Ginger Greatness: Can It Curb Your Appetite?

Pin It Now!

It’s a beautiful thought, but does eating ginger lead to your most wanted figure?  You know, that drop dead gorgeous body that you’ve been pining after?  A skinny you with ginger might be stretching the truth a bit too far, but cooking with ginger is still very pleasurable.  So are you cooking with ginger?  If not, then here are a few reasons to ginger up.

The word ginger immediately makes one think of herbal remedies based on this aromatic root for reducing symptoms of nausea.  Of great interest is the recent study published in Metabolism this year.  In this small study of 10 overweight men, a hot beverage consisting of 2g of ginger powder resulted in greater fullness and reduced feelings of hunger when consumed at breakfast.

It’s not earth shattering evidence but it’s not completely unattractive information either.  If you need to be enticed further, there is some chit chat in Malaysia as published in the British Journal of Nutrition that ginger may be useful in diabetes via its anti hyperglycaemic effect.

In the world of research involving rats, a study in Molecular Nutrition and Food Research in 2011 found that after 6 weeks of a diet consisting of ginger resulted in decreased adiposity or ‘fatness’.  The authors also concluded that ginger may have favourable effects on cholesterol and fatty acid metabolism but this work is excluded to mice only.

If you have found your new love for ginger then jump on board with these fabulous recipes that incorporate this spice.  See Chicken Curry Recipe and Sushila's Paneer Explosion. Ginger may seem spicy, but it actually creates lovely sweet & spicy aromas in dishes when cooked.  You can just as easily enjoy this in a cup of hot tea with breakfast.

Ginger Tea

¼ thumb sized piece of ginger, peeled and sliced into small pieces

½ teaspoon honey or brown sugar

1 tea bag

Directions

In a cup add ginger pieces, honey and tea bag.  Add boiling water and allow to brew for a minute.  Enjoy.

Purple Tip: You may wish to peel and chop your ginger in thumb sized pieces and freeze in re-sealable bags on the day of purchase.  This limits wastage and reduces prep time when you are ready to get your meal going in the evenings!  What a time saver!

Lovely readers what is your favourite way to cook with ginger?  Do comment below, I love hearing from you!