My Favourite Natural Remedies to Boost Your Immune System

These are my 3 favourite natural remedies you can easily prepare at home and which contribute to an overall healthy lifestyle.

Turmeric and Black Pepper

Something that shouldn’t be missing before breakfast: black pepper & turmeric tea. Perfect to accompany a yoga practice and give your digestion a head-start.

TURMERIC, the wondrous yellow powder has fascinated me for a long time. You cannot only colour almost everything with it (even clothes) but it’s also a real-life superfood with impressive healing potential. Home in Southeast Asia, it is said to have countless healing properties. Turmeric is a powerful antioxidant which works anti-inflammatory, antibacterial & antiviral. It helps with diabetes, rheumatism, skin conditions, depression, allergies and supports the brain and nervous system. 

Turmeric, the little sister of ginger, has been used in Ayurvedic medicine for thousands of years. And it’s super versatile – it’s used to fight infections on open wounds, protect the digestive tract and strengthen the immune system due to its cleansing energy. Turmeric is also used in many traditional rituals because it represents the energy of the divine mother and it is often linked to Ganesha, the goddess of success and prosperity. In the yoga practice, the spice is used to cleanse the chakras. 

Turmeric’s active ingredient is curcumin, which is super beneficial, but unfortunately, our body cannot absorb even a tiny bit of this component – meaning you would have to eat a hell lot of turmeric to get its benefits. That’s when BLACK PEPPER enters the game. Its main active ingredient is piperine, which helps our body to absorb a lot more (actually 2000% more) of curcumin. Black pepper is on its own a very healthy spice – with similar effects like turmeric. This powerful combination doesn’t only help with digestion and inflammation, it is also used as a natural pain killer. 

I drink my power tea every morning after my yoga practice, and I love to add a freshly squeezed lemon to it – because lemon helps to maintain the ph level of the body. And if I feel spicy, I add some ginger. I cannot recommend this super-drink enough – to start your day healthy & happy! 

Recipe for black pepper and turmeric tea:

1. Start heating water
2. Add black pepper & turmeric in powder 
3. Add ginger if you feel spicy
4. Let it boil for a few minutes
5. Take tea from the stove & squeeze half a fresh lemon into it
6. Serve hot & drink slowly!

Ginger, Garlic and Red Onion

At Tierra Encantada, we work a lot with traditional medicine and have a laboratory where we develop natural remedies. We recently prepared this awesome mixture which boosts your immune system and with guarantee kills everything that shouldn’t be in your body. This powerful triple may cause a bit of strong breath but trust me, it’s worth it (and in times of quarantine who cares)! 

Let’s start with the first ingredient – GINGER. Ginger belongs to the same family as turmeric and offers similar benefits. As a powerful antioxidant and anti-inflammatory, it helps to regulate blood sugar levels and fights infections. Additionally, the root helps to treat nausea and symptoms of the flu. According to Ayurveda, one of its greatest superpowers is that it strengthens the digestive system. In Ayurvedic medicine, they even recommend eating fresh ginger before every meal to help to digest. 

Now we add my absolute favourite superfood-wonder – GARLIC. I love to cook with garlic, but it can also be eaten raw in the morning on an empty stomach to improve digestion and fight infections. Just like ginger, this super-clove has antiviral and antibacterial properties and lowers cholesterol and high blood pressure. In Ayurveda garlic is called the “clove of immortality” because it helps to fight countless diseases and is also said to clarify memory and intellect and to clean the chakras. It’s also said to help with menstrual problems. 

Just as garlic, RED ONION is also considered a blood purifier and used as a powerful antibiotic. The components in onions protect your nerves, fight tumours and help to promote a healthy hormone function. For those of you that love to eat fatty foods sometimes, onion is the perfect counterpart as it lowers your cholesterol and helps to keep your blood sugars balanced. Onions also contain folic acid, a vitamin that helps the body to produce new cells.

Ginger, garlic & onion are considered the “three musketeers” of the immune system and in combination the best choice if you want to cure or prevent a cold, flu or infection. These 3 superfood-heroes are also the most powerful eaten raw – that is why this remedy is so easy to prepare at home & so powerful in its effects.

 Recipe for ginger, garlic and onion remedy: 

1. Slice fresh ginger, garlic and onion 
2. Put into a glass jar and fill up with filtered water and pure alcohol
3. Leave this tincture for a minimum of 2 days 
4. Now you can start consuming one tablespoon per day – in the morning on an empty stomach

Cacao and Rosemary

Those of you who have been following my journey know that I consider cacao the most wondrous medicine of this world. Rich in history & myths, this wonderful bean has so much to offer – not just for your body but also for your spirit. That is why I cannot recommend enough to treat yourself daily with a cup of this delicious drink.

Let’s first look at why CACAO is a superhero for your immune system. Super rich in antioxidants, cacao promotes the production of white blood cells & protects your cells from free radical damage. It also helps to develop more healthy gut bacteria which are the body’s great defenders against viruses. Like I already mentioned in my first cacao article, the two most exciting components of cacao are Phenylethylamine, the love chemical that gives you the happy-exciting feeling you feel when falling in love and Anandamide, the bliss chemical that makes you feel euphoric. These wonderful elements are natural anti-depressants and therefore amazing in helping your body & mind staying happy and healthy. On the spiritual level, cacao is the medicine of the heart, connecting you to this beautiful warm feeling of love and belonging. And we all know that in a body filled with love, no illness can enter that easily. 

Now if you prepare delicious hot cacao, you can literally pimp it with some special ingredients. I combine cacao with many different plants, spices or herbs. During menstruation, I love to prepare cacao with lavender or basil, when I need an energy boost I prepare cacao with chilli. But my favourite is the wondrous ROSEMARY. The old Greek had been using this herb in ancient times to stimulate brain function and boost memory. Just as all the other superfoods, rosemary is super rich in antioxidants which combat bacteria, fungus & even cancer. It is also an amazing remedy to fight stress – of which in these times many people are overwhelmed with. So if you combine cacao with rosemary, you are sure to feel energetic and happy, but relaxed at the same time. If you don’t have rosemary at hand, I also recommend adding basil, cardamon o lemongrass to your cacao.

Recipe for cacao with rosemary:

1. Bring water to the boil
2. Add cacao – for one cup, use ca. 10g of raw organic cacao
3. Simmer until the cacao is dissolved
4. Turn the stove off & add rosemary (to not destroy any properties of the herb, avoid to boil it)
5. Leave for 5 minutes & serve – you can add honey as desired – enjoy!

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