Making sure your immune system is as strong as possible is crucial, not only year-round but during times of more extreme conditions. There are many ways to boost your immune system, but one of the easiest is with a great immune booster juice.
These are simple to make drinks that not only give your immune system the boost that it needs, but they still taste great. This article will look at the importance of keeping your immune system strong and share some great juice and smoothie recipes so you can stay as healthy as possible.
Why Would You Need An Immune Booster Juice?
The big advantage of juices and smoothies is that they are a quick shot of nutrition. As great as real whole foods are, sometimes you are just not hungry and would rather get something quick.
This is when a juice or smoothie comes in handy. You don’t have to spend the time cooking, cleaning, eating, digesting, and absorbing. They can be consumed in a matter of seconds to get those valuable nutrients to your cells as quickly as possible.
Another big reason to use juices to boost your immune system is that if you can get a higher concentration of valuable vitamins, minerals, and nutrients. They are also great to take with you if you are having trouble finding something good to eat.
If the only options around you are fast food or junk, a great homemade juice or smoothie will be the perfect meal replacement that also will boost your immunity.
What Is Your Immune System?
This is an important question because it gets discussed a lot, but it’s easy to forget what the immune system actually is. We often think of the immune system like a bodily organ such as the liver, but it’s quite a bit different.
Your immune system is a series of cells and proteins that defend the body against infection. A majority of these cells exist on the outside of your gut, and they help to neutralize foreign invaders that may make it through the gut wall.
Your immune system is your first line of defense to protect your body from foreign cells, substances, and tissues. Its main job is to recognize the difference between your body’s own cells and foreign cells. A big problem that can happen is your body may start to recognize its own tissue as foreign and it turns on itself. We call this autoimmunity.
Autoimmune disease can cause things like thyroid disease, multiple sclerosis, IBS, arthritis, Type 1 diabetes. When you look at the problems regular immune system weakness can cause (such as cold and flu) and autoimmune conditions, you can see how crucial it is to keep your immune system strong.
So let’s look at 4 immune booster juice and smoothie recipes to stay as healthy as possible.
1. Turmeric & Ginger Juice
This is a simple juice and you will need:
- two handfuls of ginger
- two handfuls of turmeric
- 2 lemons
- 2 containers of coconut water
- black pepper
- honey
The easiest way to make this juice is to clean off the ginger and turmeric, chop up the lemons and put them into a good blender with all the coconut water. Blend everything until smooth and add a pinch of pepper and a half teaspoon of honey to some small jars. Then, to separate the pulp from the juice, use a coffee press to do this and then start to fill up the small jars.
This is the ultimate immune system juice shot and you can make as much, or as little, as you need each time.
2. Citrus Immune Booster Juice
This juice has the perfect blend of vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, and Vitamin C. You will need:
- Half a lemon
- Water
- Half an orange
- 1 medium apple
- 1 inch of fresh ginger
- 4 chopped carrots
- 1 pinch of cayenne pepper
Add all these ingredients and one cup of water to a blender and blend on high. You then will want to strain everything through a cheesecloth or large coffee filter into a large jar for storage.
Make sure to press and squeeze all the pulp to extract as much juice as possible. You will be left with a juice that will help combat colds, flu, improve digestion, increase circulation, and is anti-inflammatory.
3. Immune Booster Smoothie
This is a thicker drink that will be more filling and substantial than a juice. You will need:
- 4 peeled clementines
- one sliced banana
- a peeled carrot
- 1 inch peeled ginger
- 1/4 cup yogurt
- 1 TBSP honey
- 1.5 cups of ice
Blend this all together on high power until smooth and drink up for the perfect immune system boosting smoothie to replace a meal or if you’re on the go. You can also turn this into a smoothie bowl by adding raspberries, blueberries, kiwi, and some slivered almonds on top.
4. Tropical Smoothie
This immune booster is full of vitamins A, C, and E, along with folic acid which is the key immune system boosting vitamins. Vitamin C specifically boosts your body’s production of white blood cells, which are key to fighting infection. You will need:
- 1 frozen banana
- 1 cup frozen pineapple
- 1/2 teaspoon fresh grated ginger
- 1/4 teaspoon turmeric powder
- 1/2 cup carrot juice
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 cup unsweetened almond milk
Blend everything together until you get a smooth consistency. If you want it less thick, just add some water. You can make your own carrot juice by blending 2 cups of sliced carrots with 1.5 cups of water. This is a great frozen smoothie that tastes amazing but is an immune system boosting powerhouse!
Final Thoughts
The stronger you can keep your immunity, the better you will be at combatting many illnesses. You want to make sure that your diet is still based around whole foods, including other immune boosters such as garlic, broccoli, red peppers, green tea, spinach, and almonds.
When you add some of these immune booster juices and smoothies into the mix, you give your immune system a much better chance at navigating through all the bacteria and sickness that bombards us on a daily basis.
Stay well.
References:
- https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/
- https://www.health.harvard.edu/
- https://health.clevelandclinic.org/
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/
