It's a simple fact: Ginger kills prostate cancer cells. 

An extract of the spice actually kills human prostate cancer cells while healthy prostate cells did not die. The results of the study occurred at a daily dose of 100 mg of ginger extract per kg of body weight (based on a man weighing 150 pounds this equals about 550 mg extract per day). In eight weeks, the ginger extract slashed prostate tumor growth in half. The researchers have estimated that 100 grams of fresh ginger eaten daily will offer the same results.

Ginger actually tricks prostate cancer cells into killing themselves. Or, as the authors of the study put it, “induced a caspase-driven, mitochondrially mediated apoptosis in human prostate cancer cells.” As a result, the prostate tumors shrank by an average of 56 percent.

Perhaps just as meaningful as ginger's ability to assassinate prostate cancer is that it's a clean kill. Conventional modern “high-tech” therapies like chemotherapy and radiation can cause great harm and even kill patients themselves in some cases. The ginger targets the cancer only and leaves the rest of the body alone.

Prostate cancer is the number one non-skin disease affecting American men. One new case occurs every 2 to 4 minutes.

Although it is certainly enough to earn it induction into the Spice Hall of Fame, slaying prostate cancer cells isn't ginger's only health benefit. Its main bioactive compound, gingerol, which is responsible for much of the root's medicinal properties, has powerful anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects. Those anti-inflammatory capabilities were highlighted in a controlled trial of 247 people with osteoarthritis of the knee. Those who took ginger extract had less pain and required less pain medication.

Men (and women) who spend more than a fair amount of time trying to build up their biceps may benefit from ginger's ability to reduce the muscle pain associated with elbow exercises. It will also be effective at reducing the day-to-day progression of overall muscle pain.

Ginger can also lower fasting blood sugar in diabetics, lower your cholesterol, and fight infection, particularly gum diseases such as gingivitis and periodontitis.