immunity-boosting turmeric ginger lemon potion

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If you ever feel like you're coming down with a cold, if you already have a cold or the flu, or even if you just want to boost your immune system simply to help your body be more resilient and less susceptible to catching bacterial infections and viruses, this one is for you.

It's a miracle worker I myself have been using for many years, and it's always proven to be extremely helpful in improving my immune function. I've been sharing this recipe with people for years and I'd love to share it with you with hope that it might help you out as well.

It's easy to make and requires only a few simple ingredients based around turmeric, ginger and lemon.

I personally drink it (interchangeably with my Golden Milk) whenever I feel like I'm not my 100% in the immune department, preventatively during the change of seasons (when we're generally more likely to catch a cold) as well as whenever, on a rare occasion, I do catch a cold.

It's a miracle worker, indeed, and it will help you out just as it is, but for the best results it does require a little bit of cooperation from you in the form of allowing your body an adequate amount of good quality sleep each night (7.5-9 hours nightly, more if you're fighting a cold), healthy whole-foods fiber-rich* diet consisting mainly of vegetables, fruits, grains and legumes, drinking plenty of water throughout the day and exercising regularly (when you're not sick that is).

*I should note that if your body isn't used to a lot of fiber, please don't overwhelm it with tons of beans and raw vegetables when you're sick. Fiber should be introduced slowly and preferably when we're not in the process of fighting infections. If this is you, I'd recommend focusing on fruits and well-cooked veggies and grains when you have a cold, and only once you're better, you could gradually start implementing more fiber from beans, legumes and raw vegetables so that your gut bacteria, after first getting used to being fed really well, can happily protect you by cranking up your immune response.

Spending time in nature, practicing Yoga, meditation and pranayama (breathing exercises) also immensely help to boost our immune system. They help reduce our stress levels which in turn allows our body to focus on things like fighting diseases and healthy cell regeneration instead of throwing all of those processes out of the window because stress takes center stage making our sympathetic nervous system take over as our body taps into our fight/flight/freeze response. This stress response can sometimes be extremely helpful, life-saving even, when we're running for our life, but our bodies are designed to be okay with it only occasionally and for short periods of time that are, ideally, followed by longer periods of relaxation, which is not the way we experience it nowadays- chronic stress. But that's a whole other topic. For healing to occur, we should be in the rest/digest/heal response of our parasympathetic nervous system and that cannot coexist with the stress response, which is yet another reason to add stress management tools to your immune-boosting toolkit.

Here's how you can make the marvelous turmeric ginger lemon drink:

You will need water, fresh ginger root, turmeric powder and lemon juice.

This little concoction can have quite a strong taste, especially if you're not used to turmeric and ginger, so it's good to add a little sweetened (preferably one that on top of just being sweet provides your body with some antioxidants). Sustainably sourced and organic honey is a good option, and it can also help with coughs. If you do not use honey, I highly recommend molasses or pure maple syrup. You can adjust the amount of your sweeter to taste.

It's possible you will need to dilute your drink with water and add more sweetener in the beginning. I remember when I first started making it I needed quite a lot of my sweetener to be able to drink it, now I hardly use any. I also recommend using a little bit of freshly ground pepper that helps your body better utilize turmeric with all of its wonderful properties. I've written about the benefits of turmeric before, but just to recap: both turmeric and ginger have the ability to strengthen your immune system, they have antibacterial, antiviral, anti-inflammatory and antioxidative properties. They can help relieve congestion, and turmeric has also been used to alleviate pain. You can read more about turmeric here.

Lemon juice is a good source of vitamin C, and once digested has been shown to be very alkalizing to the body and therefore making your internal environment very unpleasant to any diseases as those generally thrive in acidic environments.

Make sure to drink this potion warm for the maximal benefits for turmeric, but not too hot in order not too loose that vitamin C!

 

Immune-boosting Turmeric Ginger Lemon Concoction Recipe

yields: 2 cups

prep time: 5 minutes max!

Ingredients

• 2 cups (500ml) of water

• 1/2 teaspoon of turmeric powder

• a thumb-size piece of ginger

• juice of 1/2 lemon

• a pinch of freshly ground black pepper

• a teaspoon of black-strap molasses, 100% maple syrup or organic and sustainably sourced honey

  
  

Method:

• Pour the water into a small saucepan and bring to boil.

• Grate the fresh ginger, cut it in thin slices or use a garlic presser to press it and squeeze out the juice. Add it (the juice and the ginger bits) to the water and reduce the heat so it just simmers.

• Add the turmeric, stir and simmer for about 3 minutes.

• Pour the drink into either 2 cups (if making it for two) or 1 cup and leave the rest in the saucepan for later (if making it for one).

• To your cup add a small pinch of freshly ground black pepper.

• Wait until the drink cools down a little bit, it should be less than 70C / 158F, but when it's good enough to drink it should be fine.

• Squeeze in the lemon juice and watch the magic happen as the drink changes color!

• Add in your sweetener of choice and mix well and taste to see whether you need to adjust the sweetness.

• Drink as warm as possible and enjoy its healing powers!

Notes:

This drink will make you feel a bit hot inside, that's what it does. When you're sick that "heat" can make it feel like you suddenly have more energy. Please remember that that energy isn't for you to do all the things you couldn't do because you felt fatigued- it's not for you, it's for your body, to help it fight the infection, so please let it and don't waste it on work, house chores or errands. Stay in bed and be kind to your own body for doing its best to heal (and to others, by not spreading whatever it is that got you).

You can dilute your ginger-turmeric-lemon drink with warm water if you find it's a bit too strong.

You can also keep the leftovers in your saucepan for later and warm it up after a few hours.

I recommend drinking this drink daily when you're feeling your immune system needs a little help. If you're really feeling on the verge of a cold or you already have a cold you might want to drink it a couple of times a day, I certainly do.

But, as always, please listen to your body and if you find that you've given it a go and your body is not at all into it, don't force it. You do you.

Also, if you have gallstones, take blood-thinning medications or if you're pregnant, please consult a medical professional before using turmeric, especially in large quantities.

Be well!