By David Blyweiss, M.D., Advanced Natural Wellness

April 14, 2021

When my daughter was younger, I used to give her my secret immune-boosting remedy to help protect her from viral infections.

Today I’m going to share my secret with you.

Two of my favorite spices are ginger and garlic.  So when flu season came around, I would pull out these large jars I had. I’d put sliced organic lemons inside. Then I would add huge chunks of sliced ginger and garlic. Finally I would fill it with organic honey and let it sit for a while.

After sitting, it becomes a liquid. You just stir it around, and then you taste it, and it’s like “Oh my goodness! It’s gingery, lemony, garlicky sweetness!” It’s delicious.

As an immune booster, it’s one of those things where I could see parents giving a big old tablespoon of it to their kids before they go to school. That’s what I did for my daughter. And she really never got sick.

In particular ginger is a potent fighter for your immune system. It’s an antiviral that’s high in antioxidants and works to help protect you from all kinds of serious health issues. I’m talking about the big three. Cancer, diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Plus it’s showing great promise when it comes to treating inflammatory diseases like lupus.

Onion, just like garlic and chives, contain the enzyme alliin, which turns into allicin when it’s chopped or crushed. This immune boosting compound has antiviral, antibacterial and antifungal properties.

Lemon is high in vitamin C, limonene and terpenes. And honey, which is rich in antioxidants, helps activate the immune system response. So when you add garlic, ginger, honey and lemon together, its magic…and so tasty too.

It’s remedies like this that are important in today’s Covid-riddled world.

The Medicine Chest in Your Pantry

If you have herbs and spices in your home, you have a natural medicine chest at your disposal.

Curry is a great one. Turmeric, the spice used to make it, is loaded with a powerful antioxidant called curcumin. It’s a potent anti-inflammatory. And it has protective properties against all sorts of viruses; HIV, zika, dengue, norovirus, herpes, influenza and even COVID-19.

The question is, if you don’t make curry, how can you get more of it in your diet?

Well just add it to your foods like any other spice. Put it in your hummus. Sprinkle it over roasted veggies. Make a curry-vinaigrette dressing. Just make sure you add some black pepper in with it. The curcumin isn’t very absorbable without it.

If you like your food even hotter and spicier, add more chili pepper to your dishes. These peppers contain the antioxidant capsaicin, which is anti-inflammatory. It’s also chemoprotective and helps regulate blood sugar. You can use red pepper flakes or fresh chiles. The hotter the better.

And what about cinnamon? It’s another spicy anti-inflammatory found in spice racks across the world. It’s good for your brain. It’s good for your blood sugar. It protects against neurological disorders. There’s no reason not to get more of it. It’s especially tasty when you blend it with your green teas.

What About Fresh Herbs?

For a lot of people, herbs are a mystery. They toss a smidgeon of them in their spaghetti sauce, soups or stews and that’s that.

But herbs are a great source of polyphenols that are rich in antioxidants. Polyphenols help regulate the immune system. They are anti-inflammatory and chemoprotective. We should all be eating more of them.

In other countries, herbs are used liberally in meals and individual dishes.

One of my favorite herb dishes is tabouleh, from the Mediterranean.

It’s filled with fresh parsley, mint and chives or green onion.  It also contains other things, like bulgur, tomatoes, cucumber and garlic. You can eat it wrapped in lettuce leaves or use it to top off roasted vegetables. I like to top fresh, raw vegetables with it.

And you can really spice seafood up by topping it with a tomato, cilantro and basil salsa or a cilantro lemon salsa. Add some jalapenos and garlic to either of them and you’ve got even more health benefits.

You can also try sauces, like herb-rich pesto and tzatziki. Both can be used as sauces or condiments on nearly anything.

Don’t be afraid to experiment. Next time you make potato salad why not toss in a few handfuls of parsley or dill? Add fresh parsley, basil and dill to your green salads. Toss herbs into your smoothies.

The important thing is to make the effort to enjoy a variety of immune-boosting and anti-inflammatory foods in your diet.

SOURCES:

Mashhadi NS, et al. Anti-Oxidative and Anti-Inflammatory Effects of Ginger in Health and Physical Activity: Review of Current Evidence. Int J Prev Med. 2013 Apr; 4(Suppl 1): S36–S42.

Michigan Medicine – University of Michigan. “New research finds ginger counters certain autoimmune diseases in mice.” ScienceDaily. 6 January 2021.

Dissanayake KGC, et al. A Review on Medicinal Uses of Zingiber officinale. International Journal of Health Sciences and Research.  Vol.10; Issue: 6; June 2020.

Zeng Y, et al.  Therapeutic Role of Functional Components in Alliums for Preventive Chronic Disease in Human Being. Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. 2017;2017:9402849.

Hossain KS, et al. Prospects of honey in fighting against COVID-19: pharmacological insights and therapeutic promises. Heliyon. 2020 Dec; 6(12): e05798.

Jennings MR, et al. Curcumin as an Antiviral Agent. Viruses. 2020;12(11):1242.

Soni VK, Mehta A, Ratre YK, et al. Curcumin, a traditional spice component, can hold the promise against COVID-19?. Eur J Pharmacol. 2020;886:173551.

American Heart Association. “People who eat chili pepper may live longer?.” ScienceDaily. 9 November 2020.

Kawatra P, Rajagopalan R. Cinnamon: Mystic powers of a minute ingredient. Pharmacognosy Res. 2015;7(Suppl 1):S1-S6.

Rao PV, Gan SH. Cinnamon: a multifaceted medicinal plant. Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. 2014;2014:642942.