Ginger: an ally against inflammation
Ginger is a grandmother's remedy, and nowadays considered a "super food". It is known to have 𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐱𝐢𝐝𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐢-𝐢𝐧𝐟𝐥𝐚𝐦𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐬, to relieve digestive disorders, and to promote cardiovascular health. A research team has shown that ginger's main active molecule 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐬 𝐧𝐞𝐮𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐡𝐢𝐥 𝐡𝐲𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐭𝐲 in mouse models of lupus and antiphospholipid syndrome. The role of neutrophils is to capture and eliminate pathogens from the body. However, in autoimmune diseases, this reaction can 𝐛𝐚𝐜𝐤𝐟𝐢𝐫𝐞 𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐝𝐮𝐚𝐥'𝐬 𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐢𝐦𝐦𝐮𝐧𝐞 𝐬𝐲𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐦.
These researchers recently studied the effects of ginger ingestion on neutrophil activity in humans 𝐢𝐧 𝐚 𝐩𝐢𝐥𝐨𝐭 𝐜𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐥. They first studied the ability of neutrophils to become hyperactive after stimulation in blood samples from healthy individuals, 𝐛𝐞𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐚𝐟𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐮𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝟏 𝐰𝐞𝐞𝐤. The results suggested that ginger consumption could 𝐬𝐥𝐨𝐰 𝐝𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐧𝐞𝐮𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐡𝐢𝐥 𝐡𝐲𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐭𝐲.
Ginger would be an interesting option for patients suffering from autoimmune diseases. Indeed, it could provide a 𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐚𝐥 𝐚𝐥𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐟𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐠𝐞𝐭𝐬 𝐧𝐞𝐮𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐡𝐢𝐥 𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐭𝐲. The next step is to test the impact of ginger supplementation on patients suffering from lupus or antiphospholipid syndrome, for example.