Are you pregnant and suffering from morning sickness? Are you worried about the negative effects of medications? Then, surely, you must be looking for a natural remedy that can help you get over the persisting morning sickness symptoms.

On that note, ginger has been touted to be a great remedy for morning sickness. How far is this true? This post has the answers. Read on to know more!

Pregnancy And Morning Sickness:

Almost half of the would-be mothers experience nausea or morning sickness, mostly in their first trimester of pregnancy (1). Although the cause of morning sickness is not yet known, health experts believe that the queasy feeling might be the result of hormonal fluctuation during pregnancy. Morning sickness is not dangerous, and some research studies have shown that women suffering from vomiting during their pregnancy have lower chances of miscarriage or birth defects as compared to those women who do not suffer from such symptoms.

However, the experience is unpleasant, and in extreme cases can lead to dehydration necessitating hospitalization. During these early days of pregnancy, women tend to shy away from medicines, as they are afraid if they may harm the growth of the fetus in some way. That is why many women believe in sticking to natural foods and measures, and even try acupressure.

Using Ginger For Morning Sickness:

Ginger has often been touted as one of the best treatments for nausea, especially when caused due to digestive disorders and conditions such as chemotherapy (2). But many women vouch for its effectiveness in treating morning sickness after a few days of treatment. Reports suggest that ginger is more effective or equally effective as vitamin B6 for treating morning sickness during pregnancy. You can use ginger in several ways to get relief from the symptoms. Some of them are as follows:

• Prepare ground ginger capsules of 250 mg each and take four times a day. The symptoms start showing improvement after 4 to 7 days of treatment.
• Ginger capsules are also available at the drug store. Buy only those that have been passed by the U.S Food and Drug Administration (FDA) or by the authorized local body.
• Make sure that these capsules do not contain any other substances that can prove to be harmful to the baby.
• For homemade preparations, try using grated fresh ginger in hot tea or water.
• If you do not like the tangy and hot taste of ginger, use ginger sugar candies that are available at the health food stores.
• Some women have reported that eating sugar-crystallized ginger is most helpful in providing relief from morning sickness (3).

Chewing Ginger Gums:

If you are lucky, you can find ‘Gin Gin’ or any of the similar ginger gums at your nearby store. These are particularly good for treating nausea. You can keep on chewing on them to curb the queasy feeling without any harm. Peeling fresh ginger and chewing it with a pinch of caster sugar or a few drops of honey also reduces the constant nauseating symptoms. So, it works as a mouth freshener and also as a medicine.

Ginger Powder For Severe Symptoms:

If the morning sickness symptoms are severe, then using powdered ginger can provide relief. Although the dried powder of ginger tastes dull and off-putting, you can dilute it with water and drink. If you manage to tolerate this taste, you will find this treatment to be extremely effective in treating severe cases of nausea. However, most women cannot tolerate the taste of powdered ginger, which can be the biggest issue. For faster results, add one tablespoon of ginger powder with water.

Should You Use Ginger Supplements?

Ginger supplements are easily available at the local drugstore in tablet or capsule form. Since they have a neutral taste, many women prefer it against the powdered ginger. But while choosing the capsules, make sure that they come from a good brand. The quality of ginger and other ingredients should be checked before buying. Look for certifications such as USP, NSF, DSVP or GMP, which ensures that the product has passed through the highest quality controls. As a would-be-mother, you should be extra careful about such things.

If you are not sure about the quality of the supplements, search for any complaints or warning letters against the manufacturer on the FDA website.

What Does The Research Say?

Different studies have come up with mixed results, out of which some favor the use of ginger for treating morning sickness, whereas the few others say that it does not have any effect on such symptoms.

A ‘Really’ column says that ginger is more effective for nausea caused due to other reasons than by morning sickness. The scientists, in this case, have found out that although ginger was found to be helpful in some cases, the overall effect of the rhizome is limited and inconsistent.

Ginger has been long used to treat stomach upsets. It contains 6-gingerol, a type of active compound that relaxes gastrointestinal muscles (4). That is why the fresh ginger root and ginger pills are effective in easing seasickness and different types of queasiness. However, according to the analysis published in the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews in 2010, the outcome was not convincing when it came to treating the early pregnancy nausea. But the researchers say that the findings are preliminary, and more study is needed to come to a definite conclusion about whether ginger is indeed effective in treating morning sickness or not.

Risk Factor?

Ginger does not cause any harm to the fetus, and hence, it is safe to be used during pregnancy (5). You can use up to 1000 mg of ginger per day without any harm. However, some women do complain of reflux or heartburn, and hence you should regulate your ginger intake according to the response from your body.

Ginger is not just safe to consume, but is also economical and does wonders in abating queasiness that often accompanies the whole journey of pregnancy. Bring home ginger and bid adieu to morning sickness!

Do tell us how this post has helped you. You can comment in the box below.

The post Is Ginger An Effective Remedy For Morning Sickness? appeared first on STYLECRAZE.

by Daiwik Suresh Gejji via STYLECRAZE