Turmeric vs Ginger Health Benefits: Is One Better Than The Other?

Written by Angie Arriesgado
featured image for article on turmeric vs ginger

This blog post on turmeric vs. ginger will cover these two spices’ similarities and differences. Is one of them better than the other? Do they have the same health benefits? How can you tell them apart? If curcumin is the active component in turmeric, what’s the equivalent in ginger? And so on… You’ve got questions, and we’ve got the answers for you. Scroll down to know more! 

Do turmeric and ginger rhizomes look alike?

No, they don’t, but it’s easy to see why some may think they look the same. The rhizomes of both turmeric and ginger look like bulbous, misshapen fingers with bumpy joints. Not surprising since both are members of the Zingiberaceae family of flowering plants. So, technically, they are “cousins”.

But there are noticeable differences when you see them in person. Turmeric’s outer skin is yellowish/orangey whilst ginger is a light brown. Slicing their rhizomes open reveals further differences in flesh color:

  • turmeric is a bright orange (like a carrot), and
  • ginger is yellow/beige (like a potato).  

What are rhizomes exactly?

Rhizomes are the parts that grow underground and are commonly consumed as a spice. Often, they’re mistaken as roots, but they’re actually underground stems. Technically, they are “modified stems” since “stem” refers to their above-ground counterparts.

Turmeric vs ginger: Are they considered functional food?

By definition, functional foods offer health benefits besides their basic nutritional value (1). They serve a particular function, such as:

  • enhancing the immune system
  • promoting healthy digestion
  • slowing down the ageing process
  • helping the body recover from disease
  • helping control physical and mental disorders

As you will see in the health benefits sections, both spices do qualify as functional foods!

turmeric vs ginger rhizomes

Turmeric vs ginger health benefits: 5 surprising common benefits

So, before we dive into this section, let’s first describe what makes turmeric “turmeric” and what makes ginger “ginger”.

Well, for turmeric, it is the chemical Curcumin. And for ginger, it is Gingerol. Both contain other natural compounds, of course. But curcumin and gingerol are key to making both spices count as “functional food”.

Interestingly, both spices have similar health benefits, as you will see below!

1) Both are anti-inflammatory

Short-term inflammation is a healthy immune system response. But when it becomes long-term or chronic, it’s a bad thing. Depending on where the inflammation is, it can make you susceptible to many diseases. This includes diabetes, metabolic syndrome, hypertension, cardiovascular disease, arthritis, and more (2).

There are synthetic drugs that treat pain and inflammation. NSAIDs or non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs like ibuprofen and naproxen are examples. But long-term use of these drugs can lead to side effects (3).

Fortunately, a diet rich in ginger and turmeric can help ease inflammation. These two spices may work similarly to NSAIDs. Both are included in the list of plants with proven anti-inflammatory effects (4).

That said, when it comes to comparing ginger vs turmeric for inflammation, the latter may have an edge. A study done on arthritic rats showed they responded better to turmeric than either ginger or indomethacin (an NSAID) (5).

2) Antioxidant activity

Turmeric and ginger both have antioxidant properties. They help maintain our health at the molecular level by fighting off free radicals. If left unchallenged, these free radicals cause oxidative stress, leading to disease and rapid ageing. Turmeric may even help with skin health to make you look younger. Take advantage of both spices’ antioxidant benefits by consuming more of them (6)!

3) Natural pain relievers

Both spices may help relieve abdominal pain, stomach discomfort, and other digestive disorders. Additionally, both may also help ease period-related pains in women. Here’s what some studies say:

  • Ginger taken in 250mg capsules 4x daily was as effective as mefenamic acid and ibuprofen in relieving dysmenorrhea (7).
  • Turmeric taken in 500mg capsules 2x daily also showed the same analgesic effect on women (8).

4) Anti-nausea a.k.a. antiemetic

Ginger is considered a natural antiemetic or anti-nausea remedy. It may help with motion sickness and pregnancy-related nausea. It’s even said to be more effective than Dramamine, an over-the-counter drug for nausea and motion sickness (9).

Turmeric is no slouch in this category either. It’s been used to treat vomiting patients since ancient times. It’s just that there aren’t nearly as many studies done on its antiemetic properties like ginger. So far, an animal study supports this thesis – curcumin improved the appetite of rats undergoing chemotherapy (10).

5) May help provide relief for cancer patients

Chemotherapy can kill cancer cells, but it also does a lot of damage to the body. Studies on both curcumin and ginger show that both may help slow down cancer progression. They can slow down and even stop cancer cells in their tracks (11, 12).

Using curcumin alongside chemo drugs has two benefits. It may help maximize the desired effects of the drugs. And it may also minimize any potential side effects (13).

As for ginger, its antiemetic effects may also provide much-needed relief to post-chemotherapy nausea (14).

Are curcumin and gingerol bioavailable?

Unfortunately, both curcumin and gingerol have issues with bioavailability (15, 16).

However, scientists continue to come up with creative ways to improve both compounds’ absorption rates. For instance, krill oil may help improve the absorption of ginger supplements (17).

meriva curcumin is absorbed 29 times better absorbed than ordinary curcumin

For turmeric/curcumin, we believe Meriva’s nano-delivery technology is the best!

Studies done on Meriva Curcumin show that this form is 29x better absorbed than ordinary curcumin (18). This means you can take full advantage of curcumin’s health benefits, including the ones we’ve listed above.

For more information about our Intelligent Labs curcumin products, check out these links:

Meriva Curcumin Phytosome 250mg

Meriva Curcumin Phytosome 500mg  

Turmeric vs ginger: Which one’s more flavorful?

Flavor-wise, let’s just say they are both extremely aromatic, especially when cooked in fresh, raw form. 

