Ginger is one of the most useful plants to human beings given its recent approval by scientists and many pharmaceutical firms today use this natural plant as a major raw material for manufacture of essential drugs. Besides, it is a plant that is consumed directly by human beings.Ginger contains one of the most important food nutrients, the gingerols that plays vital roles in the body. The gingerols has vast anti-inflammatory effects and has been seen to inhibit some cancerous cellsPeople can use ginger to overcome symptoms such as nausea and vomiting, dizziness among many others. It is very helpful to people with abdominal bloats as well. This is because it eliminates gas accumulation in the abdomen.The antioxidants present in ginger makes it a very important plant with vital therapeutic properties. The antioxidant present in ginger has a very good anti-inflammatory effect. Ginger contains food nutrients that have good spasmolytic property. The micro-nutrients soothes and relaxes the intestines. It is highly recommended to patients who have undergone intestinal surgery as it offers great protection against infections.Ginger helps in so many anti-inflammatory problems that occur either in smooth muscles or even in the skeletal muscles. A study approved by scientists shows that the ginger nutrient inhibit the production of nitric oxide. Nitric oxide is highly implicated in many inflammatory cases. This is a highly reactive nitrogen molecule that forms damaging radicals in the body.People with chronic inflammatory problems such as knee arthritis, synovial inflammation among others are also advised to consume ginger due to its biological influence in the body.The ginger has been found to suppress inflammatory intermediates such as cytokines and chemokines that are produced by body cells in response to inflammation. This is the reason why sufferers of the synovitis are advised to feed on ginger as well.Ginger is currently being used in the chemotherapeutic industry. It forms an important component of chemotherapy drugs that are used to treat cancers of the colon, rectum and the ovary.Research done by American scientists revealed that ginger nutrients and those contained in chemotherapy medications are very effective in the treatment of ovarian cancer.Ginger nutrients cause death of ovarian cancer cells by induction of programmed cell death and self-digestion. Ginger effectiveness is due to its antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and anti-tumor effects as have been proved by scientists in many experiments. It is known that ovarian cancer in most cases originates from the inflammatory reactions in the body that could be induced by gene mutations, hormones or auto-immune.In ovarian cancer, there are usually some indicators of the inflammation such as the prostaglandin E2, vascular endothelial growth factor and interleukin-8. Ginger nutrients or its extracts have greatly shown potential to decrease these inflammatory markers in blood of ovarian cancer patients.There are medications that are used to reduce such inflammatory markers in blood as well but occasionally cancer cells develop resistance to such medications.However, cancer cells exposed to ginger do not easily become resistant to its action or effect in the destruction of cancer cells.Regular consumption of ginger is always advisable to individuals with family history of ovarian cancer. This is due to the fact that ovarian cancer symptoms do not appear until the late stages of the disease. Therefore, in most cases, the disease is diagnosed when it has already spread beyond the ovaries. Majority of patients who develop ovarian cancer are diagnosed in the advanced stages of the disease. Screening of the disease is recommended as the inflammatory markers can always be detected in blood early. However, other clinical investigations are also crucial.I very well understand that many people in our society prefer to take ginger during periods of cold whether or when they are suffering from flu.This is because it promotes healthy warming of the body in case of coldness or sweating, which is often helpful with flu.Dr Joseph Kamugisha is a resident oncologist in Jerusalem, Israel