HEALTH

Ginger. You might know it as the off-white, almost papery-looking substance sitting on the corner of your sushi plate, but it's so much more than that. As it turns out, ginger has tons health of benefits. So whether you're fully ready to spice up your life or not quite ready to take on the heat, we've gathered up five convincing pros of incorporating ginger into your diet. 

1. Naturally improves digestion

OK, so your eyes might have been bigger than your stomach at dinner with the squad tonight. Ingesting a little ginger is a quick and easy way to ease your tummy troubles. Ginger aids the digestion process and takes away any pain you might be experiencing. Lozenges like Tummy Drops or Gin-Gins are helpful to have on hand and pretty easy to keep in your very stylish Y2K purse. 

2. Eases period cramps

That time of the month comes with a *long* list of undesirable side effects, and cramps might just be the most infamous. Ginger is here to help! Those lozenges from Benefit #1 are extremely effective and fast-acting, ridding you of your cramps more quickly than Ibuprofen would (and, not to mention, ginger is better for your body in the long run). 

3. Fights off germs

With back to school just around the corner, it's even more important to stay healthy. Luckily, the chemical compounds in ginger have germ-fighting properties. If you're feeling brave, a ginger shot from your fave smoothie store can give your body that extra boost. If you want the benefits without the sharp flavor, ginger tea (or really any tea with ginger included!) should do the trick. 

4. Soothes sore muscles

So you just took home the big tournament trophy, but it's back to practice on Monday. If the extra playing time is taking a toll on your muscles, look to ginger for relief. Drink tea, throw some ginger into your stir-fry at dinner or invest in some ginger-infused muscle balm.

5. Promotes oral health

Remember those germ-fighting chemicals from Benefit #3? Turns out they're not only good for immunity—eating some ginger (with your sushi, perhaps?) can help fight off cavities and tooth decay. If you find yourself taking time to run to bathroom to brush your teeth after meals, ginger might just be the perfect (and convenient) substitute. 

There's more food inspo where this came from! See the other articles below:
🍴3 easy Burrata toast recipes to level up your breakfast
🍴Cowboy caviar is a thing—and we're kinda obsessed
🍴You need to try these ice cream sandwich recipes ASAP

Got any other natural remedies we should know about?
Tweet us @girlslifemag to give us the deets!

GIFs via Giphy| Header and Slider via Unsplash

by Riley Yates | 9/23/2022