Ginger may push up Blood pressure

I've been trying ginger at night lately and it does seem to calm the Vagal nerve, but unforunately it seems to push up my BP about 20-30 points. I have high BP and at night it may be about 130-140 at rest, but aftertaking about 600 mg, my BP goes to about 165 .
The first time i took it about a week ago, i took a spoon full and omg my BP was close to 200 ! I could feel my neck veins straining and it made my ears ring .
SInce ive been trying about 1/4 tspn to be safe, but it still pushes up my BP. I measured with my BP monitor every hour after taking.

I've tried 3 types, bulk from a bulk food store, Natures way 550 mg capsuls, and McCormicks Organic Chinese Ginger.
- The Bulk type from the bulk food store seemed to make my BP go up the most. Its a tan colored power
- The Natures way 550 mg capsuls only seemed to have 3-4 hour effect and pushed my BP up.
- The McCormicks Organic Chinese seemed to not push my BP up as much and worked ok.

I bought a piece of ginger Root to grind and try , and also an small box of Arayma organic Ginger from a health food store to try as well.

Some places on the net, it say Ginger will lower your Bp, (i wish), but ive found the opposite.

Jackie, i saw you mentioned that it can't have Gingersol, how can you tell when you buy it ? Is there any Ginger to recommend for people with high BP ?

Larry



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/02/2013 05:58PM by LarryK.

Pickled ginger, the kind you get when you order sushi, is good. I don't seem to have any problems after eating it. Raw ginger, which my wife uses for cooking, also doesn't seem to bother me either. But I once had some Asian ginger soup, made with sweet brown vinegar and fresh ginger roots and cooked for a couple of days did cause one of my worst afib episode. So I avoid that food.

I take ginger capsules and have no trouble with my blood pressure, if any thing it has lowered it.
I take two of these [www.healthpost.co.nz]
a day, one with breakfast and one just before bed.
I have had one event of Afib in nine weeks, (that's when I started taking ginger), before I would have 2 to 3 events a month.

Colin.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 03/03/2013 12:14PM by colindo.

Larry - I'm wondering if maybe some of the ginger sources you've tried might have also contained some toxicity from where the ginger roots were grown... I never buy ginger from China because nothing there even if marked organic can possibly escape the polluted enviroment ...air and water... therefore soil....so you pick up lead, mercury, arsenic..etc... Typically elevated pulse and Bp are among the first symptoms of environmental toxin exposure. Do a google search for a US grown ginger powder... The Frontier organic ginger indicates it is a Fair Trade product which I presume means it is grown off shore. I've had organic US ginger root from Maine and Hawaii so someone must make a powder.

Whatever you try, since your Bp does spike, then certainly, lower doses at first would be best and of the powdered rather than fresh... as indicated in the original post that mentioned gingerol (December 2012)

I had read that there is a preference for whole, fresh ginger in Michael Murray's book, The Healing Power of Herbs. The following facts are noteworthy for this discussion.

Quote
Pharmacology - Cardiotonic properties
Gingerol has shown potent cardiotonic activity (positive ionotropic and chronotropic effects) on isolated guinea pig left atria. These effects are a result of acceleration of calcium intake by the heart muscle.

Individuals with heart problems or high blood pressure are probably better off using fresh ginger rather than dried preparations. This recommendation is based not only on the fact that gingerol is the more potent cardiotonic, but also because the shogaol (component) produces a blood pressure-elevating effect in animals. Gingerol is found predominantly in fresh ginger while shogaol is rarely found in fresh ginger.

Dosage
There remain many questions concerning the the best form of ginger and the proper dosage.
Most research studies have utilized 1 gram of dry powdered ginger root. Practically speaking, this is a small dose of ginger. For example, ginger is commonly consumed in India and at a daily dose of 8 to 10 grams. Furthermore, although most studies have used powdered ginger root, fresh (or possibly freeze-dried) ginger root at an equivalent dosage may yield even better results because it contains higher levels of gingerol as well as the active protease.

For treatment of nausea and vomiting due to motion sickness, pregnancy or surgery, a dosage of 1 - 2 grams of dry powdered ginger per say may be effective. This would be equivalent to approximately 10 grams or one-third of an ounce of fresh ginger root, roughly 1/4 inch slice. For inflammatory conditions such as RA, the dosage should be double this amount.

Toxicity
Some individuals consuming high doses, that is, greater than the equivalent of 6 grams of dried powder alone on an empty stomach, may experience some GI discomfort. Administration of 6 grams of dried powdered ginger has been shown to increase the exfoliation of gastric surface epithelial cells in human subjects. This could ultimately lead to ulcer formation. Therefore, it is recommended that doses on an empty stomach be less than 6 grams.

Ginger does not appear to be toxic. (end quotes)

(there is more on the toxicity in lab experiments ..but nothing that indicates we should be worried unless there is stomach irritation)

pp. 135, 139, 140
Prima Publishing
2005

Larry,

You may wish to try New Chapter's Ginger Force. It is a supercritical CO2 extract of organically grown ginger and I and several other afibbers have found it highly effective in preventing vagal episodes. You can find it here: [www.afibbers.org].

Hans

Hans,

Do you know if the New Chapter's Ginger Force is better than what I use.
[www.healthpost.co.nz]
It is hard for me to tell which is better, for example one has only 5 mg of ginger per softgel and the one I use has 1000 mg.

Colin

Today i bought some fresh Ginger root at the store, and grated some with a fine cheese grater. !

I just ate a pinch of it and i find its really tastey ! Very pleasant to eat fresh, like a spicy pepper. It would probably be excellect on a salad too.



EDIT: My BP still was high later in the night. I'm not sure if its the Ginger or if the Ginger is reacting with something else, but i haven't given up on it yet.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/04/2013 08:13PM by LarryK.

Colin,

Unfortunately the web site does not provide enough information about the ginger content of the Lifestream product. From reading the label on the bottle it seems that it contains 800 mg of ginger root per capsule - it is not clear whether it is organic or not. Ginger Force contains the supercritical CO2 and alcohol extracts of 5 gram of organic ginger root. I suspect it would be more potent, but if the Lifestream product works for you and is readily available I would stick with that.

Hans

Several months ago, I posted my experience with ginger <[www.afibbers.org]; I can say that my powdered ginger probably does increase my blood pressure slightly, however as my BP tends to be low anyway, this is not an issue. I recently measured it at 108/58 - this is a bit of an increase for me. It also appears to increase my resting heart rate by ~6-10 BPM. My resting heart rate is now 60+ rather than 50+.

It continues to keep the afib at bay for me, as a vagal afibber. A quick recap. In the middle of Nov., I was having nightly episodes converted with 300 mg PIP flecainide. I started taking flec in the evening as a preventative. I started at 300 mg and titrated down into the 200's. It was then I commenced taking ginger. With ginger the inappropriate ANS vagal responses stopped and I very quickly titrated the flec to 0.

In a little over 3 months, I've had 3 afib episodes (compared to nightly). The first was certainly due to intemperance during a Christmas day meal. The other two are likely also related to food (carb) intake. In any case, I'm still very happy with the way ginger keeps my afib in remission.

George