Boosting your immune system – hippie style
Back in January 2022 when I was fighting my way through COVID, two of my neighbor-friends were angels on earth and cooked nutritious, healing foods for me. These meals were loaded with fresh herbs, spices and a variety of fresh veggies.
I learned a lot from these two women. You see as one grew up in Africa and the other in India. In their cultures, food, herbs and spices are used as medicine. This is something I whole-heartedly believe in as well, but they were gung-ho on loading my body up with their first-choice medicinal goodies.
I’d like to pass along 3 things that these beautiful women taught me. There is a lot more, but I want to keep things simple for you so you don't’ get overwhelmed. And don’t worry, I’ll keep teaching you what I’ve learned!
HEALING FOOD #1: GINGER
Ginger root has been known to help many things such as speeding up digestion and easing nausea caused by morning sickness. But ginger is also a powerful root that, when used in fresh form, can help fight off viral infections. According to the Journal of Traditional Chinese Medical Science ginger does this by blocking viral attachment and penetration into host cells via interaction with G and F proteins. (CLICK HERE to read the study.)
Ginger is rich in anti-inflammatory properties. It is also full of healing properties that can help boost your body’s immune system. By helping to increase immunity, ginger can help to keep infections at bay. The anti-inflammatory properties found in fresh ginger can help to relieve the pain that comes with sore throats.
When I was sick, my Indian neighbor-friends made me hot tea with fresh ginger as well as oatmeal for breakfast that had chopped up ginger in it. I added some Manuka Honey to both to make each a tad sweeter – and to get the added benefits of the honey.
To make your own ginger tea, grate some ginger and add it to a pot of boiling water. Once it boils, add your team, honey into it and a squeeze of lemon (about ½ a lemon)
HEALING FOOD #2: GARLIC
Oh man, this one was a doozy for me. I LOVE garlic. But I was instructed to eat it raw. And that is a whole other ball game then eating it cooked. I’ll never forget sitting in a cafe in D.C. with my husband and a Russian friend of ours….He complained of a sore throat coming one and we watched him eat clove after clove of raw garlic. We were both practically choking just watching him!
My throat was on FIRE when I had COVID. I mean, I felt like I was swallowing knives. For two days, I couldn’t even talk because it hurt THAT bad. When my friends told me to go for the raw garlic, I didn’t know how on earth I would get it down as even swallowing spit was torture. But I did it…. One tiny bite at a time.
I was instructed to smoosh a clove of garlic, add a dash of cayenne pepper and drizzle on manuka honey. As I choked down each bite, I could feel the heat rising in my body and even though I couldn’t smell a darn thing, I knew I would smell like I could kill vampires for the next week. I put raw garlic in my lunch and dinner and yep, it helped.
Why does it help? Simple: It has antimicrobial abilities. In in-vitro studies, garlic has also been shown to be effective against many different pathogens. (The Southeast Asian journal of tropical medicine and public health 38, no. 2)
Garlic can also help to increase your immune system activity – which is something antibiotics can never do!. Studies have shown that it increases the natural killer cells of the immune system and reduces inflammatory cytokines.
Besides eating raw garlic, I also swear by the garlic foot coating. It helps to suck out all the bad guys in your body. All you will need to make this are a few fresh garlic cloves or get the squeeze bottle of minced garlic and olive oiil
What to do: Just before bedtime, rub the olive oil and garlic onto the feet. Wrap in saran wrap and Immediately cover with socks. Go to sleep and in the morning, wash your feet. Really well. Cause’ they are gonna STINK!
HEALING FOOD #3: MANUKA HONEY
Manuka Honey is not only delish, but it is also has been clinically show to help support the immune system.This precious honey contains antimicrobial and antioxidant properties as well as methylgloxal (the compound responsible for its antibacterial powers), The higher the concentration of MG, the stronger the antibiotic effect. Some research has suggested it may also have antiviral effects that could help protect you from colds or flu, and possibly other viruses. Manuka honey is also loaded up with both enzymes and minerals.
When I was sick, I put this honey in my tea, in my morning oatmeal and I even took a spoonful of it a few times a day.
Here is an easy recipe to help boost your immune system. You can drink this daily to keep yourself healthy or take it when you’re sick for a speedier recovery.
INGREDIENTS:
2 cups water
½ tsp of fresh ginger
1-2 tbsp manuka honey
1-2 tbsp raw apple cider vinegar
1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
INSTRUCTIONS:
Add the ginger to two cups of water and boil for about 10-15 minutes. Turn off the heat and let cool to almost room temperature. It can still be warm, but you don’t want it to be too hot or else it will kill off some of the benefits of the honey.
Strain the ginger from your ginger tea.
Put 1-2 tablespoons of manuka honey into a mug.
Add the vinegar and lemon juice.
Once the ginger tea has cooled off, add it to your mug and stir well to combine until the honey has dissolved.
The more I learn about the healing properties in food, herbs and spices, the more I am blown away at how God created nature’s pharmacy! And this is just the tip of the iceberg.
We all have something to share — I’d love to know what herbs, spices or foods are your go-to’s when you are under the weather. Comment below to share the love!