SuppVersity - Nutrition and Exercise Science for Everyone

Image 1: If ginger works only half as good in humans as it does in rodents, you can drink your way to a leaner and healthier you with Alisa Profumo 's delicious low-carb " Healthy REAL Ginger Ale ". Zingiber officinale , or, in plain English, Ginger, is unquestionably one of the most remarkable plant rhizomes that is known to mankind. It has been used in various cultures for treating common colds or fever, to aid digestion, treat stomach upset, diarrhoea or nausea, to alleviate rheumatic disorders, gastrointestinal complications and dizziness , and, as of late, it has received quite some attention as a possible adjuvant to treatment modalities of cancer ( Peirara. 2011 ). In a pretty recent study, the administration of 500 mg/kg zinigiber officinale to streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats (cf. related study in CLnA, the Omega-3 Variety of CLA ), was able to partly restore the deteriorated glucose metabolism ( Abdulrazaq. 2011 ), and a 2010 study was able to show tha...

Image 1: The molecular structure of piperine makes it a potential melanocortin-4 (MC4) agonist. Despite the fact that the American fast food mentality has long conquered the Indian subcontinent, and obesity and diabetes are on a rise, the ideal of the curry eating, spicy food loving, lean Indian still figures in the minds of people in the "old" (Europe) and "new" world (America). Maybe this is part of the reason  why many of us willingly believe(d) in the ability of black pepper and other spice extract to literally "burn away" unwanted body fat, when we read about it in the latest supplement advertisement. Other than in the cases of Goji berries, Acai and co, a recent study ( Shah. 2011 ) coming from, you guessed it, India, was not only able to confirm the validity of these claims (at least for rodents / more on that later), it also gives a reasonable explanation for the fat-burning effect of piper nigrum . ...