My Favorite Ginger Besides Prince Harry

Fact: Thanks to all the garbage we eat, our bodies are in a chronic state of inflammation. Ideally, your body wants to have a neutral pH, which would be around 7. However, our bodies are already slightly acidic due to the pollution in the air and all the other chemicals we come in contact with (#gross.) Being acidic in pH causes stress on our bodies which leads to inflammation. That's why an anti-inflammatory diet is so necessary. If you've been around here for a hot minute, you already know I'm slightly obsessed with the anti-inflammatory diet, so I will do my best not to give you every boring detail that's stored in my brain.

Today we're gonna talk about one of the best anti-inflammatory foods God put on this earth: GINGER.

I'd never eaten ginger in my life until 3 years ago.  In one of my nutrition classes, we discussed the miraculous effects it can have on the body. Our 60 year old professor had been eating it daily in multiple forms and he was in PRISTINE health. Like legit awesome. He was juicing it, putting it in his coffee, sprinkling it on his meals, and even nibbling on the actual root!

Let's take a look at some of the benefits of ginger:

1. Settles stomach discomfort

2. Prevents and gets rid of migraines

3. Reduces joint pain and arthritis

4. Kills cancer cells

5. Treats multiple cardiovascular conditions

6. Reduces risk of colds

7. Lowers blood sugar and increases insulin release

8. Aids in digestive issues

9. Treats asthma

10. Slows down DNA damage 

I mean...what?! Talk about a miracle worker! And what's even cooler is that you can consume ginger in a HUGE variety of ways. So there's really no excuse to not have your daily dose. The easiest form has got to be supplements. It's a concentrated powder in a capsule, so no matter where you are or what you’re doing, it's a convenient option. My personal favorite is buying fresh ginger root, cutting off an inch or two, and tossing it in my NutriBullet for my green smoothies. The powdered spice form is great for adding to your morning coffee, tea, or any other dishes to spice it up. And you can also juice it as well!

For the little ones who start to show signs of a cold (or the nearly always fatal man-cold), here is a great remedy: Mix 4tsp of ginger juice, powder, or root + 4tsp honey + lemon juice + warm water.

Not only is it warm and soothing, but the anti-inflammatory effects will knock out the free radicals running wild in your body causing the decrease in your immune system. I love this so much that it's a normal beverage in my day simply because it's delicious but also SUPER preventative.

Now let’s say you know you’re going out for beer and pizza tonight (not that you should, but hey, I’m realistic.) I would load up on ginger ALL day to prep your bod. I’m not saying this is the answer to allowing you to eat junk e'rday. Because it’s not. But any little bit helps. So I would take 1-2 grams worth of ginger in supplements, have my honey/lemon/ginger tea, and would put a big scoop of the powder in my green smoothie as well. This will help lessen the blow on your body and tissues from all of that dough and barley.

Inflammatory food