A cup of ginger tea is the perfect end to any meal, and when you know some of the ginger tea benefits (like relieving digestive discomforts), you’ll want to make sure you drink a cup every day. Ginger tea is simple to make on the stovetop and can be used to treat a variety of ailments including colds, gas and bloating, motion sickness and more. Ginger tea benefits include immune-boosting, anti-viral and anti-bacterial properties, and high levels of vitamin C and other minerals to improve overall health. Many people begin or end their day with a cup of ginger tea with fresh lemon and a spoonful of honey as a general tonic.

When making ginger tea, look for fresh, organic ginger from the local farmer’s market or grocery store. In my experience, fresh ginger always works better than powdered or dried ginger. Depending on where you live, you may even want to try growing your own ginger in your gardens or indoors in a pot on your windowsill.

To get the most ginger tea benefits, take care when preparing your ginger. Remove the skin from ginger by using a small teaspoon to carefully scrape the surface of the root. Once you’ve removed the skin, you can shred the ginger either by hand or in a small food processor. Take the ginger pulp in your (clean) hands and squeeze it over a small cup, catching any of the juice that comes from the shredded root. Squeeze hard to get every last bit of liquid out of the ginger pulp, then place the remaining pulp in a small saucepan with 2 or 3 cups of water and bring it to a gentle boil.

Reduce the heat and simmer the ginger pulp for about 15 – 20 minutes, and strain the liquid into your mug with the ginger elixir. You can add a squeeze of fresh lemon (or lime) juice and a spoonful of honey to sweeten your ginger tea.

Another one of the ginger tea benefits for which I’m most grateful is that ginger tea makes a great alternative to coffee in the mornings when I’m feeling slow or sluggish! I gave up on the idea of caffeine in the mornings many years ago, so now when I have an early morning and need a quick boost, I make myself a cup of ginger tea for my travel mug before I head out for the day.

While most people are familiar with ginger tea as a treatment for motion sickness or morning sickness, ginger tea benefits also include relieving gastric discomfort like gas and bloating when you’ve eaten a large meal, eaten too quickly or have chronic indigestion. Ginger is a warming root that will help restore the natural flow of your digestive system. Ginger tea can be taken before meals as a preventative measure, or after meals when you’re starting to feel digestive distress.

You can add other herbs to your ginger tea from this herbal healing list to help relieve gas and bloating:

• Peppermint
• Fennel seeds
• Chamomile (small amounts)
• Dandelion root
• Parsley

If you grow peppermint in your gardens or indoors, you can find that peppermint plant uses include making tea to help ease gastric distress. Peppermint works in a slightly different way than ginger to relieve gas and bloating, and some people prefer the stimulating aroma and taste of peppermint tea before or after a meal.

To make peppermint tea, simply crush a handful of fresh peppermint leaves into a small saucepan and add 2 – 3 cups of water. Bring it to a gentle boil and allow the leaves to steep for at least 10 minutes. Strain the liquid into a tea cup, and add your favorite sweetener and maybe even a squirt of lemon to your peppermint tea.

Fennel seeds are a wonderful addition to any homemade ginger or peppermint tea for improving digestion. Fennel is an antispasmodic and can help relieve tension in the digestive tract to relieve gas, bloating and even bad breath. Simply add a few teaspoons of whole fennel seeds to your tea and allow them to steep for at least 10 minutes. Strain the liquid and remove the seeds before drinking.

Along with its cancer-fighting and anti-inflammatory properties, turmeric tea is also an excellent home remedy for gas and bloating. Prepare your fresh turmeric root in the same way that you would a piece of ginger root by gently scraping the skin off with a spoon. Don’t shred the turmeric root, but instead score it a couple of times with a sharp knife before placing it in a small saucepan of water. Once you bring the water to a boil, allow the turmeric to simmer for at least 10 minutes. You can either remove the turmeric from the water before pouring into a cup, or keep the whole piece of turmeric in your cup and allow it to steep as you drink. Turmeric is a wonderfully warming root that has many benefits beyond relieving gas and bloating, so stock up when fresh turmeric is in season at your local natural foods store.

What are your favorite home remedies for gas and bloating?