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Canola Oil Gets FDA Heart Health Claim
Canola
oil is gaining credence as an ingredient for food products aimed at supporting
heart health. The FDA has approved a qualified health claim on canola
oil's potential to reduce the risk of coronary heart disease. That's good
news for The Ginger People. We proudly use canola oil in our ginger
cooking sauces, marinades and dressings. Full
account
Ginger May Have Preventative Powers Against Cancer
MINNEAPOLIS
/ ST. PAUL -- The substance that gives ginger its flavor appears to inhibit
the growth of human colorectal cancer cells, according to research at
the University of Minnesota's Hormel Institute in Austin, Minn. Working
with mice that lack an immune system, research associate professor Ann
Bode and her colleagues found slower rates of cancer growth in mice given
thrice-weekly feedings of [6]-gingerol--the main active component of ginger.
"Plants of the ginger family have been credited with therapeutic and preventive powers and have been reported to have anti-cancer activity," said Bode. "The substance called [6]-gingerol is the main active compound in ginger root and the one that gives ginger its distinctive flavor."
The researchers tested [6]-gingerol's powers by feeding a half milligram to 20 mice three times a week before and after injecting human colorectal tumor cells into their flanks. Control mice were treated the same, except their food contained no [6]-gingerol. Tumors were allowed to grow until they reached a size of one cubic centimeter (0.06 cubic inch), after which the mice were euthanized. The mice, known as athymic nude mice, are often used in such studies because they provide a living-body environment in which tumors can grow without interference from an immune system.
The first tumors appeared 15 days after the cells were injected. At that time, 13 tumors of measurable size had appeared among the control mice, four among the [6]-gingerol-treated mice. Mice consuming [6]-gingerol lagged in both the number of animals with measurable tumors and the average size of tumors within the group. For example, all the mice in the control group had measurable tumors by the 28th day following injection of the cells. But it wasn't until the 38th day that the [6]-gingerol group reached that milestone--but even then, one mouse still had no measurable tumors. As of the 49th day following injection, all control mice had been euthanized due to tumor sizes of one cubic centimeter. In contrast, 12 of the 20 [6]-gingerol mice were still alive on that day, and their average tumor size was about 0.5 cubic centimeter, or half the maximum allowable size.
"These results strongly suggest that ginger compounds may be effective chemopreventive and/or chemotherapeutic agents for colorectal carcinomas," said Bode. Because mice were not allowed to live with tumors bigger than one cubic centimeter, "it's difficult to know if the ginger-treated mice would have lived longer if left to die of their tumors, but it looks that way," she said.
Preliminary results also suggested that tumors in the control mice had spread, or metastasized, more than tumors in the [6]-gingerol mice, but whether a significant difference actually exists remains to be verified, Bode said.
In these experiments, mice were fed ginger before and after tumor cells were administered. In their next round of experiments, the researchers plan to feed ginger to mice only after they have grown tumors to a certain size.
"The new experiments should be more clinically relevant," said Bode. "They will get at the question of whether a patient could eat ginger to slow the metast of a nonoperable tumor."
The
Ultimate Testimonial - Beyond the Usual Addiction
The Ginger People love this guy! Anyone who can run 100 miles gets our
vote. On top of that, he uses our Ginger Chews as his fuel! He swears
by them -- better than any energy bars he has come across. If you look
closely at the photograph, he says that you can see the bulges in his
pockets from all the empty Ginger Chew wrappers.
Ginger
Kills Cancer Cells
April 4, 2006 - University of Michigan Scientists: Ginger
Kills Cancer Cells - University of Michigan researchers report the spice
ginger was used in laboratory tests to kill ovarian cancer cells and also
stopped cells from becoming resistant to treatment. The scientists said
the results were very preliminary and they plan to conduct animal studies
to corroborate the findings.
Full account
Ginger Book Reviews
 A Spoonful of Ginger
Ranked #1 on the LA Times Best Selling Cookbook List, A Spoonful of Ginger is loaded with delicious and nourishing recipes such as Clear-Steamed Chicken Soup with Ginger and Hot and Sour Salmon with Greens. Easy renditions of Korean Barbecued Beef and Shrimp Fried Rice taste delightful. Enjoy the health-giving snippets of information sprinkled throughout the book. If your yin and yang need alignment, this book is a must read!
Blue Ginger
The growing trend toward East-West Cuisines and the melding of familiar ingredients with the exotic shines through in this wonderful book. Author and Chef Ming Tsai offers up over 200 recipes featuring our favorite Asian flavors, from Hoisin-Marinated Chicken with Napa Slaw to Homemade Ginger Ale Float with Lemongrass Ice Cream and Ginger Candy. Buy this book and celebrate the coming of cross-cultural cooking!
Ginger East to West
If you love ginger, this will be one of the easiest and most satisfying of books to read. After author Bruce Cost tells you about how and where ginger grows, and how to buy, store and prepare it, he pulls you into an intriguing cook’s tour, covering ginger’s long history, its medicinal origins, culinary relevance and spiritual significance. His beautifully flavored, traditional ginger recipes are sprinkled throughout the book. For ginger lovers, this is a must-read. Ginger East to West is published by Aris Books/Addison-Wesley Publishing.
Common Spice or Wonder Drug?
Author Paul Schulick is a fellow ginger lover who promotes his love of ginger from a medicinal perspective. His book, "Common Spice or Wonder Drug? Ginger & Health Care Rediscovers Its Roots" was written to awaken an "'appreciation for ginger in lay persons and health professionals alike" and touches on everything from Arthritis to worms. Says Schulick, "'Your spice cabinet contains an herb [ginger] possessing so many therapeutic applications that no modern drug can rival it." If you’d like to know if ginger might be able to cure what ails you, pick up a copy of Common Spice or Wonder Drug? Published by Herbal Free Press, Brattleboro, Vermont.
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