Ginger and its Many Benefits

No time like right now, to invest in taking better care of your immune system. Ginger has been my “go to” herb for decades in the forms of tea, as a cooking spice as well as capsules as a supplement to other vitamin and diet deficiencies. I have experienced noticeable improvements and/or management of allergies, headaches, joint and muscle inflammation and nausea. 

Ginger root, also known as zingiber officinale or zingiberis rhizome. The Chinese name is shen jiang. Ginger is native to Asia often used as a food as well as medicine. In Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), ginger is used to remove “cold”, “wind” and “dampness”, while stopping the reverse flow of qi (energy). Use of ginger in Western countries has been mostly for gastrointestinal symptoms and respiratory ailments. Preclinical studies show ginger being antiemetic, anticancer, anti-inflammatory, and possibly helps to protect against Alzheimer’s disease.

Ginger has been used for many ailments including but not limited to the following:

  • stimulates appetite
  • helps relieve drug withdrawal symptoms
  • improves respiratory ailments
  • reduces nausea and vomiting
  • relieves indigestion
  • treats diarrhea
  • reduces rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis

Some people should avoid ginger consumption for certain issues such as those having surgery or bleeding ailments, because ginger has blood-thinning effects. Warfarin or other blood thinners may be less effective due to ginger increasing the risk of bleeding.

Those with gallstones should refrain from consuming ginger because it can increase the flow of bile and other potential cholagogic effects.

Individuals who take insulin or medications to lower blood glucose should avoid ginger because it may increase larger reductions in glucose levels.

Upon my further reading and research, it appears as if different sources might discourage ginger consumption during pregnancy (increase bleeding) while other sources state that it is fine to use during pregnancy to relieve morning sickness and accompanying nausea. Individuals should avoid ginger supplements during pregnancy or lactating because of unknown human gestational development.

Perhaps the best course of action, would be for the individual to check with their healthcare providers to get a better understanding of the pros and cons of using ginger while pregnant.

Reference:

John Diamond, M.D. W. John Diamond, M.D. The Clinical Practice of Complementary, Alternative, and Western Medicine. Boca Raton: CRC Press LLC, 2001. 7.

Herbs and Pregnancy

https://parenting.firstcry.com/articles/consuming-ginger-during-pregnancy/

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Be well, get healthy, be wise.

I am currently available for health and wellness lectures and classes for group, & private instruction in the Orlando, Florida area. Mind and Body Exercises on Google: https://posts.gle/aD47Qo

Jim Moltzan

407-234-0119

www.MindAndBodyExercises.com

http://www.Amazon.com/author/jimmoltzan

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http://www.umareg.com/masters-council/

Strive to have a “relationship with your physical body”

Strive to have a “relationship with your physical body”. I think often times people hear about the mind, body and spirit connection but really have no idea, plan or methods on how to achieve this state of being.

From what I have learned from my teachers of martial arts & qigong is that by becoming aware and understanding how the physical body exists and operates (kind of from like a mechanical or physiological perspective) one can begin to better understand how their own mind works. For example, if holding a particular yoga, qigong or kung fu posture for say 1-5 minutes, the muscles and the physical body begin to fatigue. The process of the mind trying to keep the body in the correct position engages the thoughts to express emotional traits of patience, frustration, determination, focus and other levels of awareness. This can also be similarly developed from other mind/body practices such as archery, painting, singing, playing an instrument, carpentry or other trades that all require repetitive engagement of the thought process and the control of the body to accomplish a particular task. These types of activities can be viewed as various types of sitting, standing, or moving meditations all in their own rights.

Background music can be a pro or con depending upon the goal of the practitioner. Some martial arts or dance styles utilize drums to keep a beat that coincides with the pace of the movements. Others moving meditations like tai chi or qigong might incorporate music that consists of specific tones or tempos to help to coincide the breathing and heart rates to slower paces, thereby hacking the parasympathetic nervous system and reducing stress. Certain tones can either help elevate the heart rate (like maybe Led Zeppelin) while others might lower the heart rate (maybe jazz or instrumentals), where as in TCM specific notes are associated with wood (liver-gall bladder), fire (heart-small intestines), earth (stomach-spleen), metal (lungs-large intestine) and water (bladder-kidneys).

Be well, get healthy, be wise.

I am currently accepting new clients for group, small group & private instruction in Wekiva and Longwood areas.

Mind and Body Exercises on Google: https://posts.gle/aD47Qo

Jim Moltzan

407-234-0119

www.MindAndBodyExercises.com

http://www.amazon.com/author/jimmoltzan

https://www.facebook.com/MindAndBodyExercises/

https://www.youtube.com/c/MindandBodyExercises

https://mindandbodyexercises.wordpress.com/

Qigong, Martial Arts & Yoga – the original CrossFit & functional training methods

Qigong, Martial Arts & Yoga – the original CrossFit & functional training methods, dating back thousands of years.

