Fact check: Can Drinking Lemon Ginger Tea Fight Indigestion?

Claim

The Pinterest post highlights the health benefits of drinking lemon ginger tea. The user Cathy Foster claims, to drink lemon ginger tea every day to make hair long and strong, relieve inflammation and pain, treat ovarian cysts naturally, bid diabetes goodbye, fight indigestion, and improve skin health.

Fact Check

The claim is Half true. Ginger is widely recognized for its ability to alleviate nausea, bloating, and indigestion. Lemon can stimulate digestive enzymes, further aiding digestion. Together, they may provide relief from minor gastrointestinal discomfort. Having said this, lemon ginger tea won't resolve severe or chronic digestive conditions (e.g., GERD, ulcers). 

Lemon, Ginger, and Tea: Nutritional Benefits

Tea is cherished not only for its delightful flavour but also for its widely recognized health benefits. While tea has been linked to wellness for centuries, scientific research into its health-promoting properties has been active for around three decades. The potential health advantages of tea are largely attributed to its rich concentration of bioactive compounds, particularly polyphenols. These polyphenols are celebrated for their antioxidant, antiviral, and anti-inflammatory properties. Additionally, they help activate detoxifying enzymes, boost immune function, and reduce the aggregation of platelets.

Ginger, scientifically known as Zingiber officinale, has been valued for its health benefits for centuries. It contains natural compounds with potent antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties, which help support and balance the immune system. Known for its muscle-relaxing effects, ginger is also celebrated for its powerful antioxidants that promote overall health and well-being.

Lemon, also known as Citrus limon (L.), is part of the Rutaceae family and originates from South Asia, particularly Northeast India. A lemon without its peel has about 17 calories, while an unpeeled one contains around 22 calories. One tablespoon of lemon juice provides 3 calories, and a quarter cup delivers 31% of the daily recommended vitamin C, 3% of folate, and 2% of potassium. Renowned for its broad applications in cooking, medicine, and nutrition, lemon and its components—such as juice, leaf oil, citric acid, and alkaloids—may help with conditions like osteoporosis, insomnia, asthma, nausea, acne, throat infections, and maintaining pH balance.

What is Indigestion?

Indigestion is a term often used by both patients and doctors to refer to discomfort or upset in the digestive system. It covers a range of symptoms that can be linked to various digestive and non-digestive conditions. Many times, these symptoms are caused by issues in the stomach and upper intestine, often triggered by stress. Indigestion, also called dyspepsia, generally describes symptoms that occur shortly after eating and suggest a problem with the digestive process. These symptoms might include feeling nauseous after meals, occasionally vomiting, bloating, a sense of fullness or discomfort in the upper abdomen, burping, and passing gas. Less commonly, it can lead to a bad taste in the mouth, a coated tongue, fatigue, drowsiness, or headaches.

Sometimes, people use "indigestion" to refer to heartburn. However, heartburn is a more specific feeling—it's a burning pain behind the chest bone that can move up toward the neck or throat.

Can Drinking Lemon Ginger Tea Fight Indigestion?

Studies have mentioned that lemon, ginger, and tea offer various nutritional benefits, including antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. They also support gut health, enhance gastric emptying, and boost gut immunity. The benefits of lemon ginger tea are primarily complementary and situational, as noted by both experts and professional medical advice should be sought for persistent or severe digestive issues.

There are currently no studies investigating lemon and ginger tea together to fight indigestion. Nevertheless, there are studies that have identified the individual roles of lemon, ginger and tea in gastrointestinal issues.

One study published in the journal Food Science and Nutrition, where ginger combined with glucosamine significantly lowered gastrointestinal pain in osteoarthritis patients without triggering dyspepsia or indigestion. It also increased protective substances in the stomach, which was associated with a rise in a related stomach hormone. Ginger provided pain relief comparable to Diclofenac but was gentler on the stomach. This study specifically emphasizes ginger's role in avoiding indigestion or dyspepsia, highlighting its gentle effect on the digestive system.

Another study published in the journal Cureus suggested that ginger may aid in promoting gastric emptying and enhancing gastrointestinal motility. In a clinical trial with 12 healthy volunteers, ginger was found to significantly speed up gastric emptying compared to a placebo. Again this study does not mention any role of ginger in fighting indigestion but only about gastric emptying.

Research has explored the impact of lemons on gut health, with one study published in Dietetics highlighting that lemons contain compounds like pectin and flavonoids that support gut health by feeding beneficial bacteria and reducing harmful ones. Pectin, a fibre in lemons, is fermented by gut bacteria, promoting an anti-inflammatory response in the colon.

The study featuring tea that has been published in the Journal of Nutritional Science and Vitaminology has emphasized that black tea supports gut health by promoting the growth of beneficial bacteria that produce butyrate, a compound essential for a strong gut immune system. This study mentions the role of black tea on gut health.

While these studies have highlighted the roles of lemon, ginger, and tea individually in improving gut health, and immunity, gastric emptying, there is no medical consensus or recommendation in the literature or medical community suggesting the use of lemon ginger tea for indigestion.

Dr Rohan Badave, Consultant Medical Gastroenterology, Manipal Hospital, Goa explained, "Lemon ginger tea can be a soothing remedy when you're dealing with mild digestive discomfort. However, it's crucial to treat them as part of a holistic approach rather than a primary solution. Persistent digestive issues should prompt individuals to seek medical advice for tailored treatments that address the underlying causes effectively."

To this, Dr Jyotirmay Jena, Consultant, G.I. & H.P.B Surgery, Manipal Hospital, Bhubaneshwar added, "Lemon ginger tea is commonly believed to help with digestion due to the properties of its ingredients. However, while it may offer a comforting and warming experience, it should not be relied upon as a treatment for digestive issues without professional guidance. It’s best to approach such remedies as part of general wellness rather than a definitive solution for indigestion."

Medical Dialogues Final Take

While lemon and ginger have properties that can potentially alleviate mild digestive symptoms like bloating and sluggish motility, their efficacy is limited to mild, non-serious cases of indigestion. They are not substitutes for medical interventions or targeted treatments for more severe gastrointestinal conditions like GERD or ulcers.

Hence the claim lemon ginger tea fights indigestion is Half true.