Ginger is a widely used root in recipes and home remedies. But is it really safe to use?
Let’s have a look at whether ginger is safe or not.
Is ginger high in potassium?
Technically ginger is high in potassium but it does not fall under high potassium keto foods. Let’s check the reason behind this ginger potassium fact.
A healthy adult’s daily potassium requirement varies from 3500 to 4700 mg per day. It’s because the recommended daily potassium requirement(DV) value differs. It’s
Furthermore, the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM) recommends different values for different age groups and sex.
For example, the daily adequate intake of AI for 19 to 50 years age group men are 3400 mg, and for normal women 2600 mg. However, for pregnant women of the same age group, it is 2900 mg and 2800 mg for lactation.
As per any of the above calculations, 415 mg of potassium against a 100-gram serving makes ginger root high in potassium. But, the daily ginger intake is restricted to no more than 4 grams as recommended by experts (4).
This serving size provides approx 16 mg of potassium, which is not even half percent of the minimum recommendation of 3500 mg.
That’s why ginger can not be considered high in potassium.
Is ginger good for low potassium?
Scientific studies have shown that consumption of more than 5g of raw ginger roots may cause several health problems (5). These are heartburn, abdominal discomfort, and diarrhea.
You will get only 16 mg of potassium from the recommended 4 grams of ginger. This amount is very much lesser than the daily potassium requirement of 3500-4700 mg scope.
So, ginger is not so good for low potassium. However, you can add other potassium rich foods like broccoli, apricots, lentils, banana, beet, winter squash, etc may solve the issue.
Ginger tea potassium
There are two popular versions of ginger tea. Ginger tea potassium varies for each of these teas.
Simple ginger tea: This ginger tea is prepared by sprinkling sliced gingers over raw tea. You may or may not use milk in simple ginger tea.
1 tsp or 2 grams of ginger powder is used in this healthy tea. You will get 8 mg of potassium from this ginger tea.
If you have kidney disease you should avoid this variant. Because black tea contains oxalate which may damage your kidneys.
Ginger lemon tea: Ginger lemon tea is the most widely used ginger tea. There are several health benefits of ginger lemon tea.
This variation of ginger tea will provide the most potassium. Furthermore, it is free from black tea, which means ginger lemon tea is safe for kidneys also.
This healthy beverage is prepared by mixing 1/4 cup of lukewarm lemon juice with 1 tsp of ginger root. Alternatively, you can use lemon water also, but it will reduce potassium density.
You will get approx 70 mg of potassium from ginger lemon tea or 62 mg from lemon juice (6) and 8 mg from ginger root.
Is ginger bad for kidney disease?
There is no scientific evidence that ginger is bad for kidney disease. One scientific research on rats has shown that ginger can reduce nephropathy in rats (7).
Normal rats treated with ginger extracts recorded a decrease in urea and creatinine levels. It means that ginger can eliminate wastage from the kidneys.
These findings promote that ginger has a beneficial effect on the removal of urea and creatinine from plasma of normal mice treated with its alcoholic extract.
Hence ginger is considered a therapeutic herb to manage renal function and it may be able to reduce the risk of kidney diseases.
Is ginger bad for kidney patients?
No, not at all. Ginger is not bad for kidney patients. As per our earlier discussion, there is no evidence of kidney dangers caused by gingers.
Although the study was conducted on mice, not done on humans. However, until new research is done we can consider ginger a kidney-friendly food.
Furthermore high intake of calcium, vitamin C, protein, fat, and carbs are directly associated with kidney problems. These are
- High-protein intake may damage glomerular structure leading to or aggravating chronic kidney disease (CKD) (8)
- A high-fat diet may cause renal injury by inducing oxidative stress and mitochondrial dysfunction (9)
- Carbohydrate-Rich foods may increase the risk of chronic kidney disease for nondiabetic patients (10)
- High intake of calcium may cause kidney stones through the promotion of hypercalcemia (11)
- The risk of kidney stones may increase because of high vitamin C intake (12)
The restricted intake of gingers narrows down the consumption of these nutrients heavily.
This limited consumption of kidney problem-causing nutrients is another added benefit for both kidney patients and normal adults.
So we can say that ginger will be bad for kidney patients only when its adverse effect on kidneys can be proven.
Is ginger bad for kidney stones?
Excess eating of high protein, fat, vitamin C or calcium is the main reason behind kidney stones. Aside from this consumption of sugar, sodium above the daily limit, and not drinking sufficient water are also behind kidney stones.
Daily 4 grams consumption of ginger is not going in line with these requirements. 4 grams serving of raw ginger contains very little amount of protein, fat, calcium, sodium, and sugar.
Moreover, the same serving size contains only 0.2 mg of vitamin C. This tiny amount further reduces the risk of kidney stones which occurs due to a high intake of vitamin C.
If we consider these facts and medical research we can conclude that ginger is not bad for kidney stones.
Final Thoughts
Ginger is used as a spice for a long time. This plant bases root gives our foods a delicious taste and hot smell which attracts food lovers.
It has several health benefits, especially in kidney care. This plant based food can be beneficial for kidney and renal problems.
According to scientific research, gingers can reduce dangerous creatinine levels. Hence gingers are not harmful to kidneys.
Ginger is high in potassium but is mainly used as a spice. Due to this bare minimum intake, it is not considered a high potassium food.
Many people love to drink tea but tea is not good for kidney function. Because of this, we request you reduce your consumption of ginger tea.
FAQ of Ginger Potassium Effect on Kidneys
Is ginger tea safe for kidneys?
Limited drinking of ginger tea is safe for kidneys. The recommended consumption of ginger tea per day is 2 cups. More than this may be harmful.
Although ginger is considered safe for kidneys, teas are not safe. Black tea contains an oxalate compound that can damage kidneys. It may cause kidney stones also.
Tea also contains caffeine which is also linked with kidney stones. But at a lower rate than oxalate. So a controlled intake of ginger tea is safe for kidneys.
Is ginger good for creatinine?
Alcohol is one of the major facts behind high creatinine in kidneys. Aside from this high protein and salt intake also increase the creatinine levels.
There are two factors that prove that ginger is good for creatinine. The first one is scientific research on mice has shown that ginger extract can reduce creatinine levels.
The second one is that you will get less than 1 gram of protein from the daily recommended ginger intake. This bare minimum intake will not boost creatinine.
Is ginger tea high in potassium?
Among the two versions of ginger tea i.e normal ginger tea and ginger lemon tea, the second one is high in potassium.
It’s because normal ginger tea is a combination of tiny amounts of ginger powder and black tea which does not provide much potassium.
However, ginger lemon tea contains ginger root and lemon juice. This version of ginger tea or ginger lemon tea is high in potassium because of the high potassium density of lemon juice.
