Chinese healers tout ginger for what ails

Question: I have heartburn, and I've heard that ginger can help. Is there anything to it?

Answer: Chinese healers have used ginger for centuries to cure all kinds of stomachaches and intestinal ailments.

Joe and Teresa Graedon, authors of "The People's Pharmacy," say ginger has been used for heartburn, nausea, upset stomach, motion sickness and other problems. They recommend making your own ginger tea from fresh ginger root.

Shave off an inch of the skin, then grate the shaved ginger into a mug. Pour boiling water over it and let it steep for a few minutes, then strain through a sieve to remove the grated ginger. Add sweetener and lemon to taste.

"If you sip it slowly, this ginger tea will definitely stimulate saliva production and also help wash down any residual acid in the esophagus," the Graedons say.

The Graedons' readers also have had success with Tazo Chai organic spiced black tea and eating candied ginger, which they say works as well as acid-suppressing drugs on their heartburn. Other recommendations: crystallized ginger and ginger snaps.

To find a wide variety of ginger tonics, drinks, cooking sauces, cookies, candies and chews, as well as organic crystallized ginger, go to gingerpeople.com.

(Ryckmanl(at)RockyMountainNews.com.)