US healthcare is truly “sickcare”, where people are mostly encouraged to eat whatever they want, lead a sedentary lifestyle, abuse tobacco, drugs and alcohol – and then expect the system to fix or take care of them.Obesity and its friends of high blood pressure, diabetes, heart & lung disease don’t care if you have healthcare insurance or not – but you should. Hedge your healthcare program with SELF-CARE.

Be well, get healthy, be wise.

I am currently accepting new clients for group, small group & private instruction in Wekiva and Longwood areas.

Mind and Body Exercises on Google: https://posts.gle/aD47Qo

Jim Moltzan

407-234-0119

www.MindAndBodyExercises.com

https://www.facebook.com/MindAndBodyExercises/

https://www.youtube.com/c/MindandBodyExercises

https://mindandbodyexercises.wordpress.com/

https://umareg.com/masters-council/

The Gradual Decline of Physical Education in Schools and Relevance to Adult Health

I thought I’d share my perspective on this subject of state of American health. Mostly just my opinion from my experiences as a father of 2 young adults and teacher (martial arts, wellness, qigong, Taoist yoga etc.) for almost 40 years. Yes, I am showing my age. When I was in elementary school in the 70’s, we had a 1/2-hour recess and 1-hour of physical education (PE) every school day. Middle & high school was PE everyday regardless of weather. I cannot remember more than 1-2 kids during that time as being labeled “hyperactive” however a lot more kids had trouble focusing and getting good grades in particular subjects; so focus had always been an issue on some level. Ritalin was the only medicine that I had even known to exist for a few young people, that had what was to in later decades diagnosed as ADHD.

Fast forward to the last 20 years of my life. My kids while in elementary school had recess for about 15-20 minutes a few days a week alternating with PE for two days a week. High school required 1 credit of PE over the 4 years of attendance; online or in person were the options. Talking with other parents and teachers over this time led me to understand that a large portion of kids were having ADHD, depression, anxiety, obesity and many other health issues that were dealt with through pharmaceuticals on a daily basis. Sports and PE were often not even considered as methods to manage these ailments. Getting good grades and into a good college are the main focus in high school, leaving little time for such non-academic pursuits of physical activities that actually make the mind work better.

Having discussed this issue with many school teachers that I knew as friends, most felt that less recess and PE was a major step backwards in child development. Additionally, these teachers felt that it was much more difficult for them to teach while attempting to harness the pent-up energy and emotions of kids sitting for hours on end throughout the school day. Most wished that recess and PE were brought back as a standard daily requirement. 

So while I strongly believe that yoga and other mindful methods would be great (this is what I teach!) I would be very happy just to see regular exercise of running, swimming, calisthenics, and game play come back to all levels of school.  So many benefits for the mind and body that are associated with whatever level of  physical as well as mental and social engagement that are being left out of schools in lieu of more time spent on academics. If we are to have a strong and healthy population, we really need to be planting seeds of good health education and self-responsibility with our youth, in order to make it grow into the adult years. 

I offer instruction in qigong, Taoist yoga, tai chi, martial arts, ship pal gye, hapkido, fitness, wellness and many other avenues to improve health and well-being.

I am currently accepting new clients for group, small group & private instruction.

Mind and Body Exercises on Google: https://posts.gle/aD47Qo

Be well!

Jim Moltzan

407-234-0119

www.MindAndBodyExercises.com

https://www.facebook.com/MindAndBodyExercises/

https://www.youtube.com/c/MindandBodyExercises

https://mindandbodyexercises.wordpress.com/

https://umareg.com/masters-council/

Health is wealth, plain and simple.

Health is wealth, plain and simple.

Many of the chronic diseases in the US are somewhat preventable from lifestyle changes. Most ailments do not manifest overnight but rather over years of personal neglect.

Having multiple chronic conditions (comorbidities) opens the door to acquiring other illnesses.

  • Eat more fruits & veggies; less sugar, salt and junk food
  • Be physically active daily
  • Be socially engaged
  • Get outdoors for fresh air and sunlight daily
  • Reduce news & social media
  • Control your life, thoughts & emotions
  • Research natural remedies in addition to time-proven options

New tai chi/qigong class at:

The University Club of Winter Park

841 N Park Ave, Winter Park, FL 32789

Thursdays, 11:30am-12:30pm

$10 for drop-in class or quantity discounts

Contact to confirm attendance at 407-234-0119 or inquire about other learning options.


I also offer instruction in qigong, Taoist yoga, tai chi, martial arts, ship pal gye, hapkido, fitness, wellness and many other avenues to improve health and well-being.I am currently accepting new clients for group, small group & private instruction.

Mind and Body Exercises on Google: https://posts.gle/aD47Qo

Be well, stay healthy, be wise.


Jim Moltzan

407-234-0119

www.MindAndBodyExercises.com

https://www.facebook.com/MindAndBodyExercises

https://www.youtube.com/c/MindandBody

https://mindandbodyexercises.wordpress.com/

Masters Council