Cinnamon and Ginger

Less Than 1 Tsp Ginger and Cinnamon Daily Relieves Muscle Soreness In Athletes

Written By:

Margie King, Health Coach

 

Many well-intentioned workout resolutions have been thwarted by the first signs of sore, stiff muscles in the days following a visit to the gym.  A new study finds that two common kitchen spices help relieve that post-workout muscle pain.

Researchers at Iran's Isfahan University of Medical Sciences studied the effects of ginger and cinnamon on the muscle pain of 60 fit female competitive Taekwondo players, aged 13-25 years.  The women were divided into three groups. For six weeks, each group took three grams (1 tsp = 4 grams) of either powdered ginger, cinnamon or placebo every day.

During the study, the women were tested for an indicator of inflammation and for muscle soreness.  The results, published in the International Journal of Preventive Medicine, showed that women in both the ginger and cinnamon groups had significantly less muscle soreness after exercising than the placebo group.  A similar study from the University of Georgia, also confirmed ginger's ability to relieve muscle soreness after strenuous exercise.    

The researchers did not find any difference in the inflammation marker among the three groups despite other studies showing strong anti-inflammatory qualities of ginger and cinnamon.  They speculated that the three gram dose may have been insufficient to make a measurable difference.      

Both ginger and cinnamon have been used medicinally for thousands of years.  Each contains a wide range of compounds shown to curb inflammation, reduce oxidative stress and modulate other healing mechanisms within the body. 

Ginger has a long list of amazing health benefits.  It's been proven more effective against bacterial staph infections than antibiotics; can kill cancer cells; eases ulcerative colitis and acid reflux; and alleviates the effects of gamma radiation. 

Ginger has been shown to be helpful in a relieving stomach upset, diarrhea, and nausea due to seasickness, motion sickness, morning sickness and chemotherapy.  It also relieves pain, swelling, and reduced mobility in those suffering from osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis.  Its anti-viral properties help in the prevention and treatment of the common cold.

Cinnamon, the most popular spice, has been used for millennia both for its flavoring and medicinal qualities. The many health benefits of cinnamon include lowering blood sugar levels; improving insulin sensitivity; relieving inflammation from arthritis; alleviating menstrual cramps; supporting healthy blood clotting; fighting the overgrowth of bacteria, fungus and yeast; preventing colds and flu; boosting memory; and improving digestion.       

Ginger and cinnamon go together naturally, sharing the ingredient list in many healthy recipes.  Add fresh ginger to teas, marinades, stir-fries and salad dressings. 

Add cinnamon to a daily smoothie, applesauce or yogurt.  You can also drop a cinnamon stick into your steeping tea or a pot of coffee. 

Then hit the gym.

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[Buyer Beware: Always remember to buy only certified organic spices, as many conventional brands are irradiated with nuclear waste in what is known as "cold pasteurization." Also, be aware that the cassia form of "Cinnamon" contains furocoumarins, naturally occuring blood thinners, so it may be best to purchase the Ceylon or Verum varieties.] 
For more information on the health benefits of ginger, click here to download GreenMedInfo's Ginger Research report.  

 

 

Margie King is a holistic health coach and graduate of the Institute for Integrative Nutrition®. A Wharton M.B.A. and practicing corporate attorney for 20 years, Margie left the world of business to pursue her passion for all things nutritious. She now works with midlife women and busy professionals to improve their health, energy and happiness through individual and group coaching, as well as webinars, workshops and cooking classes. She is also a professional copywriter and prolific health and nutrition writer whose work appears as the National Nutrition Examiner. To contact Margie, visit www.NourishingMenopause.com.

Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of GreenMedInfo or its staff.

Ginger

Ginger as a New Asthma Treatment?

• by Steve Williams

                                 

Ginger. It’s hot, it’s delicious and it may just open new and important frontiers in treating that common and dangerous ailment: asthma.

 

Asthma presents itself with a tightening of the airways due to inflammation of surrounding tissue, mucus production and phlegm.

 

While asthma attacks can be eased with current aerosol treatments, few advancements have been made in asthma treatments in the past few years despite asthma being a serious, and potentially fatal, health complaint.

 

Now, though, researchers at Columbia University have found that adding components derived from ginger (6-gingerol, 8-gingerol or 6-shogaol) to a common asthma medication (β-agonist isoproterenol) could make the medication more effective.

Why? Because the components allow contracted airway smooth muscle (ASM) tissue to relax to a greater degree than when the asthma medication on its own. Of the compounds, 6-shogaol was the most effective.

 

“Asthma has become more prevalent in recent years, but despite an improved understanding of what causes asthma and how it develops, during the past 40 years few new treatment agents have been approved for targeting asthma symptoms,” lead author Elizabeth Townsend, PhD, post-doctoral research fellow in the Columbia University Department of Anesthesiology, is quoted as saying.

 

“In our study, we demonstrated that purified components of ginger can work synergistically with β-agonists to relax ASM.”

Once the researchers realized that the components taken from ginger were able to markedly improve the asthma treatment’s effectiveness, they wished to discover exactly why this was happening. To do this, they explored a number of ideas grounded in existing work on the topic.

 

Previous studies had shown that an enzyme found in the lungs (phosphodiesterase4D or PDE4D) can prevent the body’s usual processes that would help ASM relax from working to lessen inflammation and therein ease asthma symptoms.

 

The researchers found that all three ginger components had a significant power to inhibit PDE4D and therefore allow the body’s coping mechanism to work properly.

 

Past research has also shown protein structures that also play their part in constriction of ASM (F-actin filaments) were quickly dissolved by one of the ginger components, 6-shogaol.

 

These findings are important because they allow researchers to devise a platform for future research.

 

“By understanding the mechanisms by which these ginger compounds affect the airway, we can explore the use of these therapeutics in alleviating asthma symptoms,” Dr. Townsend is quoted as saying.

 

Specifically, the research team aims to gather information so they can have a better understanding of the body’s own ASM relaxation methods.

 

They also wish to explore whether aerosol delivery of the purified ginger constituents will be a viable way of delivering more effective asthma relief and wider relief for those who suffer from other airway-restricting diseases.

 

These findings were presented at the American Thoracic Society 2013 conference in Philadelphia this past week.

 

Recent research has also shown that Vitamin D derived from sunlight may help control symptoms for severe asthma sufferers, something that further randomized trials are looking to explore in more detail.

 

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that 18.9 million people among America’s general public have asthma, while 7.1 million children are thought to suffer from the breathing disorder.

 

Those numbers continue to rise year on year in the U.S., as does the number of reported asthma attacks.

 

There is no one cause for this increase. An interplay of environmental factors such as poor air quality, lifestyle choices such as a tendency toward obesity, and a failure to properly educate people on how to prevent asthma attacks, have all been blamed.

 

Re-blogged from "care2" by Curadora64  

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