Use of fresh ginger (Sheng Jiang) in TCM
Please note that you should never self-prescribe TCM ingredients. A TCM ingredient is almost never eaten on its own but as part of a formula containing several ingredients that act together. Please consult a professional TCM practitioner, they will be best able to guide you.
Preparation: Wash and use fresh
Dosage: 3 - 9 grams
Main actions according to TCM*: Relieves the Exterior and disperses Cold. Warms and circulates Qi in the Middle Burner. Calms a restless fetus and treats morning sickness. Treats seafood poisoning.
Primary conditions or symptoms for which fresh ginger may be prescribed by TCM doctors*: Common cold Nasal congestion Coughing Food poisoning from seafood Loss of appetite Morning sickness Vomiting Phlegm
Contraindications*: Do not use for symptoms of Exterior Deficiency with sweating or for Damp Heat conditions. May enhance risk of bleeding when ginger is used together with the blood thinning drug Warfarin
Common TCM formulas in which fresh ginger (Sheng Jiang) are used*
Xiao Ban Xia Tang
Source date: 220 AD
Number of ingredients: 2 herbs
Formula key actions: Alleviates and removes thin mucus. Directs rebellious Qi downward. Stops vomiting. Harmonizes the Stomach.
Conditions targeted*: Travel sickness and others
Sheng Jiang is a deputy ingredient in Xiao Ban Xia Tang. This means it helps the king ingredient(s) treat the main pattern or it serves to treat a coexisting pattern.
In Xiao Ban Xia Tang, Sheng Jiang disperses the accumulation of thin mucus in the epigastrium that causes the Qi to rebel upward.
Zhen Wu Tang
Source date: 220 AD
Number of ingredients: 5 herbs
Formula key actions: Warms and tonifies the Yang and Qi of the Spleen and Kidneys. Eliminates Dampness.
Conditions targeted*: Congestive heart failureChronic glomerulonephritis and others
Sheng Jiang is an assistant ingredient in Zhen Wu Tang. This means that it either serves to reinforces the effect of other ingredients or it moderates their toxicity.
In Zhen Wu Tang, Sheng Jiang warms and dispels the pathogenic water and thereby strengthens the actions of the deputy herbs.
It disseminates the Lung Qi, warms the Stomach, and assists Prepared aconite (Zhi Fu Zi), the key herb in this formula, by dispelling the Dampness that has overflowed into the flesh and skin.
Xiao Chai Hu Tang
Source date: 220 AD
Number of ingredients: 7 herbs
Formula key actions: Treats the Lesser Yang Channels (Gallbladder and Triple Warmer). Regulates the Liver and Spleen functions. Addresses combined Yin-Yang symptoms of External and Internal, Excess and Deficiency, and Hot and Cold.
Conditions targeted*: HepatitisChronic cholecystitis and others
Sheng Jiang is an assistant ingredient in Xiao Chai Hu Tang. This means that it either serves to reinforces the effect of other ingredients or it moderates their toxicity.
Key TCM concepts behind fresh ginger (Sheng Jiang)'s properties
In Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), fresh ginger are plants that belong to the 'Warm/Acrid herbs that release the Exterior' category. Herbs that release the Exterior aim to to treat the early stages of diseases that affect the upper respiratory tract, the eyes, the ears, the nose, the throat or the skin. TCM believes that External diseases such as colds or allergies can only invade the body if the External environment overwhelms our Wei Qi (the TCM version of the immune system). In order to counteract this invasion Warm/Acrid herbs aim to induce sweating by increasing the flow of sweat to our capillary pores. The belief is that this will expel the disease from the body and stop it from invading further.
As suggested by its category fresh ginger are plants that are Warm in nature. This means that fresh ginger tend to help people who have too much 'Cold' in their body, although with less effect than a plant that would be Hot in nature. Balance between Yin and Yang is a key health concept in TCM. Those who have too much Cold in their body are said to either have a Yin Excess(because Yin is Cold in nature) or a Yang Deficiency (Yang is Hot in Nature). Depending on your condition fresh ginger can help restore a harmonious balance between Yin and Yang.
Fresh ginger also taste Pungent. The so-called 'Five Phases' theory in Chinese Medicine states that the taste of TCM ingredients is a key determinant of their action in the body. Pungent ingredients like fresh ginger tend to promote the circulations of Qi and Body Fluids. That's why for instance someone tends to sweat a lot when they eat spicy/pungent food.
The tastes of ingredients in TCM also determine what Organs and Meridians they target. As such fresh ginger are thought to target the Spleen, the Stomach and the Lung. In TCM the Spleen assists with digestion, Blood coagulation and Fluids metabolism in the body. The Stomach on the other hand is responsible for receiving and ripening ingested food and fluids. It is also tasked with descending the digested elements downwards to the Small Intestine. In addition to performing respiration, the Lungs are thought in TCM to be a key part of the production chain for Qi and the Body Fluids that nourish the body.
Research on fresh ginger (Sheng Jiang)
3 months supplementation of ginger improved glycemic indices and total antioxidant capacity in patients with type 2 diabetes.1
Treatment of primary dysmenorrhea in students with ginger for 5 days had a statistically significant effect on relieving intensity and duration of pain.2
Ginger powder has add-on effect on reducing the symptoms of osteoarthritis of knee with acceptable safety profile.3
Ginger supplementation at a daily dose of 0.5 g-1.0 g significantly aids in reduction of the severity of acute chemotherapy-induced nausea in adult cancer patients.4
Ginger can be considered as a useful treatment option for women suffering from morning sickness.5
Sources:
1. Shidfar F, Rajab A, Rahideh T, Khandouzi N, Hosseini S, Shidfar S. ( 2015). The effect of ginger (Zingiber officinale) on glycemic markers in patients with type 2 diabetes. J Complement Integr Med. , 12(2):165-70. doi: 10.1515/jcim-2014-0021.
2. Rahnama P, Montazeri A, Huseini HF, Kianbakht S, Naseri M. ( 2012 ). Effect of Zingiber officinale R. rhizomes (ginger) on pain relief in primary dysmenorrhea: a placebo randomized trial. BMC Complement Altern Med. , 12:92. doi: 10.1186/1472-6882-12-92.
3. Paramdeep G. (2013). Efficacy and tolerability of ginger (Zingiber officinale) in patients of osteoarthritis of knee. Indian J Physiol Pharmacol. , 57(2):177-83.
4. Ryan JL, Heckler CE, Roscoe JA, Dakhil SR, Kirshner J, Flynn PJ, Hickok JT, Morrow GR. (2012). Ginger (Zingiber officinale) reduces acute chemotherapy-induced nausea: a URCC CCOP study of 576 patients. Support Care Cancer. , 20(7):1479-89. doi: 10.1007/s00520-011-1236-3. Epub 2011 Aug 5.
5. Willetts KE, Ekangaki A, Eden JA. (2003). Effect of a ginger extract on pregnancy-induced nausea: a randomised controlled trial. Aust N Z J Obstet Gynaecol. 43(2):139-44.
Use of fresh ginger (Sheng Jiang) as food
Fresh ginger are also eaten as food. It is used as an ingredient in dishes such as Candied ginger or Gingerbread.