If you pay attention to those initial first signs of feeling unwell and immediately get rest while sipping on fresh ginger root tea, you will likely be able to reduce the duration of a cold or flu.
According to Stephen Harrod Buhner (author of Herbal Antivirals), the benefits of ginger root tea for fighting viral infections come from the fresh ginger root (not dried), specifically the juice of fresh ginger root.
For the antiviral properties of ginger root be sure to use a juicer to press the juice from the ginger root or use a blender to whiz up the ginger root with water then strain through a mesh nut milk bag.
It takes about 30 minutes after drinking fresh ginger root tea that is warm for the compounds found in ginger to enter the bloodstream, reaching peak concentration an hour after consuming before declining.
For this reason, ginger root tea should be consumed every 2-3 hours at the beginning of the flu or cold to keep the compounds found in ginger at high levels.
Some of the benefits of ginger include the following:
Ginger has antiviral properties that can inhibit the attachment of viruses to the cell, stimulates antiviral macrophage activity and inhibits viral proteases.
Ginger is also antibacterial, anti-diarrheal, antifungal, anti-inflammatory, antispasmodic and an immune stimulant.
Many bacteria use elastase to break down cellular tissue to penetrate and invade the body, but ginger is an elastase inhibitor to prevent bacteria from invading.
Ginger has antimicrobial properties against bacteria such as acinetobacter baumanii, angiostongylus, campylobacter jejuni, candida albicans, Escherichia coli, haemophilus influenzae, h.pylori, klebsiella pneumoniae, porphyomonas gingicalis, staphlococcos aureus, and toxoplasma gondii.
Ginger has been used for a wide range of viral infections including colds, influenza, hepatitis, herpes, yellow fever, measles, chickenpox, enterovirus, and respiratory viral infections.
Ginger is also used to calm nausea, reduce diarrhea and stomach cramping by relaxing the intestinal wall, reduce fever by stimulating sweating, reduce cold chills, reduce inflammation in the bronchial passageway, helps to thin mucus to move it out the system, helps to reduce coughing and has pain-relieving properties.
These antimicrobial and antiviral health benefits of ginger root among others make fresh ginger root tea a great immune supporting drink to have in times of feeling unwell or coming down with the flu or a cough.
One of the benefits of ginger root is the oils such as the gingerols that are found in ginger. These antiviral compounds are much higher in fresh juice which is why fresh ginger root tea is effective at reducing colds and flues caused by viruses.
The following ginger root tea recipe is potent, warming and soothing for a sore throat. The addition of honey adds an antibacterial sweetness to take the edge off the lime and ginger.
This recipe for ginger root tea makes 4 cups so all you need to do is get in the kitchen once to make a batch of fresh ginger root tea then get some rest while sipping on a cup of hot ginger root tea every 3 hours.
1 cup whole ginger root
2 limes
2 tbsp raw honey
4 cups of water
How to make ginger root tea
To make this fresh ginger root tea recipe you will need a juicer to juice the lemon and fresh ginger root.
Start by thoroughly washing the ginger root and lime then use a knife to peel the outside skin off the lime before putting it through the juicer.
Put half a cup of the raw ginger though the juicer followed by one lime, the rest of the ginger and the last lime through last. You should end up with ½ a cup of freshly squeezed ginger and lime juice.
Mix the fresh ginger and lime juice in a large jug with 4 cups hot water and 2 tbsp raw honey and stir until the honey is dissolved.
Pour 1 cup into a mug and start boosting your immune system as you get some rest. Save the remainder of the fresh ginger root tea to drink in another 3 hours or share with any family or friends that could use some extra immune support!
When you are coming down with the flu or a cold the best thing is to rest, sip on this ginger root tea and eat easy to digest soups such as this homemade chicken soup from scratch, creamy beet soup or thai carrot soup. Digestion takes a lot of energy which is why it is best to eat very lightly or not at all so that the body’s immune system can use all its energy to fight and overcome a cold or flu.
References:
Herbal Antivirals: Natural Remedies for Emerging and Resistant Viral Infections by Stephen Harrod Buhner
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23123794
https://www.hindawi.com/journals/grp/2015/142979/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK92775/
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