Raw Ginger Root Nutrients

Faced with knobby, beige ginger, some people pass over this root vegetable because they don't understand its uses or nutritional value. Make no mistake, though: raw ginger contains several vitamins and minerals and has little fat and few calories. Grate fresh, raw ginger root into stir fries or other recipes for a spicy zing or slice it thinly for pickling, a common accompaniment to sushi. You can dry it for use in baked goods as well.

Calories and Calorie Breakdown

Raw ginger root contains 19.2 calories in a 1/4-cup serving. The majority of the calories in ginger derive from carbohydrates -- 89 percent. Slightly more than 8 percent of the calories come from fat, and 8.8 percent of the calories are from protein.

Macronutrients

One serving of ginger contains 4.3 g of carbohydrates, very little of the 225 to 325 g you need in your meal plan each day. You also get little protein -- 0.4 g per serving. Supplement your diet with protein-rich foods to meet your daily needs: 46 g of protein for women and 56 g for men. Raw ginger root adds only 0.2 g of fat to your diet, which helps you keep your fat intake to the recommended range of 20 to 35 percent of your daily calories.

Vitamins

Eat a serving of raw ginger, and you take in 2 percent of the daily recommended intake of vitamin C. The vitamin C in ginger serves to help you ward off colds and other infections by strengthening your immune system. You also get 1.9 percent of the vitamin B-6 and 0.7 percent of the folate, also known as vitamin B-9. These vitamins help your body use proteins and help healthy fetus development in pregnant women.

Minerals

A serving of raw ginger root offers nearly 3 percent of the potassium, copper and manganese you need every day. These minerals give ginger the ability to boost your body's ability to normalize your blood pressure, keep your immune system working smoothly and assist in protein metabolism. Ginger also provides smaller amounts of iron and calcium.

Benefits

Including ginger in your diet may help reduce nausea when you're pregnant. Research published in the April 2005 issue of the journal "Obstetrics and Gynecology" notes that preliminary data indicates that pregnant women can safely use ginger to reduce nausea and vomiting, although more studies are needed to confirm its safety. Ginger may also find use as a cancer treatment. Evidence introduced in the 2006 "Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research" reveals that compounds in ginger root may interfere with the growth of ovarian cancer cells.