Dry Ginger
Ginger is herb that grows mainly in Asia is used as a spice in cooking. It is also known for its therapeutic qualities. It is an underground stem (rhizome) that can be used fresh, powdered, dried, or in the form of oil or GINGER.
Dry Ginger, as the name suggests, nothing but fresh ginger which has undergone a drying process by first washing and soaking overnight and then drying it out in the sun. Sometimes calcium carbonate is added to bleach the dried ginger, which gives it a whitish covering. Dried ginger is mostly used in its powdered form which is easy to store having a long shelf life of more than six months.
The pungency or spiciness in ginger is derived from three main compounds – Gingerol, Shogaol and Zigerone. Fresh ginger contains Gingerol as its active component, which, when cooked, loses its pungency and gets transformed to Zingerone. The most pungent form, however, is dried ginger whose active component is Shogaol.
Facts on Dry Ginger
- Maintains Normal Blood Circulation. Ginger contains chromium, magnesium and zinc which can help to improve blood flow, as well as help prevent chills, fever, and excessive sweat.
- Remedies Motion Sickness. Ginger is a known effective remedy for the nausea associated with motion sickness. The exact reason is unknown, but in a study of naval cadets, those given ginger powder suffered less.
- Improves absorption. Ginger improves the absorption and stimulation of essential nutrients in the body. It does this by stimulating gastric and pancreatic enzyme secretion.
- Cold and Flu Prevention. Ginger has been used for thousands of years as a natural treatment for colds and flu around Asia. The University of Maryland Medical Center states that to treat cold and flu symptoms in adults, steep 2 tbsp. of freshly shredded or chopped ginger root in hot water, two to three times a day.
- Combats Stomach Discomfort. Ginger is ideal in assisting digestion, thereby improving food.
Facts on Turmeric Fingers
The Turmeric Finger when grounded in to fine powder serves as key ingredients in most of the foods and provide it with flavor and color. The turmeric finger is the purest form of turmeric and is used in medicines, food and dyeing processes. The product is sourced from the farmers who grow the crop in natural and organic manner.
Turmeric or Curcuma Longa is a member of the ginger family and is a handsome perennial with large lily-like leaves and clusters of flowers in spikes. A robust perennial grows to a height of 1 m ( 3 ft), and turmeric is usually propagated from ‘figures’ or small sections of rhizomes from the previous year’s growth , Turmeric is most often sole dried and ground.
Health benefits
- Turmeric has been in use since antiquity for its anti-inflammatory (painkiller), carminative, anti-flatulent and anti-microbial properties.
- The herb contains health benefiting essential oils such as turmerone, zingiberene, cineole, and p-cymene.
- Curcumin, a polyphenolic compound in the root, is the primary pigment that imparts deep orange color to the turmeric. Many laboratory animal studies have suggested that the curcumin may have anti-tumor, antioxidant, anti-arthritic, anti-amyloid, anti-ischemic, and anti-inflammatory properties.
- This traditional herb does not contain any cholesterol; however, it is rich in antioxidants and dietary fiber, which helps to control blood LDL or “bad cholesterol” levels.
- It is very rich source of many essential vitamins such as pyridoxine (vitamin B6), choline, niacin, and riboflavin, etc. 100 g herb provides 1.80 mg or 138% of daily recommended levels of pyridoxine. Pyridoxine is employed in the treatment of homocystinuria, sideroblastic anemia, and radiation sickness. Niacin helps prevent “pellagra” or dermatitis.
- The fresh root contains good levels of vitamin-C. 100 g compose of 23.9 mg of this vitamin. Vitamin-C is a water-soluble vitamin and a powerful natural antioxidant, which helps the body develop immunity against infectious agents, and remove harmful free oxygen radicals.
- Turmeric contains good amounts of minerals like calcium, iron, potassium, manganese, copper, zinc, and magnesium. Potassium is an important component of cell and body fluids that helps in controlling heart rate and blood pressure. The human body utilizes manganese as a co-factor for the antioxidant enzyme, superoxide dismutase. Iron is an essential co-factor for cytochrome oxidase enzymes at cellular level metabolisms and required for red blood cell (RBC’s) productions.