One feels a heavy and disturbing occurrence in the upper abdomen leading to the involuntary feeling to vomit your guts out, regardless of whether you have had your food or not. It can occur anytime, to anyone and is often seen as the symptom of many diseases such as stomach flu, medications, food poisoning, alcohol consumption, migraines, motion sickness, chemotherapy, dehydration, and more. Remember your grandmother feeding you with hot ginger to stop your feelings of nausea? But the question is "does ginger ale really help nausea or is it another myth?"

Does Ginger Ale Help Nausea?

The short answer is yes. There are many amazing benefits of having ginger when you are feeling nausea. It directly aids digestion process with the help of secretion of digestive enzymes in mouth, stomach and intestines, relaxes stomach muscles with phenols found in it, helps in the proper functioning of nervous system and obstructs chemo-receptors that put a stop on the urge to vomit.

Medical Study

Even medical research done on various levels agrees with our grandmothers. According to many studies, ginger ale is a sure-shot way to kill nausea and stomach discomfort. This material is even beneficial in the treatment of chemotherapy-induced nausea as found out by a 2011 published study in Supportive Care in Cancer. The study was conducted on 576 cancer patients, who were divided into four groups with one that would be receiving placebo and other three relying on different dosage of ginger supplements. It was found out that a dose of 0.5 to 1.0 g of ginger can bring down the nausea symptoms. So this also backs the positive answer to the question "Does ginger ale help nausea?"

Ginger Ale and Morning Sickness in Pregnancy

Ginger is practically a boon during pregnancy due to its caffeine-free nature that will never triggers your blood pressure as well as its relative effect on controlling morning sickness, as explained by the American Pregnancy Association. The mood killer called morning sickness is something that can carry on for the entire day, despite its deceiving name analogy. It is a common occurrence during the first trimester.

Having a balanced and calculated dose (preferably one gram) of ginger daily can help in controlling the bouts of morning sickness if we were to listen to the reports by the University of Maryland Medical Center. One can always split the dose into four equal halves and have them distinctively as prescribed by the doctor, but avoid having too much of dried ginger as it is concentrated and cause adverse effect rather than treatment. Ginger ale is another form that is known to kill your nausea, according to the reports by American Pregnancy Association. So, does ginger ale help nausea? Yes, it can!

How to Make Ginger Ale for Nausea At home

Making ginger ale at home is an easy method that can help control your nausea in a matter of minutes.

Raw Materials

• Peeled and roughly chopped fresh ginger – 2 Cups
• Lime zest or lemon – 3-4 strips
• Club soda (optionally chilled) – 3 quarters
• Ice cubes – optional
• Sugar –ranging from half a cup to full (up to you)

Method

• Heat a saucepan and put the required amount of ginger, lemon zest and add 4 cups of water to it.
• After the mixture comes to a boil owing to the high heat supplied to the pan, bring down the temperature and let it simmer all uncovered for another 10 minutes or so.
• Keep on stirring and add sugar to the liquid. Let it boil until the mixture has come down to 3 cups.
• Stir the mixture for another 15 minutes and strain it afterwards into a large bowl.
• Let the syrup settle for a week or so in the refrigerator. Once the tenure of 7 days is over, you can always mix a quarter of the syrup with three-quarters of soda and consume it.

Does ginger ale help nausea? Yes! Try this easy and healthy remedy to soothe your nausea related troubles.

Other Methods of Treating Nausea

Even though one can always rely on wonderful ginger but having one food all the time can definitely piss someone off. So, what are the other substitutes of ginger ale? Let us find out:

1. Distract Yourself

Distraction works wonders on any type of feeling, and nausea is nothing distinct. Go for long walks, embrace the beauty of nature, have fun, get involved in your hobbies and soon you will find yourself forgetting about nausea. If you feel the urge to vomit, take it out in order to feel light and happy. However, do not do anything that would worsen the feeling of nausea like being near pets or allergens.

2. Follow the BRAT Diet

Following a routine based BRAT diet can actually help you overcome the feeling of nausea. BRAT stands for a bland diet including an unrelated mix of "Bananas, Rice, Applesauce and toast". However unbalanced this combination might sound; it is effective in shortening the symptoms of this erratic feeling. Luckily, it is advised only for a short period of time and can be taken with other healthy options like crackers as well.

3. Make Use of Peppermint

Does ginger ale help nausea? Yes, but peppermint helps too. Peppermint other than giving a freshening feeling is known for soothing out nausea. Consuming different forms of peppermint options actually cools down surging heat in the digestive system which in turn takes down the discomfort happening in the abdomen. Thus, you can always go for peppermint gums, candies (be careful of the sugar though) and best, a continuous dose of peppermint tea.

4. Drink Enough Fluids

Having a good amount of fluid in a body helps in the smooth functioning of organ systems, thus take down any nausea that occurs. Keep yourself hydrated, it is always advised to have at least 8-10 glass of water every day. Consuming energy drinks can also prove to be beneficial in bringing back the lost water and electrolytes inside a human body. But, remember to mix the portions of energy drinks with regular water to keep the ratio of liquids balanced.

5. Suck on Frozen Food

It is actually a very successful option to keep down the bouts of nausea when you are short of other options. Frozen lime or lemon can be sucked upon every time you feel the urge to vomit as the sharp smell of lemon and the cool temperature overpowers your senses and thus distracts you from the feeling. Other than that, having fruit popsicle is another tasty option for keeping nausea under control.