Ginger ( Zingiber officinale Roscoe, Zingiberaceae) is one of the most commonly consumed dietary condiments in the world ( Surh et al. Regrettably, a great deal of the information regarding the effectiveness and safety of these remedies has been garnered from anecdotal or historical accounts, and much of the information offered is generally misleading and might even be detrimental ( Ernst and Schmidt 2002). For example, at least one recent survey revealed a significant problem with herb-chemotherapeutic drug interactions in cancer patients and, notably, at least half of the herbal remedies taken by these patients lacked research data documenting their potential interactions ( Engdal, Klepp, and Nilsen 2009).
However, this might not be a safe or advisable practice. More and more older adults (i.e., baby boomers) are using complementary and alternative medicine dietary supplements and herbal remedies without advice from a physician on the assumption that these substances will have a beneficial effect ( Cohen, Ek, and Pan 2002). The use of “natural” or alternative medicines has increased markedly over the last few years.
