Menstrual Cramps is every girl's nightmare. It's that pain you feel that almost makes every other remaining body part ache too. For some women these days, instead of taking the conventional pain reliever, they turn to something they can get quickly and, well, for free. The herb ginger (Zingiber officinale) is found to have anti-inflammatory feature which aids in alleviating the pain connected with menstrual cramping and premenstrual syndrome or as many women would call it, PMS.
Many women still wonder why ginger is used for menstrual troubles.
According to research, there are certain substances found in ginger that can help stop the body's production of prostaglandins. Prostaglandin is a group of pro-inflammatory chemicals that stimulate contractility of the uterine and other smooth muscles. Because menstrual cramps' beginning is usually thought to be connected to overflowing production of prostaglandins, including ginger in the diet supplement or tea form can help lessen pain during menstruation.
The have been studies published in recent years suggesting that ginger might be able to help in relieving dysmenorrhea (the medical term for menstrual pain). These studies have had clinical trials which can be found in the Archives of Gynecology and Obstetrics in 2014, where a couple of female students with moderate to severe menstrual pain were randomly divided into two groups.
They were observed for two menstrual periods, one group were given 250 mg of ginger extract every six hours, while the other group took 250 mg of mefenamic acid, a kind of drug that is often used to treat menstrual cramps, every eight hours. When the results were out, it showed that ginger and mefenamic acid were both effective in relieving the pain.
In a clinical trial, where results were published in the Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine in 2009, researchers chose 150 women with menstrual pain to be treated with ginger extract, mefenamic acid, or ibuprofen for one menstrual period. At the end of treatment, the severity of pain had significantly lowered in all groups. In addition, there was no difference between the groups in pain relief or satisfaction with treatment. The group also stated that there was some evidence that ginger may have helped control heavy menstrual bleeding.
