Starting to get a scratchy throat? What about the sniffles? Was that sneeze from allergies or the start of a cold? Even worse, what if you are getting a sore throat in Summer? This is when you need this Garlic and Ginger Immunity Tea
Given that it’s the time of the year when sickness and disease surround us all, seasonal illnesses are nearly impossible to avoid and a few cold and flu recipes are good to have. Airplanes, office kitchens, children — they’re all incubators for something that can potentially sideline you for a couple of days.
Good hygiene this time of year is definitely a must for prevention. I have a coworker who takes it to an extreme and makes it a rule to never touch his face from October to March. Though some times, it’s almost unavoidable. If you’re standing near a guy on the train that’s coughing uncontrollably and should have stayed home, giving him the ol’ stink eye is not going to offer you much protection at this point. Should you be so unfortunate to be coming down with something yucky, there’s a belief in some circles that it’s a good idea to start to ramp up on garlic for colds and flu.
Make your own Immunity Tea
My ginger root tea brings together two ingredients known thought to have antibacterial and antiviral properties, garlic and ginger. This is not a flashy cleanse or miracle product like Flat Tummy Tea or Colonix, it’s a few simple ingredients known for boosting you immune system.
In addition to garlic and ginger, lemons are also great for you, so adding in a big squeeze from a fresh lemon is an added bonus. Since you need large quantities of all of them right away, and doing so in their raw form is very unpleasant, the steeping process is how to make this the best tea for colds and flu that’s also pleasantly drinkable.
An alternative to fresh lemon juice is Apple Cider Vinegar. My go to is Bragg’s Unfiltered Apple Cider Vinegar for adding to my Immunity Tea.
Preventing a Cold or Sinus Infection
For the immunity tea to work its magic, you need to drink it within the first 24 hours of realizing you might be getting sick. As soon as you get that tickle in your throat, the runny nose, whatever signal you recognize, make the tea. I don’t promise that it’ll completely kill the cold or flu, but in my experience, the symptoms are significantly reduced to nuisance levels instead of stay-home-from-work levels.
In my unscientific and unfounded research, I’ve been able to prevent sinus infections over the years with this tea. Whenever sinusitis is starting, I get a distinctive scratchy, almost ticklish, feeling in the back of my throat. It is usually accompanied by malaise and sinus pressure in the face. If left alone, that will turn into 5-7 days of discomfort, unsightly discharge and lost sleep because of the uncontrollable urge to swallow and clear the throat.
If I’m able to drink a glass of this Garlic and Ginger Tea the first day the symptoms show up, I rarely have a full blown sinus infection. It only winds up being 1-2 days of very minor symptoms.
For that reason, I always have fresh garlic and fresh ginger on hand throughout the winter.
Preparing the Garlic and Ginger Tea
The best part is that it’s simple to prepare. You’ll need fresh garlic and ginger here, nothing jarred, canned or pickled. Honey and chicken broth you probably already have. It’ll only take about 15 minutes to get everything pulled together and about 15 minutes to make the tea. (A mini food processor or garlic press is super helpful.) Basically, you’re pulling out all of the antibacterial and antiviral goodness from the garlic and ginger into a somewhat flavorful broth via a nice long simmer. When complete, it will taste like burning, so honey is critical to make it palatable. The honey and lemon, like ginger, are also fantastic for a sore throat.
Soup is Great for Colds and Flus
While making a big batch of soup may not be top on your list if you are at the peak of cold and flu lousiness, it can be really helpful. Primarily because it helps rehydrate your body. Based on what you make, it can also provide a high concentration of nutrients and antioxidants that support your immune system.
Here are a few of my favorites:
Featured on Thoroughly Natural: 10 Natural Cold and Flu Remedies
Prevent a cold or sinus infection at the first sign of symptoms with this garlic and ginger immunity tea.
- 1 Garlic Bulb
- 2 inch piece of Ginger
- 1 Juiced Lemon
- 3 cups Chicken (or Vegetable) Stock
- 2 Tablespoons Honey
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Chop the Garlic and Mince the Ginger. Use a garlic press or mini chopper for the garlic since you’ll use anywhere from 10-15 cloves. A box grater can make quick work of a piece of peeled ginger (use an ordinary vegetable peeler).
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Bring the broth to a low boil and insert a colander that contains the garlic and ginger. Reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes
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Add the lemon juice (or 2 Tablespoons of unfiltered Apple Cider Vinegar) and then ladle into serving cups
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Mix in the honey, starting with about a tablespoon, to get to the right flavor.
Maybe I'm crazy, but this actually sounds appealing to me! The chicken broth is the only thing that might not be that great. Everything in this is so good for you when you're sick!! Loving your site/recipes btw! New fan here! 🙂
Thanks, Rachael, appreciate the feedback!
What a wonderful and interesting post, especially in this time of the year. I love to use garlic when cooking, but recently I've tried to brew garlic tea! I haven't used ginger before and it sounds quite interesting, so I will give it a try as well.
The flavor is not amazing but the health benefits are tremendous! Not only it’s great to treat colds it can also help ease digestive problems. I have an ulcer, so eating is not always a pleasant thing to do, but garlic tea has helped me cope with the symptoms.
http://www.therighttea.com/garlic-tea.html
Keep posting!
This was tasty… Kinda reminded me of a Thai soup base! Yum.
every year when the seasons change I get some sort of infection. I made this tea and drank it as soon as I started feeling down and it really helped!! doesn’t taste great at first but I could feel it working. going to tell all my friends who are sniffling and coughing too.
Garlic and ginger tea is something we had to drink as children, maybe mum wasn’t crazy and it did actually keep the sniffles at bay, hence why I usually survive winter without colds and flu as I still keep up the tradition
Pls can I add milk and sugar in garlic and ginger tea.
It works! I used to smell terrible after working out and now that I drink the immunity tea I’m odourless!
This sounded horrible, and I was scared to try it. I only made it because I’m quite ill with the flu. IT IS DELICIOUS!!!! A new staple for me.
Thank you!
This is great!! Wow! Imagine me have some infections with me
I can’t find anything to healed myself but now okay
I have been using this for 5 years, and instead of being sick and on antibiotics all winter, this tea keeps me virtually infection free! I have not tried it with broth, just filtered water. I also add turmeric. It is truly powerful stuff…
It is quite marvelous, especially with honey. Someone said that it also controls high blood pressure, resolves constipation, and kills cancer cells. Is that true?