Ginger is a flowering plant, part of the family Zingiberaceae that is native to south China. It eventually spread all over the world, particularly to Europe and India due to the rise of the profitable spice trade. Ginger actually forms an integral part of the cuisines from Asia, particularly India and China as it contains a lot of beneficial digestive properties. Ginger essential oil is extracted from the underground stem of the ginger plant and contains many medicinal benefits, as it contains the most powerful part of ginger, which is gingerol.

Ginger essential oil, with its spicy, fresh and woody aroma contains numerous health benefits apart from its culinary and preservative purposes. In fact, ginger was a valuable commodity during the Roman Empire trading periods due to its medicinal properties. Furthermore, it was used by the Chinese and Indians since over 4000 years ago. In fact, in the 13th-14th centuries, the value of a pound of ginger was actually equivalent to the cost of a sheep! That’s how valuable ginger was during those times!

Discover why ginger essential oil is so valuable and worth every penny by reading on its health benefits and uses below!

Health Benefits of Ginger Essential Oil:

1. Ward off Stomach Problems

Ginger essential oil is actually one of the most beneficial remedies for a whole range of stomach problems and diseases such as indigestion, diarrhea, stomachache, colic and even nausea. It greatly helps to offer relief from these problems and regulates smooth stomach flows. In fact, ginger oil is widely added to recipes in India to improve digestion. It helps to increase appetite levels as well since it regulates digestion flows.

For example, a 2015 study published in the Journal of Basic and Clinical Physiology and Pharmacology investigated the efficacy of ginger in treating ethanol-induced ulcers in rats. It found that ginger can drastically reduce the gastric ulcers in the stomachs of the rats due to its anti-ulcer properties.

Furthermore, a 2014 study published in the Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine found that ginger essential oil was beneficial in treating nausea when inhaled.

2. Potent Antiseptic

With its antibacterial and antiseptic properties, ginger essential oil is a useful agent in healing infections and killing off bacteria. This means that it is an effective tool to combat food poisoning as it kills off intestinal bacteria. Not only that, it can also treat intestinal infections and bacterial dysentery. Additionally, ginger oil can be used to combat malaria due to its bactericide properties.

3. Treats Respiratory Problems

Ginger essential oil also contains expectorant properties, which means that is very useful in treating various respiratory ailments such as cough, flu, asthma, bronchitis, breathlessness and even the common cold! It seeks to expel out excess mucus and phlegm along your respiratory and nasal tracts, which thus serves to promote smoother and unobstructed airflow. This helps you to breathe easily and offers comfort from these respiratory problems.

Coupled with its anti-inflammatory properties, the oil can help to soothe and calm swelling in the lungs and helps to open airways. As such, ginger is often added to tea in India.

4. Offers Pain Relief from Inflammation

There is an important component that is present in ginger essential oil which greatly helps to reduce pain and treats various muscle aches and stiff joints. This important compound is known as Zingibain. With the presence of Zingibain, the oil is extremely potent in treating sore and aching muscles, arthritis, rheumatism, headaches and migraines. It is analgesic in nature and it is believed to decrease the amount of prostaglandins within the body, which are constituents that give rise to pain.

In addition, a 2013 study published in the Indian Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology found that ginger oil possessed strong antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and antinociceptive attributes. Enzyme levels in mice were increased after using the oil for one month and it increased the ability to fight off free radicals and decreased acute inflammation.

Also, it is believed that consuming 1 drop of ginger essential oil daily in your water/tea is actually more helpful in treating muscular and joint pains than taking prescribed painkillers! A 2010 study done by the University of Georgia actually found that consuming a ginger supplement daily actually reduced exercise-induced muscular and joint aches by 25%.

As such, ginger essential oil is also helpful in treating menstrual cramps as it reduces inflammation and relaxes the muscles.

5. Promotes Heart Health

Ginger essential oil also helps to reduce cholesterol levels and prevents blood clotting, which thus decreases the likelihood of getting heart attacks or stroke, when the major arteries become blocked. According to research done by the University of Maryland Medical Center, preliminary studies suggest that ginger can treat heart diseases and prevents the risks of getting cardiovascular disease and diabetes since it helps to improve lipid metabolism.

6. Alleviates Stress Levels

Ginger essential oil also contains relaxant properties that helps to ease away feelings of tension, stress, anxiety and nervous. It helps to soothe and calm tense nerves as it promotes feelings of tranquility and calm, especially when used as an aromatherapy agent. As such, the oil can greatly aid you in getting a peaceful and restful sleep. In fact, ginger is also widely used in Ayurvedic medicine as it helps to combat feelings of fear, abandonment and lack of self-confidence.

