How ginger shots, trending on social media, improve well-being, from fighting colds, flu and nausea to boosting immunity
- Ayurvedic practitioners have used the versatile ginger root for centuries to help fight nausea, period and arthritis pain, asthma and weight gain
- Social media pushed ginger shots into the spotlight, and claims that ginger helps prevent heart disease, diabetes – even cancer – are backed up by science
Check out the ginger shots on supermarket and health store shelves these days. The intensely flavoured ginger juice concentrate, brimming with natural goodness and medicinal properties, is also a hit at juice bars and restaurants.
Celebrities who are fans of ginger shots include singer-actress Selena Gomez and actresses Eva Longoria and Anna Kendrick. And chefs across the globe use ginger in their dishes to give them a piquant kick.
But Indian grandmothers and Ayurvedic doctors have used ginger in elixirs for centuries to treat nausea, colds, arthritis, menstrual cramps and travel sickness, among other ailments.
My mother would pickle slivers of ginger in lemon juice, which we loved eating with our food, especially hot dal or curry and rice dishes. The pickle also helped to tackle indigestion and pregnancy-induced nausea.
“Consuming small amounts of raw juice made from fresh, concentrated ginger root became very popular during the [coronavirus] pandemic when everyone was obsessed with boosting their immunity,” she says.
