Drink Ginger Tea Rather Than Ginger Ale If You Have an Upset Stomach
When you have stomach problems, you might think the best option is to bathe in sparkling ginger ale. But soda, it turns out, isn’t very good for the stomach, and this ginger ale probably doesn’t have real ginger anyway.
For years, people believed that ginger ale had some magical power that could turn the frown on an angry stomach. The idea is that bubbles and caffeine speed up your digestion, while ginger acts as a remedy for nausea. But in The Wall Street Journal, Heidi Mitchell spoke with gastroenterologist Alexandra Gutierrez about ginger ale and why it’s actually not the medicine you need when you’re feeling unwell or bloating.
Overeating and eating foods high in fat can give you some problems, such as gas and bloating . You are uncomfortable, nauseous, and probably feel some pain downstairs. The only way to get better, Gutierrez says, is to flush food out of the stomach and into the intestines, but ginger ale doesn’t help much in that process. Caffeine and fizzy bubbles can give your gut a slight jolt, but high amounts of sugar in soda will make your nausea worse. Choosing a diet instead of regular ginger ale may help, but it is not the panacea you want it to be. Why? While ginger is well known for its anti-nausea properties , these cans of ginger ale likely don’t have any ginger at all.
So what’s a bloated, sickening person to do? Drink ginger tea instead. Ginger tea, unlike most ginger ales, does have real ginger in it, and it doesn’t have all that sugar. Plus, hot liquids like tea actually stimulate your bowels . The warm liquid acts as a vasodilator , dilating the blood vessels of the digestive system and increasing blood flow, promoting the activity of the gastrointestinal tract. Remember, the sooner you can get things to move there, the sooner you will feel comfortable again. According to the University of Maryland Medical Center , about one gram of ginger a day will help. So, assuming a standard 2 gram sachet of ginger tea blend contains 25% to 50% ginger (0.5 to 1 g) , just one sachet will probably be enough for your post-meal healing.