7. Powerful Natural Aphrodisiac

Ginger essential oil is an excellent natural remedy for impotence. It serves as an effective aphrodisiac as it helps to increase libido levels, especially in men due to its warming and stimulating properties. Furthermore, it helps to prevent premature ejaculation and relieves stress, which helps to solve the impotence problem in the first place.

8. High Antioxidant Potential

Ginger essential oil is also a powerful antioxidant as it helps to prevent cell damage that is primarily caused by oxidation. Furthermore, it helps to combat free radical damages. Due to its antioxidant properties, it can also improve liver functions greatly.

For example, a 2013 study published in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry found that ginger has exhibited antioxidant and hepatoprotective activities when they tested it on mice which had alcoholic fatty liver disease. When ginger essential oil was administered to these mice everyday for a period of 4 weeks, they found that the amount of metabolites increased and the alcoholic fatty levels decreased.

This means that ginger essential oil can also combat various liver diseases such as hepatic cirrhosis and liver cancer as alcoholic fatty liver disease leads to other more serious problems. And rightly so, ginger essential oil has been found to exhibit anti-tumor potential too due to the presence of gingerol. It can serve to suppress the oxidation of cancer cells, with its antioxidant properties. As such, it can possibly serve as a natural cancer treatment, even though more research needs to be done in this area.

Furthermore, with its antioxidant properties, it also greatly aids in maintaining the health of the kidneys, thus mitigating the risks of kidney damage.

How to Use Ginger Essential Oil?

Now that you have read and learnt more about the myriad health benefits of ginger essential oil, how then can you use it so that you can reap and enjoy its full benefits? Read on to find out more!

• To aid in heart health, you can gently rub 1-2 drops of diluted ginger essential oil onto the chest area daily.

• To provide muscular and joint pain relief, you can gently massage 2-3 drops of diluted ginger essential oil onto the affected areas until the pain disappears.

• To alleviate feelings of stress and tension, proceed to diffuse 2-3 drops of the oil into your distiller and inhale for no longer than 20 minutes.

• To alleviate feelings of nausea and reduce vomiting, diffuse 2-3 drops of the oil and inhale or apply 1-2 drops of the oil, in its diluted form, and gently rub it over the stomach. Alternatively, you can add 1 drop of ginger essential oil to a glass of water or a cup of tea.

• To enhance sexual libido, you can diffuse 2-3 drops of it or gently massage 1-2 drops to the feet/lower abdominal area.

• To promote better digestion and get rid of toxic substances, you can add 2-3 drops of ginger essential oil to your warm bath water.

• To relieve respiratory ailments, you can inhale the oil through a diffuser or vaporizer. Alternatively, you can add one drop of the oil to green tea and mix it well.

Safety Precautions:

• Always mix ginger essential oil with a carrier oil first before topical application onto the skin.

• Ensure that you do a skin patch test first to ensure no sensitive or allergic reactions crops up.

• When ingesting ginger essential oil into a glass of water or cup of tea, ensure that you only put 1 drop of it and properly dilute it. Always talk to your medical practitioner for professional health advice before proceeding to ingest it.

• Ginger essential oil should ideally be avoided by pregnant and nursing mothers. Always consult your doctor first to gain professional advice.

• If you are taking a blood thinner medication, be sure to talk to your doctor first as well as the oil can cause increased risk of bleeding.

• If you are on medications for diabetes/high blood pressure, do not take ginger essential oil as it can have adverse effects.

References:

Liju VB, Jeena K, Kuttan R, “Gastroprotective activity of essential oils from turmeric and ginger”, Journal of Basic and Clinical Physiology and Pharmacology (2015); 26(1)

Susanna Stea, Alina Beraudi, Dalila De Pasquale, “Essential Oils for Complementary Treatment of Surgical Patients: State of the Art”, Journal of Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine (2014)

Jeena K, Liju VB, Kuttan R, “Antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and antinociceptive activities of essential oil from ginger”, Indian Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology (2013); 57(1)

University of Georgia, “Daily ginger consumption eases muscle pain by 25 percent, study suggests”, ScienceDaily, 20 May 2010

Liu CT, et al., “Metabolomics of ginger essential oil against alcoholic fatty liver in mice”, Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry (2013); 61(46)