WHAT THE EVIDENCE SAYS

A knobbly root,
a long reputation.

The ginger we cook with is not a root at all.

It is a rhizome, an underground stem, from a plant native to the eastern Himalaya and southern China. It has been used in folk medicine since ancient times, and today the best evidence for it is on nausea in pregnancy.

RHIZOME an underground stem

Check the evidence

Fresh knobbly ginger rhizomes on a wooden chopping board, one cut open to show pale yellow flesh, with a knife and a few thin slices — AI-generated image, not a photograph of a real person or place.

Grown in warm climates
Eaten as a rhizome
Some evidence for nausea
Spice first, remedy second

THE SHORT ANSWER

Tasty in food,
modest as a remedy.

Ginger is a plant, a spice and a folk remedy.
The evidence is strongest for one kind of nausea.

THE PLANT

From the Himalaya

Kew gives its native range as the eastern Himalaya to south-central China. It is a perennial that grows mainly in the seasonally dry tropics.

Where it grows

THE KITCHEN

The part we eat

The knobbly piece sold as ginger is the rhizome, an underground stem. It is used in food and in teas, biscuits and supplements.

Ways to use it

NAUSEA

Some evidence, not all

NCCIH says ginger may help nausea in pregnancy. For motion sickness, most studies have not shown it to help.

Check the evidence

General information only, not medical advice. For advice about your own health, speak to a doctor, pharmacist or other qualified health professional.

A QUICK EVIDENCE CHECK

What kind of
queasy?

Pick a situation to see what UK and US health sources say about ginger for it. The bar shows how strong the support is.

Evidence check

Choose a situationMorning sickness in pregnancyFeeling sick day to dayTravel sicknessSickness from chemotherapySickness after an operation

Morning sickness in pregnancyMay help

NCCIH says research shows ginger may help, and the NHS says there is some evidence. Check with a pharmacist before taking ginger supplements in pregnancy.

Feeling sick day to dayWorth a try

The NHS lists ginger or peppermint tea and foods containing ginger, such as ginger biscuits, among things to try. See a GP if it does not ease in a few days.

Travel sicknessMixed

The NHS suggests trying ginger as a tablet, biscuit or tea. NCCIH says most studies have not shown ginger to help with motion sickness.

Sickness from chemotherapyUncertain

NCCIH says it is uncertain whether ginger helps alongside standard treatment. Talk to the care team before adding any supplement.

Sickness after an operationUncertain

NCCIH says it is uncertain whether ginger helps with nausea and vomiting after surgery.

Sources: NCCIH, Ginger (fact sheet); NHS, Feeling sick (nausea); NHS, Vomiting and morning sickness; NHS, Motion sickness.

Based on NCCIH's ginger fact sheet and NHS pages on nausea, pregnancy sickness and motion sickness. General information, not personal medical advice.

TWO NUMBERS WORTH KNOWING

Most morning sickness
passes. Some needs help.

Pregnancy is where ginger's evidence is strongest,
so these two NHS figures are worth knowing.

16–20 weeks

When morning sickness usually clears

The NHS says nausea and vomiting is very common in early pregnancy and usually clears up by weeks 16 to 20.

PREGNANCY · NHS

24 hours

Unable to keep food or fluids down

The NHS says to contact a midwife, GP or 111 if you cannot keep food or fluids down for 24 hours, or have not passed urine in more than 8 hours.

WHEN TO GET HELP · NHS

A severe form, hyperemesis gravidarum, can be serious and may need specialist treatment, sometimes in hospital. Ginger is not a substitute for getting help.

FOUR SENSIBLE STEPS

Ginger, used
with a little care.

These steps follow NHS and NCCIH guidance. Ginger in food is everyday cooking; supplements are worth a quick check first.

Start with food and drink
The NHS suggests ginger tea or foods containing ginger, such as ginger biscuits, when you feel sick.
Ask before supplements
Check with a pharmacist before taking ginger supplements in pregnancy, and with a health professional if you take any medicine.
Watch for side effects
NCCIH lists tummy discomfort, heartburn, diarrhoea and mouth and throat irritation.
Know when to stop and ask
If sickness does not ease in a few days, keeps coming back, or you cannot keep fluids down, contact a GP or 111.

A glass cup of pale ginger tea with thin slices of fresh ginger in it, on a kitchen table in morning light — AI-generated image, not a photograph of a real person or place.

Rows of tall, leafy ginger plants growing in a sunny tropical field, with reed-like stems and narrow green leaves — AI-generated image, not a photograph of a real person or place.

WHERE GINGER GROWS

A tropical plant
in every spice rack.

Ginger is Zingiber officinale, in the family Zingiberaceae. Kew's Plants of the World Online gives its native range as the eastern Himalaya to south-central China, including Assam, and lists it as introduced across many tropical regions.

NCCIH describes it as native to warm parts of Asia and now also grown in parts of South America, Africa and the Middle East. Kew describes it as a perennial, rhizomatous plant, and the rhizome is the part we buy and cook.

Questions

Questions people ask

Is ginger a root?

Not quite. The part we eat is a rhizome, an underground stem. NCCIH describes it this way, and Kew lists ginger as a rhizomatous perennial.

Where does ginger come from?

Kew gives its native range as the eastern Himalaya to south-central China. NCCIH says it is now also grown in parts of South America, Africa and the Middle East.

Does ginger help with morning sickness?

NCCIH says research shows it may help, and the NHS says there is some evidence. The NHS advises checking with a pharmacist before taking ginger supplements in pregnancy.

Does ginger work for travel sickness?

The NHS suggests trying it as a tablet, biscuit or tea, but NCCIH says most studies have not shown ginger to help with motion sickness.

Does ginger have side effects?

NCCIH says oral ginger can cause abdominal discomfort, heartburn, diarrhoea and mouth and throat irritation, and advises people taking medicines to talk to a health professional first.

A knobbly root,
a long reputation.