Ginger is an herb. The rhizome (underground stem) is used as a spice and also as a
medicine. It can be used fresh, dried and powdered, or as a
juice or
oil.
Ginger is commonly used to treat various types of "stomach problems," including motion sickness, morning sickness,
colic, upset stomach, gas, diarrhea,
nausea and vomiting after surgery, as well as loss of appetite. Other uses include treating upper respiratory tract
infections,
cough, and bronchitis.
Ryan JL, Heckler CE, Roscoe JA, Dakhil SR, Kirshner J, Flynn PJ, Hickok JT, Morrow GR.
Ginger (Zingiber officinale) reduces acute chemotherapy-induced nausea: a URCC CCOP study of 576 patients. 1. Support Care cancer. 2012 Jul;20(7):1479-89. Epub 2011 Aug 5. 
PURPOSE: Despite the widespread use of antiemetics,
nausea continues to be reported by over 70% of patients receiving chemotherapy. METHODS: In this double blind, multicenter trial, we randomly assigned 744
cancer patients to four arms: 1) placebo, 2) 0.5 g
ginger, 3) 1.0 g
ginger, or 4) 1.5 g
ginger.
Nausea occurrence and severity were assessed at a baseline cycle and the two following cycles during which patients were taking their assigned study medication. All patients received a 5-HT(3) receptor antagonist antiemetic on Day 1 of all cycles. Patients took three capsules of
ginger (250 mg) or placebo twice daily for 6 days starting 3 days before the first day of chemotherapy. Patients reported the severity of
nausea on a 7-point rating scale ("1" = "Not at all Nauseated" and "7" = "Extremely Nauseated") for Days 1-4 of each cycle. The primary outcomes were to determine the dose and efficacy of
ginger at reducing the severity of chemotherapy-induced
nausea on Day 1 of chemotherapy. RESULTS: A total of 576 patients were included in final analysis (91% female, mean age = 53). Mixed model analyses demonstrated that all doses of
ginger significantly reduced acute
nausea severity compared to placebo on Day 1 of chemotherapy (p = 0.003). The largest reduction in
nausea intensity occurred with 0.5 g and 1.0 g of
ginger (p = 0.017 and p = 0.036, respectively). Anticipatory
nausea was a key factor in acute chemotherapy-induced
nausea (p < 0.0001). CONCLUSIONS:
ginger supplementation at a daily dose of 0.5 g-1.0 g significantly aids in reduction of the severity of acute chemotherapy-induced
nausea in adult
cancer patients.