Ginger

Studies in people

• Benefit

  Weight and blood sugar³

  In overweight and obese people, ginger supplements lowered body weight, waist-to-hip ratio, hip ratio, fasting glucose and insulin resistance, and raised HDL-cholesterol.

• Benefit

  Knee joint pain⁴

  In people with mild knee arthritis, taking steamed ginger extract for 12 weeks reduced pain scores compared with a placebo.

• Benefit

  Muscle soreness after exercise⁵

  Taking ginger for 11 days in a row eased muscle soreness after exercise, but a single dose did not.

• Benefit

  Heart and blood sugar health⁶

  In people, ginger supplements improved blood sugar, cholesterol and blood pressure markers in several studies.

• Benefit

  Pregnancy success in IVF⁷

  In women having IVF, drinking beetroot, watermelon and ginger juice daily was linked to more pregnancies.

• Benefit

  Inflammation in TB patients⁸

  In people with tuberculosis, taking ginger alongside their TB treatment lowered blood markers of inflammation and oxidative stress.

• Open question

  Health effects still unproven⁹

  Many ginger trials test sickness, pain and blood pressure, but most never posted results, so proof is still missing.

• Benefit

  Joint disease activity¹⁰

  In people with rheumatoid arthritis, taking ginger daily for 12 weeks lowered disease activity scores.

• Benefit

  Muscle and joint pain¹¹

  People with mild to moderate muscle and joint pain who took ginger reported less pain and better function.

Animal and lab studies only

• Benefit

  Male hormone levels¹⁵

  Ginger raised testosterone in male animals, but whether it does the same in men is not yet known.

• Benefit

  Blood sugar control¹⁷

  In animal studies, a ginger compound called 6-paradol lowered blood sugar, cholesterol and body weight in mice fed a high-fat diet.

• Benefit

  Liver damage from arsenic¹⁸

  In animal studies, ginger reduced liver damage and stress markers in rats fed arsenic.

• Benefit

  Liver damage from mould toxins¹⁹

  In animal studies, ginger extract lessened liver damage from aflatoxin B1, though the authors say it may help.

Study type not stated

• Benefit

  Immune system support¹²

  Ginger contains compounds that may help the body fight inflammation and support immunity, but scientists still need more research in people.

• Benefit

  Health effects in the body¹³

  6-gingerol and 6-shogaol in ginger are said to help with cancer, brain, gut, diabetes and heart health.

Found in some samples or products

These come from where it was grown, how it was processed or cooked, or what it was made into. They are not about the ingredient itself, so the signal does not count them.

• Cooking raises residues¹⁴

  Pesticides were found in many ginger samples, and stir-frying or drying ginger left more of them behind.

How it’s made and used

• Diet and body chemistry¹⁶

  In mice, eating ginger changed blood markers of how the body handles purines and certain amino acids.

The signal at the top counts the findings in people and in animal and lab studies. A concern in studies of people outranks animal and lab studies, and “No concerns” needs at least one finding in people. When most findings in people point one way, the page leans that way (“Mostly”), and every finding is still shown. Findings whose study type is not stated are shown but not counted. This page is a reference, not medical advice. It describes what regulators and published research say. Talk to a doctor or dietitian about your own diet.