Ginger is one of the most commonly used herbs/foods in TCM (Traditional Chinese Medicine) and I will share more about how it can help you in certain conditions.
Before we start, there are two types of ginger, one is the fresh type (you can commonly see this in the market) and the other one is the dried type (which can only be purchased from TCM retail shops).
Let’s talk about the normal (fresh) ginger first.
Fresh ginger properties
The thermal property of fresh ginger is warm. Hence, it is not recommended to eat it long-term or when a person is having a heat-type flu.
The organ meridians that ginger can benefit are the lungs, spleen, and stomach.
One of the properties of fresh ginger is that it stops a person from vomiting. This is the reason why sometimes if a person wants to vomit (carsick/seasick), he/she will feel better after taking ginger tea/drink/candy.
Another property is that ginger helps to promote sweating and hence, it helps in reducing body heat. This is the reason most TCM flu medicine contains ginger.
Ginger also helps in warming the lungs to stop cold cough. Drinking ginger tea is good for cold-type coughs as it helps to warm the lungs.
Make sure to only consume ginger products if a person is having a cold-related illness like cold-type flu. You can click here to find out how to tell if a person is having cold-type flu.
Dried ginger properties
Unlike fresh ginger, dried ginger is seldom eaten as a food. Dried ginger is more of a herb than a food. You can only find dried ginger in TCM retail shops most of the time.
The thermal nature of dried ginger is hot. Hence, avoid eating dried ginger if you have a sore throat or heat-related illness (it will make things worse).
Dried ginger can benefit the spleen, stomach, lungs, heart, and kidney organ meridians.
One of the properties of dried ginger is that it helps to warm the body to dispel coldness. So this is the reason why people take dried ginger if they have phlegm or moisture in the lungs that is causing them to cough and throw up phlegm. Dried ginger is known to dissolve phlegm in the lungs.
People who have sore throats must avoid eating these two kinds of ginger. The reason is that sore throat is commonly linked to heat-related illness.
Also, the old saying goes that eating ginger at night is like eating poison. The best time to eat ginger (or drink ginger tea) is in the morning. Do your best to follow this advice if you drink ginger tea regularly.
I hope you find this article useful!