What is the work of turmeric ginger, garlic and cloves

Food can be preventative medicine when you eat a diet packed with nutrients, vitamins, minerals and gut-friendly properties, such as probiotics. And certain ingredients have the potency to bolster your body’s defenses against illness.

“Garlic, ginger and turmeric, for example, have a long history of both supporting the immune system and reducing inflammation,” says certified health coach Amanda Carney, who is the Director of Integration at THE WELL. “Of course food is the most powerful when it is combined with other healthy lifestyle habits —getting adequate sleep, exercising and finding ways to mitigate stress.”

These wellness shots can supply an added dose of goodness during trying times:

• 1-2 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 tbsp honey
• 1/4 tsp turmeric
• 1 tbsp hot water
• 1 lemon, juiced
• 1 navel orange, juiced
• 1 tsp grated fresh ginger
• Dash of cayenne pepper
• Dash of sea salt
• Grind of black pepper
• 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
• Optional: add in a drizzle of coconut oil to gain full benefits of turmeric

1. Whisk together garlic, honey, turmeric and hot water until smooth.
2. Add the lemon and orange juice, ginger, cayenne pepper, sea salt, black pepper and apple cider vinegar.
3. Enjoy ASAP for maximum health benefits.

Another way to add turmeric to your diet that we love: Take our Turmeric Protect supplements, made with highly absorbable curcumin.

Ingredients:

• 3 carrots, peeled
• 1 lemon, peeled
• 1-inch piece of peeled ginger root
• 1/2 tsp turmeric

Directions:

1. Place ingredients in either a juicer or blender. If using a juicer, juice ingredients and enjoy! If using a blender, pulse until well blended. Then pour into a nut bag or cheesecloth and squeeze out moisture.
2. Enjoy ASAP for maximum health benefits.

Ingredients:

• 1 orange, peeled
• 1 lemon, peeled
• 1 cup pineapple, diced
• 1 apple, core removed and diced (leave skin on for maximum nutrition)
• 1 clove garlic
• 1/2-3/4 inch fresh ginger root
• Dash of cayenne pepper (use to sprinkle over the juice, once made)

Directions:

1. Place ingredients in either a juicer or blender. If using a juicer, juice ingredients and enjoy! If using a blender, pulse until well blended. Then pour into a nut bag or cheesecloth and squeeze out moisture.
2. Enjoy ASAP for maximum health benefits.

Nutritional and Medicinal Benefits of Ingredients:

• Lemon Juice: high in vitamin C and helps support digestion
• Orange Juice: high in vitamin C, folate, potassium and antioxidants
• Garlic: strengthens the functions of the immune system
• Ginger: aids digestion, reduces nausea and may fight flu and colds
• Turmeric: loaded with antioxidants and anti-inflammatory properties
• Black Pepper: helps activate the curcumin, the active ingredient in turmeric
• Coconut oil: may kill harmful microorganisms in your body and the fat (along with black pepper) increases absorption of curcumin in turmeric
• Carrot: source of vitamin A (from beta carotene), vitamin K1, potassium and antioxidants

Page 2

Health crises of any kind — local, national or (like the current coronavirus), global in scale — are a wake-up call for all of us. As one of my patients recently said, “There’s nothing like a potential pandemic to make you think about upping your immunity.” Dark humor aside, she makes a good point: Strengthening immunity needs to become a top priority.

In addition to closely following the protocols recommended by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and the World Health Organization to protect against infection, it’s also important to incorporate as many immunity-boosting behaviors as possible into your daily routine, the sooner the better. Your mission: to fortify your body against opportunistic invaders, making it harder for them to take hold in your system.

Start with a multi-pronged approach that includes health-supporting foods and immunity-boosting supplements, as well as reinforcing the behaviors and habits that can help keep you well. Here is a round-up of 30 of my favorite easy, do-right-now tips to help kick your immunity into gear.

Think of Food as an Edible Medicine Cabinet

Food keeps us going, nourishes our bodies and has the power to be a form of holistic medicine — especially when we’re feeding the billions of beneficial bacteria that live in our gut, where roughly 70 percent of our immune system lives.

1. Ditch sugar and processed foods — now.

Sugar is, in a word, garbage — and when viruses are making the rounds, the sweet stuff can make getting sick far easier by starving your beneficial gut bacteria and over-feeding the bad guys. Processed foods have a similar impact, weakening immunity with chemicals, allergens and virtually no bug-fighting nutrients, so ban processed junk from your table too.

