As healthy as ginger tea is for you, there are quite some side effects to health-drink.
Ginger tea is very popular in several countries. The tea is believed to relief from many health problems such as indigestion, sore pain, cardiac problem, anti-inflammatory, anti-viral etc. Undoubtedly, the benefits of this herb are many to list. However, a famous saying goes, 'too much of anything is bad'; and this is no exception. Excessive consumption of ginger root tea can have serious side effects. Ginger tea should not be taken before any kind of surgery and should be stopped at least a week prior to the day of surgery. The high amount of ginger intake can cause stomach problems as well, according to healthbuzzonline.com.
Recommended Consumption Limits
The FDA (Food and Drug Administration) has listed ginger as a 'generally safe to consume food product'. The safety limit for ginger intake is 2 grams for every kg of body mass. Again, University of Maryland Medical Center recommends eating no more than 4 grams of ginger daily and no more than 1 gram daily for pregnant women, according to healthbuzzonline.com.
Increased Bleeding
Ginger stimulates circulation and increases blood flow while preventing blood clotting. It could increase risk of bleeding, especially if there is bleeding disorder or taking any medications that slow blood clotting. Drinking ginger tea is not recommended in the final weeks of pregnancy due to the increased bleeding risk. According to an article published in "Der Anesthetist" in 2007, consuming ginger around the time of surgery is also a risk for increased bleeding. If undergoing surgery, you should avoid drinking ginger tea within the two weeks prior to it.
Ginger Tea and Gallstones
Bile production can have an adverse effect on people who are affected by gallstones. Ginger promotes bile production, and indirectly contributes to the pain caused.
Interaction with Anesthesia
People, who drink ginger tea just earlier than a surgery or have been consuming it since long period, will be in danger because drugs administered for anesthesia reacts with ginger tea. Consequently, the patient will suffer from difficulty in healing from photosensitive reactions, wounds, or bleeding because of interaction to anticoagulants. So, many doctors recommend stopping the intake of ginger at least 1 week before the surgery.
Stomach Upset
In spite of being used in the treatment of nausea, taking large amount of ginger tea on an empty stomach could produce gastrointestinal upset as per the University of Maryland Medical Center.
Drinking Ginger Tea before Sleeping
One of the common side effects of ginger tea is that it 'kills' sleep. That means, if we consume ginger tea before going to bed, there are chances that we would not be able to sleep for a very long time.