By : Komal Thakur (Pharmacist, Naturopath, Health & Fitness Enthusiast)

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Top 5 immunity boosting drinks

The last two years we have all become vary of how the numbers work, how the graphs move up and down and how the entire world is fighting against the same enemy. Solidarity at its best I say. The most beautiful part about it is that, the easiest way to fight is by taking care of your own health. Once you take care of your own health you are already a HERO, Superhero even. Wear a mask, clean your hands and boost your immunity. Statistics have also revealed that the incidences of common cold and flu have dropped by more than 50%, since we all have become such hygienists. Promising numbers and the drops in Covid cases since the month of August, give us a ray of hope. Hope is what keeps us going. Let’s not give hope the entire credit, it’s your own focus on your health that has led to the decline of the realm of this virus. If we continue to fight it, soon we will triumph over it. If we believe the numbers and statistics we may even ditch the third wave in India. The only reason being “Immunity”. Immunity that has come from vaccines or a previous infection and even because we have collectively gulped down a lot of immunity boosters. With the victory being so near, let us not give up the fight or take a back seat. Let us try and further focus on our health and immunity, continue to strengthen it and maintain our fitness levels at optimum.

Let us try to make immunity fun and appetizing, by mixing and matching a few drinks to pump up your immunity.

1. For those who like it hot

Drink #1 – The all in one soup.

Soup is an appetizer, soup is a mid-meal snack, soup can easily replace your dinner, soup is also a meal accompaniment. It’s already so versatile, that we need no more reasons or excuses to include it in our diet. How you cook your soup is important though. Here is the recipe to a perfectly good immunity booster.

You need 2 tomatoes, 4 cloves of garlic, fresh turmeric root, fresh ginger root, 2 boiled eggs (can be replaced with cottage cheese and tofu), one boiled beet. Salt, pepper and maybe a spoon of ketchup.

Grind all the ingredients into a smooth paste, except the boiled eggs and/or cottage cheese. Some people prefer to strain it, I suggest not straining it to include all the fiber in the soup too.

Boil and add the eggs/ cottage cheese/ tofu.

Tomatoes are great anti-oxidants due to lycopene. Beet has loads of iron and Vitamin B group. Ginger, Garlic, Turmeric are all super immunity boosters. Pepper again is a strong anti-viral agent.

Drink #2- The skin clearing, sleep aid, immunity booster

This is not for the weak hearted. You got to take half a root of ginger and turmeric, a few basil leaves, grind it and add it to boiling water. Add a pinch of cinnamon and rosemary to this and strain and drink before bedtime. This not only boosts your immunity but also wards off any common infection. It will also regulate your sleep cycle and the hormonal imbalances. The holy basil leaves is known to protect against all kinds of bacterial, fungal, protozoal and viral infections. A clear winner out there!

2. For those who like it cold

Drink #3- The refreshing immunity boost

This is for the early morning risers. The first thing that you can have in the morning as a great energy booster. Take a bowl of spinach leaves, add a banana to it, add some yogurt, one orange or a lemon, water. You may add some honey if you like to. Give it a whirl and drink it up. This is a very powerful drink for your immunity, it clears your gut, and it will be an excellent drink for your skin and hair health too. All your vitamin needs will be sorted. This can be had 3-4 times a week.

3. For those who like it green

Drink #4- The all clear wheat grass juice

Wheat grass is full of Vitamin E, which is essentially a fat soluble vitamin and a great anti-oxidant. Wheat germ is nothing but the mini greens that are sprouted from the whole wheat grains. These are very simple to grow at home. The fresher the better. Take a handful of wheat grains and wet them and plant it in a small planter. Wet the soil and cover it overnight with a damp cloth. The wheat grass will start growing within a week. You need to use this grass and blend it with water. You can drink it empty stomach early morning.

It was once recommended to a patient with psoriasis. Psoriasis is extremely dry skin with itchiness and red patches. There is potentially no cure but it has to be maintained via medicines and emollients. Addition of wheat grass juice and application of wheat germ oil, helped a great deal.

Wheat grass keeps your immune system functioning at an optimum level. It’s also known as a brain booster as it improves your cognitive function. With Iron, calcium, Vitamin E and B, chlorophyll, it’s a potent immunity enhancer.

4. For those who like it simply assured

Drink #5- GRD- The superior protein mash up

GRD is essentially an immunity booster. Protein is the backbone of your body’s immunity system. GRD also has loads of Vitamin A, Vitamin C, Iron and B complex which are all crucial immunity building elements. GRD comes in a lot of flavors, just pick your flavor and blend it into the below recipe.

One scoop of GRD immunity booster,  one banana or a muskmelon, a spoon of yogurt, a spoon of chia seeds which have been soaked overnight, a dash of milk or a vegan milk replacement, blend it together and drink it anytime. It is best as a mid-meal snack. This entire mixture is a complete protein meal, once this is a part of your diet all your protein, vitamin and micro-nutrients needs are taken care of.