs. I toss in other spices to make a delicious chai tea. I drink it with lemon and add honey after cooling a bit when I have a cold.

In looking through my Ayurvedic notes, here are some things that ginger has been recommended for: Colds, flus, headache, lung phlegm, joint and muscle pain, improves appetite, enhances joy and creativity (love that last one). You can make a paste with aloe gel (equal parts; use a mortar and pestle to pound and grind the ginger to a paste) and apply to the head for headaches or face for toothaches. Ginger helps to burn toxins in the body; what this means is that any undigested foodstuff that remains in the intestines and colon (and other tissues for that matter) due to improper food combining, nervousness while eating, quick eating without chewing or various other habits, can be reduced by incorporating fresh and cooked ginger to your diet.

Pickled Ginger for Digestion

2 inches fresh ginger root (peeling is optional)
enough fresh-squeezed lime juice to cover: 1 or 2 limes
two pinches of rock salt

If you are a Vata or don’t like the idea of eating ginger peel, then take a metal spoon and gently scrape the peel off the ginger. Using the edge of a spoon is a great way to peel ginger: you don’t lose any of the meat, it’s fast, easy and more effective than the sharpness of a knife, and the rounded end of the spoon lets you get into the nooks and crannies. Slice the ginger in pieces that are about the size of a US quarter or a UK 10p piece. Put them in a small glass jar with the rock salt (sea salt is okay). Take the lime and roll it on the cutting board firmly to soften the juice pods inside. Place it with one end facing you and the other pointing away; slice, not down the middle, but just to one side of the points; slicing the citrus down the side like this is the best way to access more juice. Continue slicing and squeezing lime juice into the ginger jar until pieces are coated and covered. Cover with a lid; you can store this in your refrigerator for a long time. The lime juice preserves naturally.

Eat one slice of ginger 20 minutes before lunch or dinner, depending on your needs, or before eating things like ice cream, creme brulee, cheese, improper food combinations (if you have some special decadent occasion coming up), or if you’ll be eating desert at the end of your meal (thereby putting something sweet and heavy on top of the rest of your meal in your stomach; imagine dumping water on your digestive fire…that explains the heavy feeling after this kind of meal!).

For Vata, add a bit more salt or honey to your ginger
For Pitta, add agave nectar, maple syrup or other unrefined sugar
For Kapha, add honey

Happy digesting!