Delicious warming spices such as ginger, cinnamon, cardamom, coriander, clove, turmeric and black pepper are some of the best remedies for the winter. They stimulate the circulation and warm you from head to toe. They also improve digestion and absorption, combat unfriendly microorganisms in the gut and help establish a healthy gut flora. This is vital to good immunity as well as maintaining the health of your nervous system, helping you to maintain an optimistic mood and positive attitude during these rather troubled times and maximising your energy. I recommend that you add them regularly to cooking and use them to make tasty hot teas. Ginger is of course the favourite. Drinking a cup of ginger tea every morning when you wake up and before eating breakfast is the healthy way to start the day.
To make ginger tea, simply grate a piece of fresh ginger root, about the size of your thumb, and put it in a cafetiere. Pour over boiling water and leave if to infuse for about ten minutes. Pour some into your cup and the rest into a flask to sip through the day. If you drink ginger tea every couple of hours at the first signs of a sore throat, cold or ‘flu when you are feeling tired, chilly and achy, with its antibacterial and antiviral actions, it will help to speed the infection on its way.
You could take ginger in chai if you prefer. It is always best to make your own delicious chai with warming spices:
A thumb sized piece of fresh ginger root, sliced
1 stick of cinnamon
4-6 cloves
4-6 black peppercorns
4-6 cardamom pods
Place the spices together in a pan and cover with 1 pint/600 mls of cold water. Bring to the boil, cover and simmer for about 20 mins. Strain, sweeten with honey if desired and sip it hot every 2 hours.
Happy healthy New Year!