2. Go heavy on garlic and onions.

Take advantage of the allium-rich veggies, known for their powerful anti-viral, antibacterial and anti-fungal properties… and they taste great too! They feed your gut the fiber and prebiotics it thrives on, and they work just as well raw or cooked, so start chopping those garlic, onions, scallions, chives, leeks, shallots to enjoy daily.

3. Eat your greens.

Work greens into every meal to front-load your system with the phytonutrients and fiber that make your good belly bacteria happy and in turn, keep your immune defenses strong. In addition to salads at dinner, add a pile of spinach under your morning eggs. Dump a fistful of kale into your soup at lunch and into dinnertime salads and stews. Like smoothies? Toss some greens in there as well. Before you know it, you’ll be a greens machine.

4. Add prebiotics to your plate.

Fiber from plants feeds the good bacteria in your gut, strengthening your microbiome, which is good for your immune system! Apart from garlic and onions, seek out radishes, leeks, asparagus, Jerusalem artichokes and tomatoes. In addition, the dense, chewy parts of the vegetable (such as the stalks of broccoli or the bottoms of asparagus) are the most nutritious for gut bacteria. So don’t chop off the stalks — eat them!

A person holding a ceramic mug, pouring carrot-orange juice in a glass cup over a wooden cutting board. On the wooden cutting board, there are carrots, oranges, ginger root and pomegranate. The person pouring the juice is wearing a gray waist apron and striped long sleeve shirt.

5. Have a scoop of fermented food.

Simply put, a healthy gut makes the rest of you less vulnerable to bacterial and viral enemies. Put a scoop or two of fermented foods on your plate a few times a week to feed your gut the probiotics it needs to function optimally. You can ferment virtually any veggie you like, or buy items such as sauerkraut, kimchi, miso or kefir to get your dose. Not a fermented food fan yet? Try adding organic apple cider vinegar to salads or add a tablespoon to a cup of hot or cold water with a bit of lemon juice and/or monk fruit sweetener to taste.

6. Drink a warm immunity-boosting beverage.

For the next few weeks, ditch the wine, beer and cocktails. Instead, brew up hot tea drinks made with herbs like andrographis, elderberry and astragalus that help build up your immunity. Add bone broth to your repertoire as well. Broths made from healthy, grass-fed animals deliver amino acids like arginine, glutamine and glycine — all of which are excellent immunity reinforcements.

7. Spice up your meals.

Ginger, garlic, turmeric, cinnamon, thyme and cayenne pepper — load them on! Not only will they add considerably more flavor to everything you eat, but they also provide powerful anti-inflammatory, anti-fungal and antiviral benefits. Plus, they aid in digestion.

You can also find highly concentrated curcumin — seven times more concentrated than food-based sources — in our Turmeric Protect supplement. Stop by our space in NYC to pick up your supply.

8. Add in coconut.

Coconut oil is tasty, immunity-boosting add-in for smoothies or your morning Bulletproof-style coffee. Just a teaspoon a day will add extra flavor and healthy fats, while supporting immunity with its antibacterial, antiviral and antimicrobial properties.

Supportive Supplements

In addition to eating healthfully, I often recommend supplements as extra support for the immune system and overall well-being. Try a few of these immunity-boosting all-stars:

9. Antiviral Herbs

Add antiviral and antibacterial herbs. such as andrographis, astragalus, olive leaf extract, grapefruit seed extract, oil of oregano, elderberry extract and lomatium extract to your list.

10. Medicinal Mushrooms

Look for a mixed formula that contains Cordyceps, Chaga and Maitake. In addition to their many healing and adaptogenic properties, mushrooms contain beta glucans which have immune-modulating effects.

11. NAC (N-Acetyl-L-Cysteine)

A precursor to the powerful antioxidant glutathione, NAC also supports respiratory health by acting as an antioxidant and expectorant, helping to thin out and loosen mucus in the air passageways. Dosage is usually 2 to 4 grams a day.

12. Glutathione

The master anti-oxidant — but most oral glutathione is foul smelling and poorly absorbed, so look for s-acetyl-glutathione or liposomal glutathione.

