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It’s official, ginger really can ease nausea associated with the side-effects of chemotherapy. A recent study has shown that a mere half teaspoon of ginger reduced nausea by 40%. Although they used ground ginger, I’d recommend two tablets of 100% ginger. There are some on the local market that are cheap, Australian made and sold for travel sickness. Unless someone has trouble swallowing, it would be a more palatable way to take it and it still works fast.

Also on an aromatic note, New York chef extraordinaire Mark Bittman has a great recipe for a Mexican Chocolate Mousse – made with tofu. I have made tofu-based desserts before and they work extremely well, fooling even hardened tofu-haters. The video on the site takes a couple of minutes to watch and shows just how easy it is to make.

Walnuts may prevent breast cancer. This new research is promising but it is still at the ‘rats and stats’ stage, with no testing on actual women as yet. Walnuts contain omega-3 fatty acids but they are also a great source of fibre and trace nutrients. Part of the so called “French Paradox” regarding lower incidence of heart disease despite a high intake of cigarettes and alcohol, involved walnuts being a regular part of the diet. My walnut tips are –eat them raw and keep them in a cool place to stop them from going rancid. There are some great new season Tasmanian walnuts available at the moment – so add them to your cereal, have them as a snack or add a handful to a small bowl of sheep’s milk yoghurt with a drizzle of honey for dessert.

More Bittman love – how to set up a no frills-kitchen. A great little video backed up by a more detailed article, the down-to-earth Mr Bittman takes a novice cook by the hand and shows them what they need to set up a kitchen on the cheap. Though the costs are in US dollars, the generic catering supply stores are the same and you can find them dotted all over Melbourne. I use my local one for cheap but sturdy glasses, stainless steel bowls for mixing and prep work (doubling as salad bowls), graters, colanders and the like. Though I’m not a fan of aluminium cookware and I love my wok (though admit that a good fry pan on high heat does a passable job), Bittman’s guide is a great place to start.

ginger

If I were only allowed to take one herb on a desert island it would be a toss up between garlic and ginger. But with the current voluminous research on the humble rhizome, ginger would probably come tops in its versatility as both a medicine and a culinary staple.

As an ancient medicine in both China and India, ginger was hailed primarily as a heating herb – bringing warmth to ‘cool’ conditions of the lungs and stomach. There is documented proof of its spread to the West, at least 2000 years ago, in the Roman Empire. Later it became the darling of the spice trade.

As a modern herbalist, like the ancients before me, I have always loved the slow warmth that ginger brings to the body. Different to chilli, with its searing heat that causes a sweat and cools us down, ginger is the perfect winter spice. It has an affinity to warm the internal organs – such as the lungs, digestion and uterus.

Here are some reasons why you should keep some fresh ginger on hand (for tea) or as tablets or capsules (for an easy to take medicine)

Anti-nausea: Ginger is a powerful anti-emetic, what’s more it is considered to be safe and effective in treating nausea in pregnancy. It works well for motion sickness and has been used in post-operative and chemotherapy induced nausea. It is worth packing some ginger tablets for your next boating trip.

A strong cup of ginger tea has been known to help the general queasy and biliousness that results from drinking too much alcohol.

Bloating: Ginger can ease bloating and flatulence – either as a tea or tablet.

Coughs: In India a spoonful of ginger mixed with honey is still a favourite remedy for a cough.

Pain: Ginger has been found to be both a COX-1 and COX-2 inhibiter. Basically this means it is, amongst other things, antiinflammatory and an effective painkiller – without the negative side effects of the pharmaceutical drugs that achieve this (such as Vioxx). Before the scientific validation, ginger has long been used as a remedy for rheumatism and arthritis. Taking 2 ginger tablets is also a fast and effective treatment for period pain. Topically, in conjunction with a caster oil pack – it is traditionally used to treat adhesions such as in endometriosis and other causes of period pain. In Bali, the locals use ginger topically – placing a slice of the fresh rhizome on the forehead for headaches.

Cancer: More recent research suggests that ginger could be a key in preventing colon cancer. It is also being investigated in the treatment of ovarian cancer.

Ginger is considered safe to have in food but as a medicine (tablet, capsule, tincture, fluid extract) high doses it is theoretically problematic for people with bleeding disorders (it can slow down clotting activity), especially those on anti-clotting drugs like warfarin.

Other theoretical considerations can be viewed at medline.

Using fresh ginger

Look for plump, fresh roots where the flesh hasn’t dried out.

For tea: grate 1 tsp of ginger per cup of water. Simmer on the stove for about 10 minutes, as a root this is more effective than just steeping in a teapot. Strain and add a little honey as straight ginger can be very acrid to drink.

In food: fresh ginger is delicious in stir fries, curries, steamed fish, in soups with orange vegetables. It is a favourite in many sweet foods, such as gingerbread – however the sugar, fat and flour content tends to counteract the benefits. Good quality, naturally fermented ginger beer that hasn’t been over sweetened, can be useful for the early stages of nausea or indigestion.