Just this week, coincidentally, the results of three new clinical studies confirmed the value of three classic Traditional Chinese Medicine treatments: ginger, acupuncture, and ginseng.

In the studies, which were conducted at different universities, researchers discovered that ginger reduces the nausea that often follows chemotherapy treatments, acupuncture beats conventional medical treatment for low back pain, and Asian ginseng is a natural anti-inflammatory. Here are the details.

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Ginger
Ginger (Zingiber officinale) supplements relieved post-chemotherapy nausea by 40% in a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study funded by the National Cancer Institute. The study will be presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology meeting on May 30, in Orlando, Fla.

In the study, conducted by scientists from the University of Rochester Medical Center, 644 cancer patients (66 percent were women with breast cancer) were randomly assigned to one of four groups. They were given a placebo, 500 mg of ginger, 1,000 mg of ginger, or 1,500 mg of ginger in addition to antiemetic medication (Zofran, Kytril, Navoban and Anzemet) to prevent vomiting. The participants took the ginger for six days, starting three days before the start of their chemo cycles.

“Antiemetics are very effective against vomiting but not against nausea, because nausea is not the same as vomiting,” says Julie L. Ryan, PhD, assistant professor of dermatology and radiation oncology at the University of Rochester Medical Center and the lead author of the study.

“Nausea precedes vomiting, but people can be nauseated and not vomit,” she says. What’s more, she says, “Cancer patients complain more about nausea than they do about vomiting because they are unable to relieve the severe nausea.”

How does ginger relieve nausea? That hasn’t yet been determined, Ryan says. “We believe that ginger’s absorbent and anti-inflammatory properties act directly on the gut to reduce nausea,” she says, and points out that nausea is a difficult symptom to study because it is subjective and based on perception, which varies from person to person.

To measure nausea in this study, Ryan and her team used a seven-point rating system so that people could rank their feelings of nausea from one (not at all nauseated) to seven (extremely nauseated). Those who took 500 mg to 1,000 mg of ginger a day had the best results.

Ryan says 500 mg equals one-fourth teaspoon of dried, ground ginger. New Chapter makes Daily Ginger, an organic ginger supplement, which is widely available at health food stores; GNC also sells ginger root capsules.

Next page: Acupuncture for back pain, ginseng for inflammation