Zingiber officinale

Ginger/Nutrient Depletion:

  • CalciumCalcium: Ginger or ginger extracts may stimulate calcium uptake in both skeletal and cardiac muscle. In vitro research on gingerol involving canine cardiac tissue and rabbit skeletal muscle demonstrated that gingerol activates the Ca2+-ATPase pump in a dose-dependent manner (359). In theory, ginger coupled with high serum levels of calcium may cause hyperexcitability of cardiac muscle.
  • GlucoseGlucose: Theoretically, due to its purported hypoglycemic effects, ginger may lower blood glucose levels (134).
  • LipidsLipids: In animal research, oral ingestion of ginger extract has been shown to have hypocholesterolemic, hypolipidemic, and antiatherosclerotic effects (141; 145). Similarly in human research, ginger powder increased HDL cholesterol and reduced triglyceride, total cholesterol, and LDL cholesterol vs. placebo (146).