Updated: 25 August 2019
We’ve all been nauseous. Whether from pregnancy’s morning-sickness or medication side-effects, from the annual flu bug or a migraine attack, from anxiety or dehydration, or from eating a bit too much of that delicious holiday dinner, we can find nausea an unwelcome companion. Prescription anti-emetics can do an excellent job of preventing vomiting, but they can also make you dizzy or incontinent. Worse, since these powerful medications are to prevent vomiting, they don’t necessarily eliminate nausea. Over the last several years, I’ve come to rely more on natural remedies to relieve nausea, no matter its cause, and I’ve learned to keep many of these items in my pantry year round. Ginger is the best natural nausea antidote, and it’s generally regarded as safe to eat regularly.* I always have plenty of ginger in the house, whether as fresh root, crystallized, or as a major ingredient in some very yummy products. Fresh ginger root or crystallized ginger, which is made from the root, more effectively relieves nausea than culinary powdered ginger or herbal capsules containing powdered ginger.
Though I always have plenty of fresh ginger root (sliced, then frozen to maintain freshness) for baking and stir-fry dishes, crystallized ginger is now one of my kitchen staples. Years ago, I saw ginger listed in an herbal anti-nausea supplement, so I bought some crystallized ginger at a health food store. The next time I got nauseous, I opened the bag and popped a slice into my mouth. It was delicious. Even better, two slices later, my nausea had completely disappeared. Since that time, I keep an airtight glass container on the counter filled with crystallized ginger. When I have the flu, am getting a migraine, or have nausea for any reason, I eat a few slices of crystallized ginger. It immediately relieves nausea, and if the upset stomach returns later, I simply eat another piece.
Once we moved to Big Rock Candy Mountain, however, I couldn’t find crystallized ginger in the local grocery, and the closest health food stores are over two hours away. At first, I decided to make my own. It’s not difficult: you just slice fresh, firm, dry ginger root, add sugar and water, and boil until the ginger is tender and the water turns into syrup. Then you strain and cool the ginger slices before rolling them in sugar. Time-consuming, but, honestly, easy-peasy. In addition to eating the crystallized ginger, I put a couple slices into my iced tea, water, seltzer, carbonated water, lemonade, smoothies, and even iced coffee. I love the taste, but when I’m nauseous, I’m usually also dehydrated or having a migraine attack, so putting the crystallized ginger into my beverages helps all the nasty symptoms I may be experiencing. At the rate I was eating my homemade crystallized ginger, I soon found it more convenient to purchase it online rather than drive to the big city every week.
Since I have severe allergies and migraine whose attacks can be triggered by many different foods additives or preservatives, I have to be very careful about which ginger products I buy. I can only have ginger root that has not been exposed to sulfites, artificial sweeteners, artificial colors, or preservatives. I also prefer non-GMO and organic ginger. All of these products meet my stringent migraine and allergy requirements. I’ve listed each product’s ingredients based on its packaging in the most recent version I’ve bought rather than on any online listings since item’s actual ingredient list sometimes contain known allergens or migraine triggers. Here are a few of my favorite crystallized ginger products to relieve nausea.**
Caveat
Eating crystallized ginger or adding it to your beverages takes away your appetite along with your nausea. In fact, ginger root is such a strong appetite suppressant that it’s almost always one of the ingredients in herbal diet supplements. Fresh or crystallized ginger is a more powerful anorectic than any herbal diet pills, so if you have difficulty keeping weight on, you may want to monitor your intake of ginger.
Best Crystallized Ginger
Best Ginger For Beverages
No matter what kind of tea I having — black, green, rooibos, or herbal — I drop a couple slices of crystallized ginger into the bottom of the cup before I add the boiling water. If I have cold tea, I drop some slices into my glass before adding the ice. I don’t like too much sugar in my tea, and 2-4 crystallized ginger slices make it sweet enough for me. For my tea, whether hot or cold, I prefer NOW Foods Crystallized Ginger Slices, which contains ginger root, evaporated cane syrup, and cane sugar. NOW ginger is certified organic and verified non-GMO. NOW Foods brand is not dried out to the point of being hard, and it’s not too sugary. These slices give Perrier a very slight ginger ale flavor and are also excellent added to lemonade, limeade, or orange juice.
Best Ginger For Baking and For Smoothies
I’ve heard of people eating gingersnaps for nausea, but store-bought brands, even those with a strong ginger flavor, simply don’t have enough ginger to alleviate the fierce nausea that accompanies a migraine attack. Sometimes I make my own gingersnaps, and for that, I prefer NOW Food Brands Crystallized Ginger Dices, also certified organic and verified non-GMO.
