Can Ginger Help Migraines?
Ginger is a relatively cheap, herbal remedy that can be used to help calm an upset stomach, that much most people know. It’s the common knowledge of drinking ginger ale that made this herb-root famous for being able to soothe the stomach and the digestive passages.
Most ginger ales, however, don’t even contain any real ginger, so really it’s better to suck on a real ginger candy or to just take the root orally in a supplement, plain off the root, or in a tea. The root itself is actually quite spicy, and can even feel like it’s burning your mouth if you just take it straight, so be mindful of that.
Now, there is some research that is suggesting this popular upset stomach home remedy may also be useful when it comes to another common American problem. The migraine.
There aren’t even many conventional western medications that can touch those tough migraines, but there is some evidence that ginger, combined with another popular herbal remedy called feverfew, may be helpful in reducing the pain and nausea associated with migraines.
Study participants were asked to put little cachets filled with the herbal migraine remedies of ginger and feverfew underneath their tongue, like homeopathic remedies are administered, when they felt a migraine coming on.
Those who had the dummy cachet with placebo in it reported less relief than the group who had the real herbal remedy in it. While some placebo studies are criticized as being inconclusive, this one may have some potential as the amount of people claiming some sense of relief was substantial for the herbal remedy versus the dummy remedy.