What made me try raw ginger, you ask? Well, I have struggled with catching every germ in my close proximity my whole life. Sitting next to an ill child in my class back in school? I would come down with a cold by the end of the day. Visiting my GP to get my bloods done? I would pick up whatever illness was going around in the waiting room. So yes, I’m afraid I grew up to be one of those people who would change tube carriage if someone as much as sneezes.
See, there have always been many rogue ingredients in the murky cocktail that is my health. First, I was diagnosed with coeliac disease as a child, then thalassemia (a blood disorder affecting my haemoglobin which makes me tired), and most recently, bowel inflammation. All of this meant that my immune system was never up to scratch and even minor illnesses like cold would knock me out for weeks. But all of that changed last autumn when I reached for ginger. The golden root rendered what is usually a bedridden season for me into a time of robust immunity.
Can knocking back a shot of ginger really be life changing?
My best friend has been going off about the effects of ginger on immunity for years now, but I always thought it was just another fad. (Sorry, Kara, I should always listen to you.) But last year, I was determined to try something new instead of just bringing my mask everywhere.
My experience with raw ginger
I started my first week with ginger shots and the tiny bottles of the cloudy yellow liquid were an absolute game-changer. On the fourth night of my ginger-fuelled week, I started coming down with a cold. But instead of developing full-blown symptoms, I woke up feeling just mildly fatigued the next day. Plus, any feelings of blocked sinuses were instantly relieved with my daily dose of ginger. For the first time in my life, I experienced the mildest cold ever and felt better within two days - which felt absolutely revolutionary.
I was sold but I found ginger shots a tad too expensive, so I decided to go straight to the main ingredient - ginger root. I’ll admit it’s definitely less pleasant to take (yes, I’m talking about the intense fiery sensation that coats my mouth with a hellish wave), but it seemed to work just the same. All I do is cut off a small chunk of the root and weigh it to ensure I’ve got five grams of peeled ginger ready to take. Then, I just get it down me as quickly as possible, repeating this process once more later in the day, so I can get to 10 grams in total (the amount used in commercial ginger shots varies between 10 to 15 grams).
Halfway through three months of knocking back tiny pieces of the spicy plant, my newfound immunity was really put to the test when a friend, who was staying with me for a few nights, got really ill. She was coughing everywhere in my one-bedroom flat but I still managed to stay virus-free.
In fact, I didn’t catch anything until January when I stopped eating ginger daily because I went on a two-week holiday. Once I got back to London and my stash, my immunity was miraculously back to its full strength.
It’s been over a year now and my religious ginger routine got disrupted every now and then during my six-month travels, but whenever I munch on the golden chunks, I seem to be invincible. I’ve been back in Europe for five weeks now and around a lot of ill people, yet I’ve managed to stay healthy. And this is the first autumn when I felt brave enough to leave my mask at home. So yes, I swear by the stuff.
What are the benefits of raw ginger?
Clearly, I feel like I’ve discovered the best thing since sliced bread, but the science can also back ginger up. Ginger offers both antiviral and antibacterial properties, which can help support your immune system during the winter months, as Reema Pillai, plant-based dietitian at Dietitian Fit, told us.
Plus, ginger can also help dampen inflammation levels which could further benefit your immunity. “Gingerol is an anti-inflammatory compound found in ginger, which has been shown to reduce pro-inflammatory markers, which can otherwise negatively influence our immune function,” Pillai explained. “If we have chronic inflammation, this can increase the risk of certain illnesses and can weaken the immune response.”
She also noted that ginger could come in handy once you are already ill. “Although there is no evidence that ginger can speed up the recovery once you are unwell, it can support your immune system to fight the bacteria or virus, as well as helping to reduce the severity of symptoms,” Pillai said.
What’s more, the dietitian shared that side effects of consuming ginger daily “would be rare”. But she cautioned that some people may experience mild heartburn or stomach pain. “If this is the case, it would be good to reduce quantity overall or reduce frequency,” Pillai added.
How to incorporate ginger into your diet otherwise
While I’m a bit of a freak and happy to chew on the raw stuff to save money and time, Pillai shared numerous ways you could sneak the powerful root into your diet:
- Chop up fresh ginger for stir-fries, soups, curries, dahls, fish or meats.
- Grate the root into marinades and salad dressings.
- Make your own batch of ginger shots.
- Season sweet dishes such as porridge or overnight oats with the aromatic plant.
I drank chia seeds in water every day for a month – the benefits were instant.
