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Day 43 of 280 · 6 weeks + 1 day

What the evidence says about ginger

Last reviewed · 3 min read · 8 sources · Plain-text version

Everyone has a nausea cure. A review of 41 trials found little good evidence for any of them. Today you test ginger on the only subject that matters: you.

Size this week
about the size and shape of a pea
Length this week
around 6 mm from head to bottom
A woman in a grey hoodie on a sofa with a mug of tea in both hands and a sliced ginger root on the board beside her, soft lamplight, a small notebook open on the cushion.

Six weeks and one day. Somebody has already told you what fixed their nausea. Today is about what the evidence actually says, and about running a three-day trial on yourself.

Your baby

A single green pea resting on a fingertip, close up, soft window light.

Around 6mm long, about the size and shape of a pea (NHS). The liver, brain and musculoskeletal system are developing, and limb buds are forming (NHS).

Your body

A Cochrane review pulled together 41 randomised trials with 5,449 women in early pregnancy, up to 20 weeks (Cochrane). Its conclusion was a "lack of high-quality evidence to back up any advice" on which remedy to use (Cochrane). Ginger came out as possibly helpful, but the evidence was limited and inconsistent, even though three recent studies favoured it over placebo; acupressure had limited evidence; acupuncture showed no significant benefit (Cochrane).

The part worth reading twice: insufficient strong evidence for any single remedy is not the same as showing the remedies don't work (Cochrane). The trials were small and few reported on what mattered. So the honest position is "nobody knows for sure, and ginger is a reasonable thing to try." MedlinePlus lists ginger ale alongside seltzer and sparkling water as things that may help, drunk between meals rather than with them (MedlinePlus).

Try today

  1. The ginger test

    Time: 2 minutes a day, for three days

    1. Pick one: ginger ale or ginger tea. Keep it the same for all three days.

    2. Drink it between meals, not with them (MedlinePlus), at the time of day your nausea is usually worst.

    3. Each evening, write one number from 0 to 10 for the day's nausea and one word about the ginger.

    4. On day three, decide. If the numbers moved, keep it; if not, you've spent three days and learned something nobody's trial could tell you.

    Make it work:

    This is a drink, not a dose. Ginger capsules and other supplements are a different question; only take supplements a provider recommends (MedlinePlus), and don't take any medicine for morning sickness without talking to your provider first (MedlinePlus).

Watch for

  • Normal

    nausea at any time of day, not just the morning (NICHD).

    Call your provider

    for severe, constant nausea or vomiting several times a day (OWH).

  • Normal

    headaches, on the NHS's list for this week (NHS).

    Call your provider

    before taking anything for them; talk to your providers before starting or stopping any medicines (CDC).

  • Normal

    a metallic taste that makes the tea taste odd (NHS).

    Go to the ER

    or seek care immediately for severe nausea and throwing up, meaning you can't drink for more than 8 hours or eat for more than 24 (CDC).

For you

Friends mean well, and some of what they swear by will have worked for them. The honest line is that for mild and moderate nausea, the research so far supports no single remedy strongly, including vitamin B6 and the prescription combinations, which had only limited evidence (Cochrane). That's not a reason to try nothing. It's a reason to try one thing at a time, and to believe your own three-day numbers over anyone's story.

If you're the partner: don't bring home five cures at once. Bring the ginger, and ask for the number each evening.

Sources

This guide is general education that summarizes published research and guidance from groups like the American Academy of Pediatrics, the CDC, and the WHO. It isn’t medical advice, and every child develops on their own timeline. Your pediatrician knows your child; if something feels wrong, call them. In an emergency, call 911.

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