Chef Lance Seeto’s home cooking TV series has returned to the airwaves in a timely season that promotes local superfoods to boost our health in the battle against viruses and disease.
The Chinese physician, Confucius, knew the benefits of ginger thousands of years ago.
He was one of the most respected wise men in ancient Chinese history whose doctrine of eating food as medicine paved the way for modern medicine to appreciate just how powerful superfoods and super spices are in healing and repairing the human body.
Confucius was a philosopher, teacher and politician who lived in the mystical land of ancient China and said he never ate a meal without ginger. Even before going to bed each night he would nibble on a small piece of raw ginger.
Ginger has its own seemingly mystical powers and it was part of what Confucius saw as a balanced life.
Full of digestive, disease-fighting and fat-burning compounds, ginger should be included in your daily diet.
It adds an extra flavour punch to a wide variety of dishes but it is its medicinal power to heal gastrointestinal problems that makes ginger a true superfood.
honey and ginger. Picture: LANCE SEETO
Ginger for digestive health
Ginger has phenolic compounds that support healthy digestion in a variety of ways. They stimulate saliva, which breaks food down better as you chew it. That makes it easier for your stomach to digest when it gets there. These compounds also calm any irritation in the intestines after food poisoning, which is why ginger is often an ideal remedy for running stomach. Another excellent benefit of ginger is that it also boosts your body’s natural digestive enzymes and moves food through the digestive tract better. Ginger’s natural compounds help stimulate the stomach so it empties quicker and more easily. It also boosts nutrient and mineral absorption. Stimulating the appetite and readying the body to digest food are some reasons ginger slices are served with sushi and other foods, and part of why Confucius ate it with almost every meal.
Relieves morning sickness
Ginger is one of the most powerful natural anti-nausea compounds. It treats seasickness, general nausea and brings relief to pregnant women with morning sickness. Pregnant women who consumed about teaspoon to ¼ teaspoon (1 to 1.5 grams) of dried powdered ginger a day noticed relief of nausea in 12 different studies. Cut the skin off of a small piece of raw ginger and chew on the raw yellow fleshy part, drink ginger tea or even get ginger lozenges or candies.
Boosts weight loss
Any superfood that claims to boost weight loss is always worth researching. Ginger is said to accelerate fat-burning, helping with carbohydrate digestion and better control over how much insulin your body secretes. Some studies suggest that eating or drinking ginger can boost calorie burn and reduce feeling hungry. That makes ginger an incredible tool for losing weight safely and naturally.
ideal health boost. Picture: LANCE SEETO
Anti-inflammatory and antioxidant
Gingerol, the main compound in ginger, is packed with anti-inflammatory and antioxidant attributes. Ginger even releases antioxidants of other healthy foods you eat. This makes what’s already good for you even better. Ensuring your diet contains lots of antioxidants is also said to help slowing signs of aging. Fighting colds, flus and infections Of all its medicinal superpower, ginger is also used to fight infections. It does this by inhibiting the growth of bacteria and even viruses that cause respiratory infections. It also helps your body fight the flu virus by inducing sweating and removing toxins that are keeping you sick. I feel a little wiser myself every time I add this superspice to my meals, snacks and drinks.
New ginger recipes
On next week’s Exotic Delights, I cook three of my favourite ways to get more ginger in your daily diet with an easy to make ginger tea, stir fry and a classic steamed fish. Drinking ginger in the morning helps to get your digestive motor started and the ginger tea only takes a few minutes to make, with an acidic
lemon juice that signals to your body to wake up and sweetened with local honey. This can also be made in advance and turned into an iced tea for hot days. You can also keep ginger tea for days in the fridge. As with many Indian recipes, Chinese stir fry dishes nearly always contain ginger for both flavour and
health and chicken and ginger stir fry is flavoured with a delicious sauce of hoisin and soy. Hoisin sauce is made from ground brown beans and is readily available at Chinese shops and most international supermarkets. Steamed fish is one of the healthiest ways to enjoy fresh caught fish and if you don’t have a steamer you can easily use a big pot or Chinese wok with a lid to create a makeshift steamer. This fish recipe includes ginger steamed with the fish, and a double dose of finely sliced raw ginger as a salad to be served once the fish is cooked. Like Confucius, every human should consume ginger on a daily basis, but especially Fijians who tend to not eat as much of this super spice, if not for flavour then to promote a healthy digestive system. Eat it raw, throw it in a stir fry or salad, or make your next pot of chicken soup with loads of ginger. With Fijian young ginger in abundance, there is no excuse not to enjoy this local produce as food as well as medicine.
- Lance Seeto is the host of Exotic Delights: Fijian Superfoods, every Tuesday night 7.45pm only on FBC-TV.
