The Best Kept Secret to Alleviate Period Cramps: Ginger Tea
Many of us experience horrible cramps when it’s time for our periods. Sometimes, they warn that our period is on the way. Other times, they begin with the menstrual flow. Either way, we find ourselves searching for relief from the pain of cramps.
While medications are available on the market for cramps, sometimes they don’t help as advertised. Or many of us choose to use more natural pain management for various reasons. Luckily, there are other options available to us.
Hot Ginger Tea for Period Cramps
One of the options available for period cramp relief is hot ginger tea. Why is this tea beneficial?
First, ginger has anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties, meaning it can help reduce swelling and combat disease. Antioxidants prevent stress at the DNA level, which causes them to work against diseases. Only pomegranate and some berries surpass ginger in their level of antioxidant properties.
If you experience particularly heavy menstrual flow, you definitely want to try hot ginger tea. Ginger has blood-thinning properties, improving your menstrual flow.
The heat from the tea has benefits as well. It dilates blood vessels, and it also relaxes and improves muscle movement. For menstruation, that means it relaxes the uterus and improves the peristalsis movement of the menstrual fluid. This, in turn, works to alleviate your period cramps.
Many of us experience nausea along with our monthly periods. The great news is ginger has even been shown to help in this area! For many years, ginger has been used to prevent or alleviate nausea. It was sound advice if you’ve ever been told to drink ginger ale when you were nauseated.
Another beneficial property of ginger is that it can help to reduce period bloating and gas. The reduction of bloating is another benefit of ginger’s anti-inflammatory properties and carminative effect. Less bloating and less gas also mean less pain. Less pain means you are winning the battle against those period cramps.
How to Make Yourself a Soothing Ginger Tea
While many prepared tea bag options are available, you can make your own all-natural ginger tea. Here is a step-by-step guide for brewing your own ginger tea when you need relief from your period cramps.
- Wash the ginger properly.
- Chop ginger into smaller pieces. It isn’t necessary to peel the ginger.
- Boil the ginger in water for a minimum of 10-20 minutes. You can boil the ginger for a longer time if you prefer.
- Drain the ginger tea into a cup using a sieve, or you can chew the boiled ginger if you’d rather.
- Add honey, sugar, and milk, or drink ginger tea without lightening or sweetening.
One thing to note is that when you drink your hot ginger tea or any other hot drink while on your period, it will cause your flow to be faster. For this reason, you should pay close attention and change your Maeves pad as soon as possible to prevent accidents.
Our Take
If you are one of the many who struggle with horrible period cramp pain, adding hot ginger tea to your daily routine can help alleviate that pain. As it turns out, our grandmothers were right when they advised us to drink ginger ale or ginger tea for our ailments.
