A good immune system is still required, or even again. Especially now that the cold season is upon us. Ginger is considered immune-boosting. And it’s also available in a bottle – as a juice mixture. Öko-Test examined the natural boosters.
A cold is annoying. And astonishingly, there is still no herb against the burden. But at least the symptoms can be alleviated somewhat. Ginger is also in high season, especially in the cold season. The tuber with the pungent aroma is considered health-promoting and is said to strengthen the immune system, helps with a scratchy throat and aching stomach.
But there isn’t always enough time to peel, chop and scald – sometimes it has to be quicker. In order to arm themselves against any infection in advance, quite a few people reach for the small bottle with juice mixtures containing ginger. Apart from that, no scientific study on humans has examined whether ginger actually protects against or prevents the common cold.
Öko-Test tasted 20 so-called ginger shots from drugstores, supermarkets, discounters and online shops and tested them for the pungent substances typical of ginger, harmful substances and vitamin C. The price range was from 0.36 to 2.49 euros for 60 milliliters. The majority of the shots contain apple juice as the main ingredient. The sugar content of the mixed drinks was checked on the basis of the declaration. Trained sensory testers tasted the ginger shots and assessed whether their appearance, smell and taste were okay. This was the case with all the products examined. The more pungent substances, the sharper and more intense the juice tastes like ginger.
However, the total amount of pungent substances says nothing about the quality. The ratio of the pungent substances gingerol and shogaol is more important. It allows conclusions to be drawn about the freshness of the processed ginger, since shogaols only form as a result of aging or other external factors. In fresh ginger, the ratio of the two substances is well over 100. In 13 samples, the experts measured a ratio below 100 – according to the Öko-Test, this can be an indication of ginger ingredients that have been stored for a long time or have been heavily processed.
Nonetheless, no ginger shot was rated “poor” or “inadequate”. Even if “sufficient” the insecticide clothianidin could be detected in the “True Fruits Ginger Shot yellow”, which harms bees and bumblebees and also contains 13 grams of sugar per 100 milliliters of juice. Which is just under three teaspoons. If you drink the whole bottle, you already ingest a quarter of the maximum daily amount of sugar recommended by the WHO.
The laboratory found traces of three different pesticides (“satisfactory”) in Aldi’s “Rio D’Oro Ginger Shot”. In the “Ready Ginger Shot with apple
“Live fresh ginger storm” and “Rewe to go ginger shot with apple” were rated “very good”.
