Food and all things Spice
Introducing me;
So I guess right before I start my blog, and chat to you all about the wonders of the world of spices let me start by telling you a little bit about me and who I am and what I am about.
I guess, there’s no better place to start that right at the beginning, let me start with my life growing up...
To be honest, I had a very happy childhood, I had a decent career in sales and then in marketing, and then had my four kids in five years, somewhere in between I started my very own company. The kids and my husband are such a blessing to me, but again I still had this innate need or craving to do something that makes me feel great about me...
(I am sure all my mummy friends out there can relate to). Kids are amazing, but finding your identity again in the aftermath is an interesting and not to use this word too lightly but it really is a profound experience...and that’s where and why my spice journey began.
GP Spices was born back in April 2017, I remember it well, as I sold my first 10 Spice blend on my second daughters second birthday, so that was extra special. The spices we blend at GP Spices are such a beautiful blend of strong yet not overpowering spices, they team beautifully with any kind of meat and Poultry.
They compliment a Sunday roast so well with some olive oil and a good quality salt to rub into and marinate your choice of meat, I am working on some delicious Sunday Lunch recipes for you to combine with our spices and spice mixes and I cant wait to share those blogs with you in the near future !
So onto my topic for today, Ginger, Why ginger as my first topic on my first ever blog?
I do feel connected to ginger, it certainly helped me through some nausea in the past and I guess I would love to uncover, whether it helped me subconsciously or if the science backs up the theory.
It has always just been a given to me, you hear it all the time, Ginger reduces morning sickness, helps with motion sickness and is used by many to relieve post operation nausea. There are also some that believe it helps with muscle pain and fatigue. What I want to know is there any actual scientific research that proves this to be true?
I did find that there are numerous but small studies that have shown that ginger can help relieve nausea and or vomiting post surgery and some believe it to be of help to cancer patients going through Chemotherapy.
There are also some studies that suggest due to the anti inflammatory nature of ginger, the link between ginger and the reduction of nausea could be related to the fact that the ginger encourages the body to release blood pressure regulating hormones that in turn result in less nausea.
This does appear to be a reoccurring theme, as there are thoughts that ginger has the ability to reduce motion sickness, the scientists think that this may be due to the ginger helping to keep your blood pressure consistent and your digestive functions nice and stable.
Shogaols and gingerols are present in ginger, these compounds have been said by some to increase/ speed up the digestion process, emptying the stomach and as a result reducing Nausea.
There are also some limited studies that have shown that ginger may also help to reduce or delay the pain of muscle pain or fatigue. In a small study conducted on 78 people reports to have asked the group to work their muscles hard and half of the group where given ginger capsules and the remainder offered dummy capsules. 'The Daily Mail' and the 'Express' reported that the finding seemed to show a reduction in pain in the group that had taken the ginger.
The good news is everyone seems to agrees of a correlation between ginger and the reduction of nausea/ motion sickness and perhaps even muscle pain reduction, however I do think it’s fair to say we are a way away from understanding the how and why to its full extent. It will be interesting to see what comes from future research about this very interesting and seemingly impressive spice. It would be lovely to see more research conducted and on a much larger scale in the future, who knows what wonders and potential this sweet and fragrant little spice could offer us, if only we could understand it more.
Written by GP Spiced Ltd
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