Ginger intake can cure motion sickness
Whether on a ship, in a car or on an airplane, most people have experienced the miseries of motion sickness. While the cause is always the same — conflicting sensory signals going to the brain — the list of potential remedies is vast. One of the oldest, ginger, is among those backed by the most evidence; several studies have found it effective against nausea from seasickness and other conditions.
A study in the journal Lancet involved 36 people highly susceptible to motion sickness. The researchers had the subjects take either two capsules of powdered ginger, an anti-nausea medication or a placebo, and then, 20 minutes later, spin on a motorized chair for up to six minutes. Taking ginger delayed the onset of sickness about twice as long as taking the medication. The study also found that half the subjects who took ginger lasted the full six minutes, compared with none of those given the placebo or the medication.
A study by Danish scientists looked at 80 naval cadets prone to seasickness and found that those given one gram of ginger powder suffered less in a four-hour period then those given a placebo.
Precisely how ginger works is unclear, but at least one study suggested that one of its active compounds, 6-gingerol, enhances “gastrointestinal transport.”
THE BOTTOM LINE
Ginger has been shown to be effective in treating the nausea associated with motion sickness.
scitimes@nytimes.com
Source: The New York Times
A study in the journal Lancet involved 36 people highly susceptible to motion sickness. The researchers had the subjects take either two capsules of powdered ginger, an anti-nausea medication or a placebo, and then, 20 minutes later, spin on a motorized chair for up to six minutes. Taking ginger delayed the onset of sickness about twice as long as taking the medication. The study also found that half the subjects who took ginger lasted the full six minutes, compared with none of those given the placebo or the medication.
A study by Danish scientists looked at 80 naval cadets prone to seasickness and found that those given one gram of ginger powder suffered less in a four-hour period then those given a placebo.
Precisely how ginger works is unclear, but at least one study suggested that one of its active compounds, 6-gingerol, enhances “gastrointestinal transport.”
THE BOTTOM LINE
Ginger has been shown to be effective in treating the nausea associated with motion sickness.
scitimes@nytimes.com
Source: The New York Times
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