Lee Swanson Research Update

Ginger may aid Digestion in Diabetics

June 2004

ginger

Ginger has often been called "the tummy tamer" when used by healthy individuals to calm a queasy stomach. Now it appears that ginger enhances digestion in diabetic individuals.

Researchers in the Division of Gastroenterology, Department of Internal Medicine, University of Michigan Medical Center noted that acute hyperglycemia (high blood sugar levels) generates prostaglandins that cause gastric slow wave disruption. "We hypothesized that ginger prevents disruption of slow wave rhythm by acute hyperglycemia via inhibition of prostaglandin production but not its actions."

Scientists measured stomach contractions in 22 healthy adults, who had received 1,000 mg of ginger root. The first measurement was taken after participants were given intravenous glucose to raise their blood sugar levels and the second, after they took misoprostol, a substance known to disrupt normal stomach rhythm. For the third and fourth measurements, participants took placebo, then the same amounts of glucose and misoprostol.

At the end of the study, it was noted that ginger root significantly reduced the disruptive effect of elevated blood sugar on stomach rhythm, "indicating that ginger likely acts to blunt production of prostaglandins rather than inhibiting their action." The implication for diabetics is that taking ginger may help provide symptomatic relief of digestive disruptions if blood sugar levels become elevated.

The Journal of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics307:1098-1103, 2003

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