Turmeric is characterized by a pungent, earthy, and bitter taste. On the other hand, ginger’s flavor profile is more peppery, sweet, and spicy.

Both spices add lots of flavors to many different dishes around the world. Turmeric, in particular, takes it up a notch by also lending its bright yellow-orange hue to any dish it’s added to (curry, anyone?).

Oh, and another interesting fact that’s common between these two “cousins”? It’s not just the rhizomes that are edible. You can also eat/consume their leaves, stems, shoots, and even their flowers! And yes, all these other parts taste great, too!

Can you use turmeric as a substitute for ginger – and vice versa?

Well, if you’re in a pinch, you certainly can. They belong to the same plant family, after all. Just temper your expectations a bit as they’re not exactly a 1:1 substitution, more like an alternative spice to consider.

In addition to the difference in flavors, don’t forget to consider the dish’s appearance if swapping ginger for turmeric. Turmeric is a natural dye, so it will affect the color of your food. On the other hand, if using ginger in lieu of turmeric, you will lose all that lovely color. So, either way, something to keep in mind if swapping ingredients.

If you’re wondering if all turmeric powders are created equal? Well, check out the answer here in our blog post on the best turmeric powder.

Conclusion

Ideally, we should all be consuming turmeric and ginger regularly. But taking them in supplement form is a good alternative, too. Just make sure you speak with your doctor before taking turmeric or ginger as a supplement as their active compounds may interfere with medication.

References

(1) Functional Foods, J.A. Tur, M.M. Bibiloni, Encyclopedia of Food and Health, 2016, Pages 157-161

(2) Pahwa R, Goyal A, Jialal I. Chronic Inflammation. [Updated 2023 Aug 7]. In: StatPearls [Internet]. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing; 2023 Jan.

(3) Meek IL, Van de Laar MAFJ, E. Vonkeman H. Non-Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs: An Overview of Cardiovascular Risks. Pharmaceuticals. 2010; 3(7):2146-2162.

(4) Vázquez-Fresno, R., Rosana, A.R.R., Sajed, T. et al. Herbs and Spices- Biomarkers of Intake Based on Human Intervention Studies – A Systematic Review. Genes Nutr 14, 18 (2019).

(5) Ramadan, G., Al-Kahtani, M.A. & El-Sayed, W.M. Anti-inflammatory and Anti-oxidant Properties of Curcuma longa (Turmeric) Versus Zingiber officinale (Ginger) Rhizomes in Rat Adjuvant-Induced Arthritis. Inflammation 34, 291–301 (2011).

(6) Lobo V, Patil A, Phatak A, Chandra N. Free radicals, antioxidants and functional foods: Impact on human health. Pharmacogn Rev. 2010;4(8):118-126.

(7) Comparison of Effects of Ginger, Mefenamic Acid, and Ibuprofen on Pain in Women with Primary Dysmenorrhea, Giti Ozgoli, Marjan Goli, and Fariborz Moattar, Published Online:23 Feb 2009

(8) An Investigation of the Effect of Curcumin (Turmeric) Capsule on the Severity and Duration of Dysmenorrhea in Students of Iran University of Medical Sciences, Naghmeh Shahbaz Tabari, Masoomeh Kheirkhah, Faraz Mojab, Masoud Salehi, https://www.jemds.com/data_pdf/Fahad%2030.01.2020-%20November%2016,%202020–G.pdf

(9) Bode AM, Dong Z. The Amazing and Mighty Ginger. In: Benzie IFF, Wachtel-Galor S, editors. Herbal Medicine: Biomolecular and Clinical Aspects. 2nd edition. Boca Raton (FL): CRC Press/Taylor & Francis; 2011. Chapter 7.

(10) Babaei F, Nassiri-Asl M, Hosseinzadeh H. Curcumin (a constituent of turmeric): New treatment option against COVID-19. Food Sci Nutr. 2020;8(10):5215-5227. Published 2020 Sep 6. doi:10.1002/fsn3.1858

(11) Almatroodi SA, Syed MA, Rahmani AH. Potential Therapeutic Targets of Curcumin, Most Abundant Active Compound of Turmeric Spice: Role in the Management of Various Types of Cancer. Recent Pat Anticancer Drug Discov. 2021;16(1):3-29.

(12) Zadorozhna M, Mangieri D. Mechanisms of Chemopreventive and Therapeutic Proprieties of Ginger Extracts in Cancer. International Journal of Molecular Sciences. 2021; 22(12):6599.

(13) Panda AK, Chakraborty D, Sarkar I, Khan T, Sa G. New insights into therapeutic activity and anticancer properties of curcumin. J Exp Pharmacol. 2017;9:31-45. Published 2017 Mar 31.

(14) Ryan JL, Heckler CE, Roscoe JA, et al. Ginger (Zingiber officinale) reduces acute chemotherapy-induced nausea: a URCC CCOP study of 576 patients. Support Care Cancer. 2012;20(7):1479-1489.

(15) Enhanced oral bioavailability of [6]-Gingerol-SMEDDS: Preparation, in vitro and in vivo evaluation, Yang Xu, Qilong Wang… Journal of Functional Foods, Volume 27, December 2016, Pages 703-710

(16) Bioavailability of Curcumin: Problems and Promises, Preetha Anand, Ajaikumar B. Kunnumakkara et al. Mol. Pharmaceutics 2007, 4, 6, 807–818, Publication Date:November 14, 2007

(17) Krill oil-based self-emulsifying drug delivery system to improve oral absorption and renoprotective function of ginger extract, Mizuki Ogino, Asuka Nakazawa et al. PharmaNutrition, Volume 19, March 2022, 100285

(18) Comparative Absorption of a Standardized Curcuminoid Mixture and Its Lecithin Formulation, John Cuomo, Giovanni Appendino et al. J. Nat. Prod. 2011, 74, 4, 664–669