As a practitioner of acupuncture and Chinese medicine, I frequently employ both herbal medicine and Chinese food therapy in treating my patients. While both herbs and foods have inherent properties, herbs are considered to have stronger actions and are generally used as a supplement, while the effects of foods are somewhat weaker. There are a few exceptions, where an herb crosses the line and is also considered to be a food, which is the case with one of my favorites—ginger root. Here are some interesting things to know about ginger and how to use it both as an herb and as a food: The overall property of ginger is that it’s warming. That doesn’t necessarily means that it’s spicy, but rather the net effect is that after eating ginger, your body will feel slightly warmer. Over time, if you eat or take ginger daily, your body may warm up considerably. …