Immune system is a “shield” that defends our body’s cells against attacks by bacteria, microbes, viruses, fungi, free radicals, etc. The immunity has to be in perfect condition to perform its functions. These natural and simple homemade recipes will help you strengthen your immunity and protect your family from cold and flu viruses!

Vitamin cocktail recipe

• 1 cup – water
• 1 tbsp – honey
• 1 tbsp – lemon juice
• 1/2 tsp – crushed ginger root
• 1/6 tsp – cinnamon

Blend the ingredients. This cocktail is a great energizer and immunity booster.

Vitamin desert recipe (kids love it!)

• 1 cup – walnuts
• 1 cup – raisins
• 1 cup – dried pitted apricots
• 1 cup – dried pitted prunes
• 3 tbsp – honey

Grind nuts and dried fruit in a food processor. Add honey and blend until a smooth paste. Take 2 tbsp. daily.

Vitamin salad recipe

• 2 kiwis
• 2 tangerines
• 1 orange
• 1 apple
• 1 banana
• 1 tbsp. – walnuts halves or pieces
• 2 tbsp – plain yogurt or sour cream
• 1/6 tsp – cinnamon
• 1/6 tsp – coriander (optional)

Peel and chop the fruits. Mix all the ingredients. Enjoy!

Vitamin tea recipes

Rose hip tea: 4 tbsp. of dried, crushed rose hips add to 4 cups of water. Boil for about 15 minutes. Allow steeping for 10 minutes. Serve warm.

Apple tea: 3 apples (unpeeled, chopped) add to 4 cups of boiling water. Let it simmer slowly for about 5 minutes or so. Remove from heat and allow steeping for 30 minutes. Add honey to taste. Drink it within a day.

Cranberry tea: Mash 1 tbsp. of cranberries with back of spoon until pulpy. Add it to 1 cup of your favourite tea. Add honey to taste.

Oolong tea is rich in antioxidants (polyphenols, catechins, and theaflavin) that help destroy free radicals in the body that can cause aging of the skin, dark spots, cancer, Alzheimer’s disease, arthritis and other diseases.

Oolong tea strengthens your immune system and promotes longevity.

Oolong tea has a reputation for weight loss, as it raises your metabolism, burns fat and blocks dietary fat absorption.

Oolong tea helps to reduce high blood pressure and to prevent heart diseases.

Oolong tea helps to reduce cholesterol levels.

Drinking oolong tea is helpful to diabetes patients.

Oolong tea is helpful in improving symptoms that are associated with weak kidney and spleen energy.

Oolong tea heals skin ailments and promotes healthy hair.

Oolong tea promotes strong bones and prevents tooth decay.

Time for some tea?

• Avoid processed foods, caffeine, alcohol, refined sugar and salt. Instead of using salt, substitute herbs and spices, such as oregano, basil, coriander, thyme, parsley, paprika or cayenne pepper, and season with lemon, garlic or vinegar, all of which support the detox process while adding flavour.

• Fresh, raw vegetables (e.g., broccoli, beets, leafy greens, cauliflower, onions, etc.) and fruits (e.g., lemons, grapefruits, tomatoes, pineapples, etc.), and whole grains (especially, oat) are a great food for detox since they help the body flush out toxins.

• Exercise regularly. Exercise (e.g. swimming, walking, yoga, dancing, etc.) is an effective method of cleansing many of your vital organs simultaneously.

• Drink plenty of pure water. You can also add some lemon juice or apple cider vinegar, which have great detoxifying properties.

• Herbal teas are used as part of many detox programs because of their healing properties.

• Try this cleansing tonic to help strengthen your liver:

1 cup of pure water
juice of a lemon
pinch of powdered ginger
1 tbsp flax seeds.

• Make a purifying herbal tea from:

1 tsp nettle
1 tsp peppermint
1 tsp dandelion root
1 tsp clover
3 cups cold water
Combine everything in a saucepan, bring to boil, reduce the heat and simmer for 15 minutes. Strain and sweeten with apple juice if you wish.

• Detoxify your body by adding half a cup of sea salt to your bath as it fills up. Not only will it stimulate your skin, you’ll float better in it, taking the strain of muscles.

You can also make apple cider vinegar or ginger detoxifying baths. Add 1-2 cups of pure apple cider vinegar or 2-3 tablespoons of freshly grated ginger in your bath and soak in the tub for about 20 minutes. Hot water works better for detoxification (But be careful, if you have cardiovascular system diseases!).

