August 29th
...you make Ginger Lemon Shots!
September is almost upon us and autumn is coming. Also known as trees with beautiful coloured leaves, cozy sweaters and tea. One can't barely go through all of the fall months without catching a cold. It's tradition and a must have when it comes to the autumn bucket list.
As you already know, through no one's fault, *cough* Ella *cough*, I've already catched and released an autumn cold. I'm now sick of my lousy immune system and I want change!
Lately I’ve been very interested in a healthy lifestyle. I'm not motivated to eat good nor make a huge lifestyle change. However, I am interested in the small changes that don't require much from me. Anyone recognize themselves? Listen up!
In the last few days I've done some changes that might be quite conclusive when it comes to my health. Two of these are supplements, which I am raised to be critical against and therefore will wait to review in about a month. However, I have read the research behind them and it seems promising. The third is Ginger Lemon Shots which I love. According to many studies that have been made these shots may actually improve your health (I will get to it soon). But if they won't, I actually don't mind because I love the taste and the energy I get from kicking one back (half the reason I'm so hyped about Tequila Shots is just the energy of kicking one back, and the spice!).Â
If you look closely on the pictures of the bottles, you might see a slight colour difference in them. That’s because its 50% more ginger in one of the bottles, due to different recepies. However, they contain the same, three ingredients: ginger, lemon and cayenne pepper (many use chili, but cayenne is a personal favourite of mine). Here comes a ton of reasons to kick back at least one "wake up (I take mine instead of coffee) shot"!
1. Ginger Soothes Upset Stomachs & Aids Digestion
Ginger is an incredible natural remedy for nausea and upset stomachs. Pregnant and suffering from regular bouts of morning sickness? Try some ginger tea or take a ginger shot. Hungover and feeling sick to your stomach? Down that ginger shot stat. Ginger root not only soothes the stomach, it also aids digestion. It eases bloating and constipation, as ginger relaxes the smooth muscle in your gut to help move food along through the digestive tract. It also improves nutrient absorption. Since it promotes regular and healthy digestion, ginger is a great tool to prevent and protect against malabsorption.
2. Ginger Boosts Your Immune System
In today’s modern world, people are busier than ever. You work hard and play hard, but that can really take a toll on your bodies and immune systems. Adding ginger to your daily diet via a ginger shot or otherwise is a great way to combat this. As an antioxidant, ginger root helps fight free radicals and toxins in your body, as well as cleans out your lymphatic system. Your lymphatic system is essentially your body’s sewage system, so by keeping it clean and functioning, you’ll prevent further toxic buildup in your body. If you are already sick and hurting, take an extra ginger shot or sip on some ginger tea to help you heal and feel better faster. Since ginger is also an anti inflammatory agent, it soothes internal inflammation so that your immune system doesn’t have to work so hard and wear itself out.
3. Ginger Fights Infection
Ginger root is naturally antimicrobial, meaning that it kills bacteria. By taking a ginger shot, you are helping to remove harmful bacteria from your system. In 2011 study published by The Journal of Microbiology and Antimicrobials, it was found that ginger’s ability to kill two common and dangerous bacterias -- staphylococcus aureus and streptococcus pyogenes -- far surpassed the conventional antibiotics’ abilities. If you are coming into contact with unknown bacterias regularly, like if you ride public transportation or work in the medical field, adding ginger to your diet can help protect you. Ginger is also a great natural antifungal agent, so it can help kill any nasty fungus that might be lurking in your body.
4. Ginger Revs Up Your Metabolism
A ginger shot first thing in the morning can be a great way to start your day and wake up your metabolism. Whether you’re trying to lose weight or build muscle, adding ginger to your diet is a great way to boost your metabolism. Ginger root causes your stomach to produce more acid, which stimulates your metabolism and essentially turns it up a few notches. This extra acid helps the body to burn more calories and fat. If you want to burn more calories during your next workout session, throw back a ginger shot before heading to the gym.
5. Ginger Helps Your Body Recover Faster Post-Workout
The time spent recovering from a workout is just as important as the time spent actually exercising. When your muscles get sore, it’s because they have tiny tears in the muscle fibers. This happens when you lift weights or strength train. After you’ve completed an especially intense workout, it’s important you recover properly. Your muscles need to repair themselves, which in turn builds new muscle mass and makes you stronger. They need proper fuel to recover. Taking a ginger shot after a workout can really help, as ginger is a potent anti-inflammatory. Ginger can actually speed up your workout recovery and help your body to heal faster and more efficiently.
6. Ginger Regulates Blood Sugar
When you feel anxiety strike, it can often be due to your blood sugar levels. Spikes and dips in blood sugar can cause anxiety, unhealthy cravings, energy crashes, and dizzy spells. Diabetics are especially vulnerable to these symptoms, as their bodies are unable to regulate their blood sugar. If you are diabetic, you must monitor your blood sugar throughout the day to prevent spikes and dips from throwing your body out of whack. Everybody can experience unhealthy spikes and dips in blood sugar levels though, not just diabetics. It’s important to keep your body’s levels even and regular. Ginger actually helps to regulate your blood sugar and fights these symptoms. So next time you are feeling like reaching for that candy bar to get you out of your midday slump, grab a ginger shot instead. It’s so much healthier and satisfying.
