Off beat help for imflamation, Ginger Ale | Arthritis Information

 

I actually got this idea from years ago in a book written by Ben Hogan. If he was playing a golf tournament and he hands felt "fat" he would drink a ginger ale because it is a mild diuretic. And it helped him.

Of course he did not know that ginger actually can work on reducing inflammation as well as a mild diuretic.

I had been using Vernor's brand (well the diet kind as I do not want all the sugar in the regular) and have had periodic success. When my hands are bad and stiff from swelling, the ginger ale does the trick.

I am actually making my own ginger ale now at home. I bought a home soda making machine (Soda Club if ya wanna google it). I slice up some peeled fresh ginger then boil it in some water until it reduces by 2/3. I add a bit of Stevia to sweeten the reduction then I can store that overnight to let things brew a bit. After that I strain out the ginger slices and save them for making a ginger candy snack by coating them lightly with splenda. Then I use my extract to make several bottles of ginger ale to keep in the 'fridge for the week. You have to keep it cold or it could keep fermenting and well, get a tad 'splosive...

I know it sounds silly but the ginger does really offer a fair amount of relief from pain related to inflammation. Now it does not always work for me...but ti works often enough that I am upping the amount of ginger I eat each week.

BTW, I find that I only get relief from fresh ginger not powdered.

Oh, yeah if you do not know Stevia is a sweetner that is 100% natural and non-toxic in any way that comes from the, are you ready, stevia plant. Of course it is not approved by our FDA as a sweetener in the US. Instead we keep getting more and more potentially toxic sweeteners...oops, better stop before I zoom off in "that" direction. Just know I love this sweetener and us the liquid form. I watch carb intake as blood glucose problems run in my family. So why use more then I need...

Anyway thanks for letting me share my off the wall folk remedy... Well, that explains why I run to the bathroom more when I drink Ginger Ale lol.  Doesn't help I take a water pill for the high blood pressure either lol.

That home recipe is kinda neat tho.  We have a budding chef in our home and I am going to see if she wants to try to make our own ginger ale.  Thanks for posting that!

I'd heard that ginger was good for joint pain a while back. I found fresh a bit too sharp on the tongue, but thanks for the reminder I'll try cutting it with honey.

grammaskittles:

hehehehe...and if ya look around the web there are oodles of recipes for home made ginger ale. That was how I figured out my method.

Tinker:

You bet glad it helped...eating raw fresh ginger can be really spicy for people. I am the kind who loves to buy jars (unless I can find fresh locally) of the pickled ginger they use in Sushi Bar's and eat it as a snack so I don't count on account of being sorta strange.

But do cook it a bit before adding the honey then coat it and let it cool. Again you can google "ginger candy recipe" and find various ways to make it.Thanks Breck, I love the idea of home made ginger candy

The idea of making your own is excellent, or if you don't want to go to the trouble, look for all natural brands of soda (pop - to many of you!).

Ginger is a very valuable home remedy.  It is wonderful for the digestive system.  That's where the old adage about sipping ginger ale when you have an upset stomach comes from.  Also, ginger was the home remedy of choice for treating what our grandmother's called "rheumatism".  I know my grandmother always had ginger on hand and used it in a variety of ways!

One word of warning though, ginger can thin your blood, so never use it if you are taking any other types of blood thinners without checking with your doctor.

Oh thats just super.  NOT!!!  There goes ginger out the window for me!!!!  Thanks for the great idea. I will be trying this as I love gingerale but stay
away because of the amount of sugar. I just started using stevia a few
weeks ago and once you get used to it, it is really good. I'm trying to unload
the nutrasweet and other artificial sweetners from my diet. I have such a
sweet tooth, I just cannot do away with a sweet fix every day. Also, ginger is
really good for your digestive system. Can settle an upset tummy. Some
people such a bit on the peeled root or boil it as a tea. Thanks for the
advice on gingerale being artificial. I'm wondering if you could buy a better
brand that is real, such as maybe Kempers. I'm gonna do some shopping
around. Thanks again.Hillhoney:

Great point about the blood thinning that might happen with ginger. I had not been aware of that issue. Certainly a case to discuss with a doc if a person has any probs in that area. Sadly many doc's have no clue about alternate options. But I notice many are actually taking the time to learn about them these days.

As for the artificial ginger ale's...well, that is why I only use Vernor's as it is still aged in oak barrels. Remember often the artificial flavor means the artificial sweetener. So, it pays to learn about any product you are wanting to use...but still it is pretty much not the same Vernor's I drank as a kid...the stuff would suck the air from your lungs if you dared inhale anywhere near the bottle after it was first opened...hehehehee

But now I love the home made stuff. Plus it is CHEAP. My kinda stuff...good 'n cheeeep...

lorster:

Nice to find someone else who found the Stevia. I had to become accustomed to it also. I got sort of a licorice aftertaste. It was very faint but there. Now I cannot tell any difference. Plus there are no calories or carbs (the real way to classify sugar-like stuff) in stevia. I wish the FDA would approve it here in the US. I am sure it would help people.

In my old age I also have to avoid dairy so it means lots of soy water, er, milk...hehehehe...but I buy the Silk brand in the green container as it has no flavoring as well as no added sugar. I was floored when I saw how much sugar was added to the other types of soy milk.

The unsweetened soy milk was OK to drink but when I make my cold cawfee drinks it was missing stuff...then I realized it needed sweetening. Now I take my coffee (about 16oz), a few ounces of soy milk then 5-7 drops of stevia and it is almost too sweet tasting. Again it's wonderful because it's CHEEEEPER then spending at a coffee house.

I found a nice place to buy the stevia at a decent price compared to getting it in my small town. I use a place called theCatalog.com and buy a bottle about 1-2x/year.

It's so cool that my first thread here actually was of interest to a few folks...neat!!
Copyright ArthritisInsight.com