If you have an extra thirty minutes this weekend, you have enough time to mix up this incredible elixir. It’s a potent recipe that capitalizes on nature’s best immune boosters.
Life may feel hectic right now, so it’s all about finding little ways to nurture yourself. A homemade elixir feels luxurious and helps you nourish your health this fall and winter.
Fire Cider Contains Ancient Immune Essentials
Our inspiration for this recipe is fire cider. It’s an ancient homeopathic apple cider vinegar infusion made with a variety of spices, fruits, and vegetables. It’s not for the faint of heart, often featuring the bold flavors of garlic, onion, ginger, and hot peppers -- not to mention vinegar!
We’ve chosen a slightly gentler combination of ingredients, with warming spices and sweet citrus. This makes for an approachable elixir with a pleasing taste. You’ll need the following:
Raw ginger takes center stage: it can improve digestion, reduce muscle pain, and improve immune health by mitigating inflammation. This leaves your immune system free to fight off invaders more effectively. (1)
Apple cider vinegar kills bacteria, improves weight loss, and stabilizes blood sugar. (2)
Citrus fruits are an excellent source of vitamin C, which “contributes to immune defense by supporting various cellular functions of both the innate and adaptive immune system.” (3)
Cinnamon, cloves, cardamom, and black peppercorns are warming spices in the Ayurvedic tradition. They soothe and nourish your body during the wintertime (4).
Garlic helps maintain homeostasis in the immune system by stimulating the cells that fight disease. (5)
Turmeric is a powerful anti-inflammatory that can help your body produce antibodies. (6)
If you have other spices and produce on hand, this recipe is adaptable. Get creative and use what you have! All-natural herbs, spices, and plants are among the best ‘supplements’ for your immune system.
You can take this elixir as a shot whenever you feel cold or flu symptoms coming on, or you can mix it with hot water to make a delicious daily tea. It also can serve as a unique marinade or sauce ingredient in your cooking.
Be sure to drink water or brush your teeth if you take this elixir as a shot to protect your tooth enamel. (The vinegar can erode your teeth if it is left on the surface for a long time.)
Natural Ways to Boost Your Immune System
Fortunately, many of the most common and recommended healthy habits do double duty for your immunity. Getting plenty of sleep, exercising, and eating a diverse and nutrient-dense diet will build your immune system. You may also want to try incorporating select quality supplements like our Daily Immune Essentials. This kit is now available as a subscription! It includes a high-potency multivitamin, omega-3s, throat and nasal spray, and magnesium.
Soothing DIY Cold Season Elixir
Makes 1 pint (Click here to print!)
¼ cup fresh ginger root, peeled and diced
¼ cup fresh turmeric root, peeled and diced
4 fresh garlic cloves, peeled and chopped
4 cinnamon sticks
1 tablespoon cardamom pods
1 tablespoon whole black peppercorns
1 orange, chopped
1 lemon, chopped
1 tablespoon whole cloves
Apple cider vinegar
Raw honey or stevia
In a quart-sized glass mason jar, layer all ingredients. Fill the jar with apple cider vinegar, and tap it on the counter a few times to remove any air bubbles. Make sure to submerge the ingredients in vinegar completely.
Seal with a plastic lid (the vinegar will cause metal to corrode). Leave the jar in a dark, cool place for a month, shaking daily. Storing it next to something you use each day, like coffee beans or vitamins, is a great way to remind yourself to shake it!
After a month has passed, strain your fire cider through a fine-mesh strainer and stir in raw honey or stevia to taste (you can gently warm the honey first to make it easier to combine).
Store fire cider in a clean container in the refrigerator for up to a year.
Make our DIY Cold Season Elixir a habit this fall and winter to boost immunity naturally.
During cold and flu season you want to:
Avoid sugar
Eat a variety of colorful, whole foods
Move your body
Get a good night’s sleep
Take immune supportive supplements
Meet Our Essentials Kit
I love boosting my immunity with super foods, but it’s also important to boost your body with supplements. Some folks will argue that you get all your nutrients from food, but I heartily do not agree. With soil depletion, processed foods, stress and pollution, you need to supplement!
You know that vitamin C boosts immunity. But it actually takes the full-spectrum of essential daily nutrients to operate full immunity, as well as full hormone production and a host of other important functions.
Our Essentials Kit can be customized to meet your needs and are 10% off as a monthly subscription. Our subscriptions are easy to modify over time and really it’s best to take your immune essentials daily as best you can. You are confronted with environmental threats daily so be protected!
Complementary Immune Ebook
Choosing supplements can be confusing, and you want to know what you’re taking is actually doing something! That’s why I created a researched-backed guide to immune supplementation. Download it for free at the link below!
Do you have a favorite way to strengthen your immune system? Comment below!
Bridgit Danner, LAc, FDNP, is trained in functional health coaching and has worked with thousands of women over her career since 2004. She is the founder of Women’s Wellness Collaborative llc and HormoneDetoxShop.com.
This past week I started to feel sick. Anytime that happens I start to pile on the supplements, as there’s a lot of good you can do in that early stage. Getting sick really made me reflect on my prevention and how to respond when symptoms start. Here are my thoughts on how to be prepared!