Because they’re made for baking, the dices are shaped like little gumdrops, but not as sweet as candy. The dices are a little chewier than the slices and have slightly less sugar, but the taste is the same, and so is their anti-emetic and anorectic properties. The dices knock out nausea just as quickly as the slices, but because they’re smaller, I have to eat a whole handful to quell nausea. When I have a migraine, I often drink homemade smoothies as meals, and if I want crystallized ginger in my smoothies, I use the NOW dices because they get chopped and blended more easily.
Best Ginger For Eating
My favorite crystallized ginger for eating straight from the bag, whether to prevent nausea during the flu or a migraine attack, or throughout the day to keep my appetite under control, is Gerbs Organic Crystallized Ginger, sourced from Thailand. Made with ginger and cane sugar, Gerbs ginger comes in 2- or 4-pound resealable bags. Because Gerbs is a bit more expensive, I don’t like to put it in smoothies, tea, Perrier, etc., because its texture gets lost. Although both NOW and Gerbs crystallized gingers come in hefty slices, and though both are great for eating, Gerbs Organic Crystallized Ginger is slightly thicker and a bit moister. I keep some slices in a candy dishes on my desk and nightstand, as well as in an airtight jar on the kitchen counter, so that I always have some around if the nausea of a migraine attack begins.
Australian Crystallized Ginger
Top-Rated Crystallized Ginger
Based on articles and reviews of crystallized ginger by bakers, chefs, and cookbook authors, I tried Australian Crystallized Ginger, which is said to be the best in the world, and Thai Crystallized Candied Ginger. Both of these brands contain only cane sugar and ginger, and are free of sulphur (sulfites). These two brands of crystallized ginger are divine — sweet, very plump, and extremely moist. Both come in multiple pound bags. The Thai Crystallized Candied Ginger is especially sweet — very candy-like — though it is more ginger root than sugar and so, technically, is probably not “candy.” Because it’s actual ginger root, it quells nausea better than any “ginger candies” on the market: ginger candies are much like prepackaged gingersnaps — they may taste good, but they don’t have enough ginger to relieve nausea.
Thai Crystallized Candied Ginger
I wish I could buy these two brands all the time, but I found myself devouring these gingers even when I wasn’t nauseous, i.e., like candy. I went through several pounds of the Australian and Thai crystallized gingers so quickly that I didn’t have enough the next time I was nauseous from a migraine. Even my guy liked these brands of crystallized ginger, and he is a confirmed ginger-hater. If you don’t love crystallized ginger (or actually hate ginger in any form), Australian or Thai Crystallized Ginger might be the type you’d want to keep around the house to relieve nausea.
Best Ginger for Homemade Ginger Tea
The best ginger I’ve ever gotten for homemade tea is Tea Spot’s Organic Ginger Root. I realize that tossing a couple of pieces of crystallized ginger into a cup of boiling water will give a faint ginger taste, but Tea Spot’s Organic Ginger Root makes a wonderful tasting tea that I can have without sugar. It provides all the stomach-calming and nausea-quelling properties of the crystallized ginger without any of the sugar. Also, since the ginger root is dried and chopped, I don’t have to store it in the refrigerator or freezer as I do with fresh or crystallized ginger, which makes it very convenient.
Ginger is the best natural remedy I’ve ever found to quell nausea, whether it’s from migraine, medications, motion-sickness, flu, or holiday overindulgence. It has none of the side-effects of pharmaceutical anti-emetics (prescription or OTC) and can be added to liquids so you ensure that you remain hydrated. Even if you’re not fond of ginger, you’ll find that crystallized ginger, which is often made from baby ginger, has little of the heat of restaurant stir-fry gingers and none of the bitterness. The only thing you may have to worry about with crystallized ginger is that you’ll like it so much, you’ll find yourself eating it like candy, whether or not you’re nauseous.
*Safety*
It’s generally regarded as safe to eat ginger — up to 1000mg per day. if you eat too much in one day, you might get heartburn or diarrhea, so start slowly. Also, ginger may be an anti-coagulant: consult your physican if you are on prescription blood-thinners, and do not consume any ginger products for two weeks before scheduled surgical procedures. (back to article)
**Caution**
If you experience unrelenting nausea, it may be a sign of an ulcer or of something more serious. If nausea is accompanied by vomiting, it may be food poisoning or gastritis. Please check with your health care provider if you have daily nausea that is not relieved by ginger or OTC anti-emetics. (back to article)
Note: I have never received free products or other compensation for reviews.
