How Many Ginger Capsules to Get Rid of Nausea?

How many ginger capsules you should take to get rid of nausea as a medicinal treatment has been recently documented in controlled clinical studies. Although ginger has been around for hundreds of years as a popular folk remedy, science has now shown that taking ginger capsules in the proper dosage can help maximize their effectiveness.

Optimal Capsule Dosage

• Several studies suggest that the optimal dose for ginger capsules to control nausea is between 500 mg and 1,000 mg per day. Capsule dosages can vary from 250 mg per capsule up to 1,000 mg, so pay attention to your total daily dosage to determine the number of tablets you should take. Take the dosages in regular intervals throughout the day for most effective control of nausea symptoms.

  Be aware that quality and potency of capsules can vary—there’s no federal regulation of herbal supplements. In addition to capsules, you can find crystallized or candied ginger at Asian food markets and natural food grocers—an inch-square slice is about equal to a standard 500 mg capsule.

Studies

• One of the largest studies to examine the effects of ginger on nausea has helped show the effectiveness of the right capsule dosage. Out of a group of 644 cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy, those who took either a .5 g dose or 1 g daily dose of ginger capsules reported more effective control of their nausea than those who took a placebo.

  In the study, which was funded by the National Cancer Institute (NCI), subjects took the ginger supplements for 6 days. These days included the three days prior to their first day of chemotherapy and for two days after chemotherapy began. Although all subjects also received conventional anti-nausea drugs, those who took the capsules (versus the placebos) reported more effective control of nausea.

  In the case of capsule dosage, bigger is not always better.The NCI study researchers also administered a higher dose of ginger capsules (1.5 g), but the nausea-controlling results were reported as less effective than the two lower capsule dosages. The researchers theorized that the 1.5 g dose is more than the body can absorb for biological activity.

  In another clinical trial, pregnant women with nausea who took ginger capsules in doses of 250 mg four times daily for four days reported better control of their symptoms than a placebo group. The study, published in the Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine, concluded that “a daily total of 1000 mg of ginger can be suggested by care providers as a means of decreasing pregnancy nausea and vomiting.”