New Years Resolutions With Ginger

New Year’s Resolutions with Ginger

By: Alexandra Rothwell Kelly, MPH, RD

January marks a time for cleansing ourselves from the indulgences of the holiday season and establishing new habits for a healthier, happier new year. Traditionally, New Year’s resolutions involve self-improvement such as weight loss, establishing exercise routines or eating a clean diet. These are all admirable (and achievable) ambitions, but they are lofty and abstract and often become neglected despite the good intentions of resolutioners. When counseling for behavior modification, I always encourage clients to imagine their long-term, “big-picture” goals but to initiate a series of small and easily attainable objectives, one by one. Achieving small goals can lead to feelings of pride, accomplishment and positive reinforcement that can motivate other healthy behaviors and ultimately lead to attainment of the greater ambition.

Adding a daily dose of ginger to the diet this new year is a perfect example of a small objective with a big payoff. Here are my top five reasons to eat more ginger this year to achieve your weight management goals.

• Ginger may promote fat loss. Animal studies have shown ginger can help to inhibit the creation and accumulation of body fat and reduce fat mass, but more research is needed to confirm this phenomenon in humans.

• Ginger can increase calorie burn. Ginger has demonstrated the ability to increase the “thermic effect of food”. When we eat, our body expends a certain amount of energy (or calories) to process food, and this is known as the “thermic effect of food” or “dietary induced thermogenesis”. Ginger increases this effect so that we burn more calories when eating foods that contain ginger.

• Ginger reduces inflammation, which is a negative consequence of excess body fat. One of ginger’s most recognized health benefits is its anti-inflammatory properties, and there seems to be no exception for inflammation related to obesity. Studies that have examined the effect of ginger consumption in overweight individuals have shown a reduction in pro-inflammatory cytokines (markers of inflammation).

• Ginger can help to control appetite. In a study involving overweight men, subjective measures of hunger were reduced after a meal containing ginger.

• Ginger brings a strong, spicy and slightly sweet flavor, which can reduce the need for adding excess sugars when cooking.

Ginger can be easily incorporated into any diet in a variety of ways and used in both savory and sweet dishes. The Ginger People’s line of ingredient products make for quick and delicious recipe preparations and prevent the need for having fresh ginger on hand at all times.

I use The Ginger People Ginger Juice in my morning green smoothies to add spice and reduce the need for excess sweetness from fruit. In place of ground ginger, which has a dull flavor compared to the fresh version, I also use ginger juice or minced ginger in overnight oats, muesli, and other grains and cereals such as buckwheat groats or quinoa. Additionally, The Ginger People has an entire line of cooking sauces, which can be used as marinades for meats, fish or poultry or used in your favorite vegetable dishes.

Good luck with your resolutions, and Happy New Year from The Ginger People!