Take on Motion Sickness with Ginger
Motion sickness is something many of us have experienced. From cars, to planes, to boats, we have all either fallen victim to or have witnessed someone else suffer from motion sickness. Though we aren’t sure the cause is always the same — conflicting sensory signals going to the brain — there may be a way to help fight off motion sickness.
According to a study in the journal, Lancet, that took 36 people prone to motion sickness and provided them with either two pills of anti-nausea medication, a placebo, or powdered ginger. After a 20-minute wait to let the medicine kick in, researchers found taking ginger delayed the onset of sickness about twice as long as taking the anti-nausea medicine! The researchers also discovered about 50% of those who took ginger lasted the full six minutes, compared with none of those given the placebo or the medication.
Here’s a great ginger chew recipe you can make and take on your trips!
Ingredients:
- 2 cup pure water
- 1/4 cup shredded fresh ginger root – packed
- 3/4 cup organic cane sugar (brown sugar works too)
- 1/4 cup pure honey (no need for raw honey here)
- Coconut oil
- Candy thermometer
- 7x4 in. dish
- Parchment paper
Directions:
- Grate ginger root, pack it down into a 1/4 measuring cup and add to water in a saucepan. Simmer until half the liquid has evaporated (about 30 minutes). Strain and compost ginger. Reserve 1 cup of ginger concoction.
- Grease the small glass dish with coconut oil. Cut some parchment paper to fit the bottom of the pan and cover it with coconut oil too.
- Pour ginger concoction in a large clean saucepan. Add in sugar and honey over high heat until it reaches 260 degrees or passes a water drop test. When the temperature is reached or syrup has passed a water test, pour the candy into the prepared pan. Let sit for 30 minutes.
- Turn dish over and remove parchment paper from the bottom of the candy. Using a sharp knife run under HOT water or coated in coconut oil, cut the candy into small strips (1/2 x 1 inch). Wrap in extra parchment paper for storage.
These chews are shelf stable for 4-6 weeks, or even longer if stored in the refrigerator. If your candy gets stuck in your pan, you’ll have to use a spoon and scoop out bits of sticky candy to mold and wrap. Your chews will be the same, but it’ll just take a bit of extra work.
To help prevent motion sickness, researchers suggest you start consuming ginger 24-48 hours before long trips. If it’s a shorter trip, you will only need a few hours beforehand to get the ginger in your system. No need to try to stop at a gas station or raid the hotel’s retail area for nausea medicine, you now can make it on your own! If your motion sickness isn’t going away, come by Healthcare Express where we treat it all!