13. Vitamin D3

Ideally, your D levels should be in the 50 to 70mg/ml range, so have your doctor test yours. Then you both can determine how much is needed to close the gap. For most people —especially those who live in the northern hemisphere — a daily maintenance dose of 2,000 IU a day could do the trick. But again, it's important to know your current level.

14. Vitamin C

To protect against infection, take 2 to 3 grams of Vitamin C every day. Our Superpowder contains more Vitamin C than 10 oranges — it comes in powder form, making it easy to add to your everyday morning routine. Stop by our NYC space to pick up Superpowder.

15. Probiotics

Support your gut health with a probiotic, preferably one with at least 20-50 billion viable organisms and several types of good bacteria, like lactobacillus and bifidobacteria, two of the most highly regarded strains.

16. Zinc

Add 25 mg of zinc per day on a short-term basis for an additional immune boost and, if you feel a cold coming on, to help shorten its duration.

17. Fish Oil

Taking 1 to 2 grams of a high-quality fish oil daily will help keep immunity defenses strong. Just make sure yours contain omega-3 fatty acids, EPA and DHA — and no fillers.

18. Spirulina

Animal studies suggest spirulina — an organism that grows in both fresh and salt water — may boost the immune system and have antiviral properties. Dosage is about 15 grams per day.

Treat Your Body Right

Being generous with self-care will not only help you keep your mental health in check during these challenging times, but will also benefit your immune system.

19. Sleep more than usual.

Make sleep a priority and shoot for 7 to 8 hours a night to give your body the time it fully needs to rest, repair and refresh you for the next day. When you fall short or your energy is flagging, take a brief 20-minute power nap, ideally no later than 4 pm to avoid disrupting your nighttime routine.

20. Bust stress.

Stress torpedoes your immunity, so you need to reduce it to keep immunity humming. One of the easiest ways to de-stress anywhere, anytime, is to meditate. Breathing exercises work wonders too. Add a few moments of yoga at the start or end of your day for an added round of relaxation and immunity boosting.

21. Wash your hands — a lot.

Go with the classic soap and hot water routine for at least 30 seconds, as often as you can. If you don’t have access at a given moment, be sure to avoid all contact with your eyes, nose and mouth to keep germs from finding their way into your body.

22. Exercise — but don’t over-do it.

Movement of any kind will boost immunity, but overdoing it will have the opposite effect, so go easy.

23. Clean your nasal passages.

Regularly spritzing your nasal passages with a saline solution or using neti pot helps keep passages moist and less prone to forming the tiny cracks through which microscopic viral invaders enter your body.

24. Keep well hydrated.

Whether you’re feeling thirsty or not, drink plenty of water. Doing so will help keep lungs moist and mucus flowing, clearing lungs of the material that can collect and create conditions for opportunistic infections to thrive.

25. Soak up some rays.

If the sun is shining, find a nice spot outdoors and soak up the sun for a few minutes. Doing so will lift your spirits, help regulate your sleep/wake cycle, stimulate vitamin D production and — you guessed it — boost immunity!

26. Create a barrier.

To minimize direct contact with germ-covered surfaces, just add gloves. No gloves? In a pinch use coat sleeves as an impromptu barrier. And be conscious of where you put your hands. The less contact hands have with communal surfaces — handrails, subway poles, doorknobs, etc. — the better. Other frequent points of contact: Shared office printers and copy machines, ATM machines, credit card machine pens or anything with a touchscreen, to name a few.

27. Hit the sauna – doctor’s orders.

Time spent in the sauna — dry, steam or infrared — is a pleasurable way to de-stress. What’s more, saunas raises the body’s core temperature by a degree or two which revs up production of your disease-fighting white blood cells.

28. Bypass the hand dryer.

Those deafening air blowers in public restrooms tend to blow germs into the air as they dry. My advice? Carry an extra paper napkin in your pocket and towel off instead or drip dry.

29. Clean up on-the-go.

Antibacterial hand wipes and sprays contribute to antibiotic resistance, so they’re not ideal by any stretch. Until you can wash with soap and hot water, clean up with a non-GMO alcohol-based wipe or sanitizing spray scented with essential oils, as a first line of defense.

30. Seal your skin.

With frequent hand-washing often comes cracked skin through which germs can enter. To keep cracks at bay, moisturize frequently with coconut oil or Weleda’s Skin Food or Beautycounter’s hand cream.