Why You're Always Told To Drink Ginger Ale When You Have A Stomach Ache

Although a stomach bug usually runs its course pretty quickly, it's anything but pleasant — and you'll do whatever it takes to help yourself recover. Even if you just have a slight tummy ache, you've probably heard that the best way to cure it is to drink a little ginger ale. But why? The simple, often misunderstood answer is that ginger root has been known to help reduce nausea. Though there's one big caveat: Most ginger ales don't contain enough real ginger for you to see this benefit.

Believe it or not, it's not the soda that helps settle your nausea. It's the ginger. Ginger is a root-like plant that has a number of medicinal benefits, including anti-inflammatory properties, and it might even lower cholesterol. But it's best known for its ability to help with digestion, which means that if you're feeling nauseous, it can reduce the symptoms by moving the food through your body more efficiently and limiting the effects of eating something that doesn't agree with you. Ginger ale, on the other hand, doesn't work quite the same way, but it makes sense why you've heard so many times that it's the best medicine.

Although ginger ale has that distinct ginger taste, the kind in your refrigerator likely doesn't contain enough real ginger for you to see its medicinal benefits. Back in 2020, the popular ginger ale brand Canada Dry actually settled a lawsuit after customers claimed that it was misleading them about the amount of real ginger in the soda. "They [Canada Dry] do buy actual ginger, but then what they do is they boil it in ethanol, and that essentially destroys any nutritional or medicinal benefits," attorney Mark Canofari told Food & Wine after the suit was settled. A similar lawsuit was filed against the same company in 2018.

To make things worse, ginger ale might not be doing your stomach any favors. The drink is loaded with sugar. One 12-ounce serving contains 33 grams of sugar. Ginger ale might taste good, but the sugar coupled with the carbonation might actually heighten the discomfort from a stomach ache. Although most big-name grocery store ginger ale brands don't contain enough ginger to make a difference, the drink was actually made with more ginger at its conception. It's possible there are still some brands out there making it the traditional way, so you might just need to do some research.