Ginger is your winter hero!

Ginger has been used in cooking and medicine in Indian and Asian culture for over 1000 years, originating from China. It is used in both savoury and sweet foods, It helps reduce symptoms of various types of nausea, including morning sickness, sea sickness, and motion sickness.

It also helps the digestive system by relieving irritation and congestion, and soothing the inner walls of your gut. It has also  shown to lower blood sugar levels, and help reduce heart risk factors. Inside ginger is a substance called gingerol, which is responsible for a lot of the benefits ginger has.

Your health will benefit during winter because of ginger’s antibacterial and anti-inflammatory qualities that will help fight off colds and flus. It is also diaphoretic, which means it causes you to sweat (don’t worry, it won’t make you drip with sweat suddenly), it will gradually warm you up from the inside. Having a mug of hot water with a teaspoon of sliced ginger with lemon and/or honey will do you wonders this cold season!

When you eat sushi you’ll also be served some pickled ginger, which usually looks either a light yellow in colour, or pink. This is called gari. This is for you to eat in between eating the different types of sushi. They use young ginger, which has thin skin and is tender, making it easier to slice thinly. The sweet-spicy taste refreshes your mouth and cleanses the palate so you can appreciate the flavours of all the sushi.