• Dry body brushing before showering has also been shown to stimulate lymphatic flow and circulation and remove dead skin cells.

• Other effective methods for detoxification include sauna, massage, reflexology, acupuncture and acupressure.

Related post: Herbal teas that detox

But there are times when such feelings refuse to go away due to the strong impact that certain events may have of on our psyche. Such episodes also do not fall under clinical depression because, to be classified as clinical depression, at least five symptoms of depression that include anxiety, sleeping and eating disorders and inability to derive pleasure need to be consistently present for more than three months. These symptoms need to be severe enough to affect normal work for the condition to be unequivocally classified as depression in the medical sense.

Transient depressive feelings can be caused by minor disturbances in the balance of brain chemicals that are responsible for emotional wellness. But in most cases, it is an environmental factor like physical illnesses, anxiety about future and other such incidents that cause emotional distress.

Such incidents do not merit the need for antidepressants or sleeping pills since they have their own adverse side effects that can harm you significantly. It is better to opt for natural remedies like herbal teas that provide a better and safer solution to the problem.

Herbal teas have multiple medicinal benefits that include easy elimination, aiding the body in fighting disease and relaxing tense nerves. Most herbal teas are so safe that they can be taken daily in recommended quantities without the fear of any kind of side effect.

There are many combinations of herbal teas that can be prepared to provide health benefits. Depressive mood and anxiety normally lead to a disturbed sleep and some of the herbs that are used as herbal teas have mild sedative effects that help in attaining sound sleep. Chamomile, passion flower, jasmine and lemon balm are the most prominent of herbs that have a relaxing and soothing effect on the nerves. These can be ingested in the form of herbal teas on a daily basis. Ginger tea has powerful anti fungal, anti spasmodic and digestive properties in addition to the other benefits mentioned above.

Physical illnesses are also a major source of frequent emotional upsets. Taking herbal teas on a regular basis can increase your immunity and prevent medical conditions. The strong antioxidant properties of herbal teas help in eliminating and preventing accumulation of toxins in the body.

Based on these properties, herbal teas positively affect the overall emotional health of a person and therefore can provide an excellent alternative to conventional drugs.

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Herbal teas that detox
Learn how to use herbs for insomnia

Related post: Herbal teas that detox

Detoxification was not so pertinent for our ancestors. Because even though they were exposed to natural toxins, they had a systematic procedure of regular detox treatment. The treatment was in the form of periodic fasting and herbal detox. And these were enough to take care of their detoxification needs since their body did not have to fight extreme levels of toxins and pollutants.

Instead of going back to our roots, with every new challenge that we faced, we have increased our dependence on drugs and medicines. Rampant use of recreational and banned drugs is a serious threat to normal functioning of the body’ detox system. The levels of our exposure to toxins has increased to such an extent that the natural detoxification system of the body is unable to cope with the pressure and more often than not, it buckles under pressure.

Most of the toxicity in the body is due to synthetic substances. It is better therefore, to take recourse to a natural detox program that uses natural detox remedies that are based on age old proven formulas.

Herbal teas have been used as part of many herbal detox programs because of their healing properties. They obviously also have the benefit of being great tasting too.

The list of herbs used in herbal teas is endless. Different permutations and combinations of curative herbs provide a variety of herbal teas that help in speeding up the detoxification process.

Cardamom seed, black peppercorn, cinnamon bark, clove bud and ginger root is added to green tea to make specific concoctions for individual conditions in India. These herbs are excellent for colon and blood cleansing.

Honeysuckle, cimicifuga, green tea and jasmine flower are the specific herbs added in traditional Chinese tea for natural detoxification of the body.

Herbal teas with constituents like milk thistle, sarsparilla root, dandelion root, Echinacea and red clover stimulate the liver to improve its toxin-removing functionality.

Other herbs used to make herbal teas include:

* Dandelion root
* Burdock root
* Fenne seed
* Juniper berry
* Licorice root
* Orange peel
* Pau d’ Arco inner bark
* Sassafras root
* Uva Ursi leaf
* Horsetail herb
* Dandelion leaf
* Parsley leaf

In the past few years herbal tea has gained immense popularity as a detox product in the western world. There is an old saying in the east that, “excess of everything is bad”. Even though the use of herbal teas is highly recommended, care should be taken to avoid excessive use. It is pertinent that these herbs be used under the guidance of a trained person. This is because some herbs should not be used by pregnant or nursing women, people who have gallstones, breast, uterine cancer or an autoimmune disease.

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