ginger 2Research appearing in the Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine (February 2009, 15(2): 129-132) compared the effect of ginger, mefenamic acid and ibuprofen on the pain of dysmenorrhea. The subjects of the study were 150 students over the age of 18 suffering from primary dysmenorrhea. They were divided into three groups and given 250 mg of ginger rhizome powder, 250 mg of mefenamic acid or 400 mg of ibuprofen. They took the dosage four times each day for three days; beginning with the start of their menstrual period. Dysmenorrhea symptoms decreased in all groups, and there was no difference in the amount of relief experienced by the women taking the herb and the women taking drugs. Ginger was as effective as the drug therapies, and was free of side-effects.