Ginger chews can help with nausea, and there’s solid clinical evidence behind the effect. The active compounds in ginger block serotonin receptors in the gut that trigger nausea signals to the brain, and they speed up gastric emptying so food moves through your stomach faster. That said, how well ginger chews work depends on the type of nausea you’re dealing with and how much actual ginger is in the product.
How Ginger Stops Nausea
Nausea often starts in the gut. When your stomach empties slowly or becomes irritated, cells in your digestive tract release serotonin, which activates receptors (called 5-HT3 receptors) that send “I feel sick” signals up to your brain. Ginger’s active compounds, particularly one called 6-shogaol and another called 6-gingerol, block those serotonin receptors in a noncompetitive way. That means they don’t just compete with serotonin for space on the receptor; they change how the receptor functions entirely.
At the same time, ginger increases gastric tone and motility, essentially helping your stomach contract and push its contents into the small intestine more efficiently. Slow gastric emptying is a common driver of nausea, bloating, and that heavy “something sitting in my stomach” feeling. By addressing both the nerve signaling and the physical sluggishness, ginger works on two fronts at once.
Morning Sickness
Pregnancy nausea is where ginger has some of its strongest evidence. In a randomized controlled trial of pregnant women in their first trimester, those taking ginger improved by about 4 points on a 40-point nausea scale compared to placebo after one week. More strikingly, only 33% of women taking ginger were still vomiting by day six, compared to 80% on placebo. That means for roughly every three women who tried ginger, one stopped vomiting who otherwise wouldn’t have.
Those numbers make ginger a reasonable first option for mild to moderate morning sickness, which is why many OB-GYNs suggest it before moving to prescription options.
Chemotherapy-Related Nausea
A large multicenter trial of 576 cancer patients tested ginger at three doses (0.5 g, 1.0 g, and 1.5 g daily) against placebo, taken alongside standard anti-nausea medications. All doses reduced the severity of acute nausea on the first day of chemotherapy, with the 0.5 g and 1.0 g doses performing best. The 1.5 g dose was actually less effective, suggesting more isn’t always better.
The effect size was real but modest. Ginger reduced how bad nausea felt on day one; it did not eliminate it. It also didn’t help with delayed nausea (the kind that kicks in a few days after treatment) or significantly reduce vomiting. So ginger works best here as a supplement to existing anti-nausea treatment, not a replacement for it.
Motion Sickness
Motion sickness is where ginger’s reputation outpaces its evidence. A controlled, double-blind study comparing ginger root to dimenhydrinate (the active ingredient in Dramamine) found that ginger had no effect on the vestibular or eye-movement systems that drive motion sickness. Dimenhydrinate, by contrast, clearly reduced those responses. The researchers concluded that if ginger helps with motion sickness at all, it’s by calming the stomach rather than addressing the underlying mismatch between what your eyes see and what your inner ear senses.
That distinction matters. If your motion sickness is mostly stomach-centered (queasiness, the urge to vomit), ginger chews may take the edge off. If it’s dominated by dizziness, disorientation, or cold sweats, a conventional motion sickness medication will likely work better.
How Much Ginger You Actually Need
Clinical trials showing benefits typically use between 500 mg and 1,000 mg of ginger per day. That’s the weight of the ginger itself, not the whole candy. This is where commercial ginger chews get tricky. A medicated ginger chewing gum formulated for research contained about 50 mg of concentrated ginger extract per piece, meaning you’d need quite a few to reach a clinically tested dose.
Most store-bought ginger chews are candy first, ginger second. They contain real ginger, but the amount varies widely between brands, and many don’t disclose the exact milligrams of active ginger compounds on the label. Chews marketed specifically as supplements tend to list their ginger content; regular ginger candy often does not. If you’re relying on ginger chews for consistent nausea relief, look for products that state the ginger content per piece so you can gauge whether you’re getting close to that 500 to 1,000 mg daily range.
Side Effects and Interactions
Ginger is safe for most people at typical doses, but it’s not side-effect-free. A systematic review of 109 randomized controlled trials found that heartburn was the most commonly reported issue, showing up across 16 studies. Some participants experienced the very symptom they were trying to treat: nausea. Others reported bloating, gas, abdominal discomfort, or diarrhea. These side effects were generally mild and not considered harmful.
The more serious concern involves blood-thinning medications, particularly warfarin. The FDA advises caution for patients on warfarin who also use ginger supplements. There are case reports of ginger pushing anticoagulant levels dangerously high. In one case, a 76-year-old woman’s blood-thinning levels rose to more than three times the therapeutic target after she started using ginger products. If you take blood thinners, talk to your prescriber before adding ginger chews to your routine, even in candy form.
Getting the Most Out of Ginger Chews
Timing helps. Because ginger works by calming the stomach and blocking nausea signals before they build, taking it preventively is more effective than waiting until you’re already deeply nauseous. For chemotherapy patients in the trial mentioned above, ginger was started before treatment began. For morning sickness, many women find that chewing a piece first thing in the morning, before getting out of bed, works better than waiting for nausea to hit.
Chewing also has a practical advantage over capsules: it releases ginger compounds directly into the mouth and upper digestive tract, and the act of chewing itself can help settle mild queasiness. If swallowing a capsule sounds unappealing when you’re already feeling sick, a chew is simply easier to get down.
The bottom line is that ginger chews are a legitimate, evidence-backed option for mild to moderate nausea, especially from pregnancy or as a complement to chemotherapy medications. They’re less proven for motion sickness and won’t replace stronger anti-nausea drugs for severe symptoms. The biggest variable isn’t whether ginger works; it’s whether the particular chew you’re eating contains enough ginger to matter.