Ginger: benefits, properties and use — Complete guide 2026

Ginger: benefits, properties and use — Complete guide 2026

Ginger (Zingiber officinale) is one of the most studied medicinal plants in the world. With more than 15,000 studies published on PubMed, its effects on health are among the best documented in all herbal medicine.

The active ingredients of ginger

  • [6]-Gingerol : anti-inflammatory, analgesic, antimicrobial — main active ingredient of fresh ginger
  • Shogaol : forms during drying, particularly strong anti-nausea effect
  • Paradol : thermogenic, anti-cancer (preclinical studies)
  • Zingerone : antioxidant, antibacterial

The 10 scientifically validated benefits of ginger

  1. Anti-inflammatory : inhibits NF-κB and COX-2 (Grzanna 2005)
  2. Anti-nausea : as effective as vitamin B6 during pregnancy (Viljoen 2014)
  3. Menstrual pain reliever : comparable to ibuprofen (Ozgoli 2009, n=150)
  4. Anti-migraine : comparable to sumatriptan (Maghbooli 2014, n=100)
  5. Digestive : reduces bloating, accelerates gastric emptying (Wu 2008)
  6. Anti-arthritis : reduces joint pain vs placebo (Altman 2001, n=261)
  7. Cardioprotector : reduces LDL, triglycerides, blood pressure
  8. Neuroprotective : inhibits acetylcholinesterase, reduces neural inflammation
  9. Anti-infectious : activity against Staphylococcus, Streptococcus, H. pylori
  10. Immunomodulator : modulates the gut-brain axis, strengthens innate immunity

How to choose your ginger

Shape Gingerols Bioavailability Practicality
Fresh ginger High Good Low
Powdered ginger Medium (conversion to Shogaol) Good Average
Standardized extract (capsules) High Excellent Good
INTI (organic concentrate) High Excellent (+ piperine ×20) Excellent

INTI: organic Belgian ginger in its purest form

INTI is the only Belgian organic ginger concentrate that combines:

  • Organic ginger from Peru (high concentration of gingerols)
  • Organic turmeric from Peru + piperine (×20 bioavailability)
  • 1.19g of sugar/100ml — 0 added sugar
  • Keto compatible, intermittent fasting, diabetes

→ Discover INTI, Belgian organic ginger elixir

→ INTI vs GIMBER: complete comparison