All About Ginger Tea (How to Make, Health Benefits, History, and Grow Your Own)

Wondering what ginger tea is? I can assure you it's not a special kind of tea for people with red hair and freckles. It's tea made from the root of the ginger plant. It's delicious (oddly spicy and lemony) and super beneficial to your health!

Materials:

Fresh ginger root,

Approximately 8 ounces of water,

A knife,

Ice (optional),

Shredder/Grater (optional),

Tea infuser, strainer, or cheese cloth (needed if shredding/grating ginger),

and a method of heating the water.

Process:

If you're going to boil the water over fire, put it on the stove before you do anything else so it has time to boil while you're preparing the ginger. If you're going to microwave it or use a hot pot, you can do the water whenever.

Next, peel the skin off the ginger root. Potato peelers work great for this!

Third, you'll want to grate/shred or thinly slice the ginger root. If you grate it or shred it, place it in a tea infuser or cheese cloth and put it in a mug. If you thinly slice it, just place it at the bottom of the mug (leaving it in the mug while you drink the tea).

When the water is boiling, pour it over the ginger root. I usually just fill a coffee mug, leaving about half an inch at the top.

Let steep for 10-15 minutes. Then, squeeze the juice out of the ginger root.

You have the option of adding flavorings like brown sugar, honey, mint leaves, or lemongrass. I've tried regular sugar, it's not very good that way (in my opinion).

If you want it to be cold, remove the ginger root and pour the tea over ice.

Medical studies have found that ginger tea may reduce pain and decrease inflammation. It is also known to reduce nausea. This is why they always say to drink ginger ale when you're sick.

One of the more humorous parts about ginger tea is that it can improve flatulence. For many people, this relieves undesired bloating.

Some research has concluded that ginger tea can help migraine sufferers by decreasing the release of chemicals that normally cause inflammation in the brain's blood vessels.

Further, ginger tea can increase circulation thus lowering blood pressure and decreasing the chance of blood clotting.

Ginger tea (this also concluded with research) can help the immune system fight colds and the influenza virus.

Ginger tea gives me a warm, relaxed feeling. Also, I often experience shortness of breath due to a hiatal hernia (a hole in the diaphragm that allows the stomach to push on the lungs). Ginger tea is great for easing the shortness of breath!

Ginger has been used for its health benefits for thousands of years. The Chinese have used ginger tea to treat digestive problems for nearly two thousand years. It's common in many Asian countries. And it's becoming more popular in America with an increase in different types of tea at grocery stores.

If you are on blood thinners, beta blockers, or diabetic drugs ginger tea may be harmful to you. Also, pregnant women should not consume ginger tea. If you are concerned, consult your doctor before trying it.

I got all of my information about ginger tea on either Livestrong.com, Wikipedia, and the video above.