1. Treats Indigestion Lemon juice helps to cure problems related to indigestion and constipation. Add a few drops of this citrus fruit juice to your dish (take care, it does not go well with milk), and it will aid in digestion. It acts as a blood purifier and a cleansing agent.
2. Treats Fever
Lemon juice can treat a person who is suffering from a cold, flu or fever. It helps break fevers by increasing perspiration.
3. Prevents Kidney Stones
Lemon, both from the fresh fruit and from juice concentrates, has more citric acid content than grapefruit juice and orange juice. This is confirmed through a study by Dr. Stephen Nakada, President-Elect of the American Board of Urology. Another study confirmed that the high citric acid content in lemons help increase urinary citrate levels more than 2-fold without changing total urinary volume. Thus, lemonade therapy can be used as a secondary therapy for treatment of hypocitraturic calcium nephrolithiasis (urinary stones formed due to low citrate consumption). Studies conducted at the American Urological Association highlight the fact that lemonade or lemon juice can eliminate the occurrence of kidney stones by forming urinary citrate, which prevents the formation of crystals.
4. Soothes Respiratory Disorders
Lemon juice assists in relieving respiratory problems and breathing problems, such as its ability to soothe a person suffering from an asthma attack. Being a rich source of vitamin C, it helps in dealing with more long-term respiratory disorders as well.
5. Treats Rheumatism
It is also a diuretic and can treat rheumatism and arthritis. It helps to flush out bacteria and toxins from the body.
6. Throat Infections
Lemon is an excellent fruit that fights problems related to throat infections, due to its well-known antibacterial properties.
7. Controls Blood Pressure
Drinking lemon juice is helpful for people suffering from heart problems because it contains potassium. It controls high blood pressure, dizziness, and nausea as it provides a calming sensation to both, the mind and body. According to a study published in the Journal of Nutrition and Metabolism, daily lemon intake and walking (average body movement) are effective for high blood pressure. Another study highlights the importance of vitamin C rich foods in preventing various coronary heart disease.Â
1. Anti-Irritant Properties
Cayenne has the ability to ease upset stomach, ulcers, sore throats, spasmodic and irritating coughs, and diarrhea.
2. Clears Congestion
Suffering from stuffed up sinuses due to cold, flu, or allergies? Cayenne pepper aids in breaking up and moving congested mucus.
3. Anti-Fungal Properties
In vitro tests have found that CAY-1, a compound found in cayenne peppers, effectively suppressed the development of 16 different fungal strains, while remaining completely non-toxic to animal cells.
4. Migraine Headache Prevention
This may be related to the pepper’s ability to stimulate a pain response in a different area of the body, thus diverting the brain’s attention to the new site. Following this initial pain reaction, the nerve fibers have a depleted substance P (the nerve’s pain chemical), and the perception of pain is lessened.
5. Digestive Aid
Cayenne is a well-known digestive aid. It stimulates the digestive tract, increasing the flow of enzyme production and gastric juices. This aids the body’s ability to metabolize food (and toxins). Cayenne pepper is also helpful for relieving intestinal gas. It stimulates intestinal peristaltic motion, aiding in both assimilation and elimination.
6. Useful for Blood Clots
Cayenne pepper helps reduce atherosclerosis, encourages fibrinolytic activity, and prevents factors that lead to the formation of blood clots, all of which can help reduce the chances of a heart attack or stroke.
7. Anti-Bacterial Properties
Cayenne is an excellent preservative and has been used traditionally to prevent food contamination from bacteria.
8. Promotes Longevity
A study using data collected from almost half a million people found that people who eat spicy foods have a 14% chance of living longer than those that don’t. Researchers also found that regular consumption of chili peppers aligned with reduced rates of death from respiratory disease, heart problems, cancer.
9. Promotes Heart Health
Animal studies found that capsaicin reduced serious heart arrhythmias and improved cardiac blood flow.
This is just a short summarize of a few studies of hundred that examines the health benefits of the ingredients in my super shot. If you want to know more, then Google is your friend. Now to the recipes!
Recipe 1
1 liter:
200g fresh ginger
1l water
2 lemons
1 tablespoon cayenne pepper
Heat up 1l water. Grate the fresh ginger and pour it in to the hot water (between 60-80 degrees). Let it sit until it gets cold. While waiting, juice 2 lemons. When the ginger water has gotten cold, strain it until it leaves a ginger flavoured soup with no ginger pulp. Put the lemon juice into the ginger flavoured water, add cayenne pepper, stir, put in a container or bottle in the fridge to cool.Â
Recipe 2
The second recipe was supposed to be the same ingredients but mixed in a juicer instead. However, the ginger is too dry which made the process so much more complicated. I juiced a few ginger knobs, but in the end it was too much. So I juiced to lemons, mixed it together and then added some of the liquid from the last recipe. It became something in between the two.
By the way, I bought two great bottles from Flying Tiger on Monday this week. Aren't they awesome?
