Ginger Root

What Is Ginger Root?

Ginger is the rhizome of Zingiber officinale — an underground stem rather than a true root, though everyone calls it one. It has moved along spice routes for thousands of years. This is the whole rhizome, ground and capsuled, at 550 mg per serving.

How It Works in the Body

Ginger's heat comes from gingerols, a family of pungent oily compounds, with 6-gingerol the most abundant in the fresh rhizome. Drying turns gingerols into shogaols, which are sharper. Cooking takes them further still, to mild, faintly sweet zingerone. Fresh, dried and cooked ginger genuinely are not the same material.

In the body these compounds act at the gut wall, where they influence the pace of normal stomach emptying and the flow of digestive juices.

What It Supports

• Normal digestion: Gingerols and shogaols act on the stomach and gut wall, so ginger supports normal digestive function.
• A culinary carminative: Ginger is the classic spice taken after a heavy meal, from India to China to northern Europe.
• Phenolic chemistry: Gingerols are phenols, the same broad class as the antioxidant molecules in tea and olive oil.
• The whole rhizome: This is ground ginger rather than an isolated fraction, so it carries the full spread of gingerols and volatile oils.

Who It May Suit

It suits people who like ginger but do not cook with it daily, and anyone who wants the whole spice rather than a standardized extract. The capsule is plant-based, so it fits vegetarian and vegan eating.

Good To Know

Ground rhizome is a food-grade material and tastes like it — some people notice warmth in the stomach. Talk with your healthcare provider before use if you take a blood thinner, if you have gallstones, or if you are pregnant, since ginger slows platelet clumping and prompts the gallbladder to release bile.