Make a Ginger Ninja Immune Boosting Juice
Description
This juice recipe has the perfect orange fire to boost your immune system and fight off the flu Ninja style, especially when the weather is a little colder.
Ginger is my favourite Auntie (anti). Anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidant, anti-spasmodic, anti-nausea, anti-bacterial. It is the classic tonic for the digestive tract and a staple of traditional Chinese medicine for more than 2,500 years.
Turmeric is truly one of the most marvelous medicinal spices of the world. Its main active ingredient is curcumin, which gives turmeric its intense cadmium yellow color.
Turmeric can help boost the health of your immune system through the amazing anti-oxidant, anti-inflammatory, and anti-microbial properties it holds.
Cox-2 inhibitors such as those found in resveratrol in red grapes and curcumin in Turmeric repress tumor’s production of growth factors. It could inhibit blood vessel growth in tumors; tumors without blood vessels cannot grow.
Ingredients
8 carrots
4 apples (red)
1 ginger piece (5cm)
1 turmeric piece (5cm)
Juicing Time: 5 min
Juice Qty: 900ml
Serves: 4
Preparation
Carrot
Cut carrots lengthwise once
If larger carrots are used cut again lengthwise
Apple
Remove the stems and remove any stickers
Juice apples whole with skin and seeds.
Cut in half or quarters if too big to fit into the wide chute
Ginger
Cut off a 5cm thick piece
Cut into thin slices leaving the skin on
Turmeric
Cut off a 5cm thick piece
Cut into thin slices leaving the skin on
Method
Start with the cap closed.
Juice the whole apples one at a time.
Next add the ginger followed by the turmeric and let the spicy flavours mix in with the apple juice.
Open the cap to release the juice.
Finish with the carrots add them slowly one half at a time.
Tip: The ginger skin should be thin, never thick and fibrous. You should be able to easily nick the skin with you nail. The best way to store ginger is place it in small paper bag in your vegetable crisper drawer.
Health Benefits
Turmeric
Turmeric is one of the most studied spices in the world with thousands of people looking into its health and healing benefits every day.
Nutrition: Turmeric is rich in a compound called curcumin, which has powerful anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties. These properties make turmeric beneficial for various aspects of health. Curcumin, has phenomenal anti-cancer properties and has been known to help to inhibit prostate, skin, colon, mouth, esophageal, lung, stomach, pancreatic, liver, and breast cancer.
Cardiovascular / Circulatory System: Turmeric helps improve endothelial function, which is important for regulating blood pressure and preventing blood clot formation. Turmeric also helps lower LDL (bad) cholesterol levels and reduce the risk of heart disease.
Immune System: Let's start with it boosting the health of your immune system through its amazing anti-oxidant, anti-inflammatory, and anti-microbial properties it holds. Turmeric's antioxidant properties help protect the body from free radical damage and strengthen the immune response. Curcumin has also been shown to have antimicrobial properties, which can help fight infections.
Nervous System: Some studies suggest that curcumin may help improve memory and reduce the risk of neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer's disease, by increasing levels of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), a growth hormone that is crucial for brain function. I think turmeric is critical to calm down anything in the body that’s inflamed and causing pain, from nerves to joints to inflammation in the brain.
Muscular / Skeletal System: Also after a workout or any heavy day's labor, try to consume more turmeric. It can shorten recovery time for muscles, ligaments, and joints after exercise, and it also acts as an anti-inflammatory for any minor injuries. The anti-inflammatory properties of turmeric may help reduce pain and inflammation in conditions like arthritis, making it a popular natural remedy for joint pain.
Respiratory System: Its active compound, curcumin, is a powerful anti-inflammatory agent that can help reduce inflammation in the respiratory tract, making it beneficial for respiratory conditions such as asthma and bronchitis.
Apple
Apples are the "Queen of the Fruits". The old saying "an apple a day..." is truly ancient wisdom as they protect and heal every human body system and cell. Apples are a true healing food.
Nutrition: Apples contain vitamins C and K, as well as potassium. Vitamin C is an antioxidant that supports the immune system, while vitamin K is important for blood clotting and bone health. Potassium is essential for heart health and muscle function. Apples are rich in antioxidants, including flavonoids and polyphenols. These compounds may help reduce the risk of chronic diseases such as heart disease, cancer, and diabetes by reducing oxidative stress and inflammation.
All Systems: Apples also starve viruses. When their pectin fibers enter the digestive system, they release phytochemicals that bind onto viruses, shrouding viral cells so that they can’t feed and proliferate.
Cardiovascular / Circulatory System: Apples contain nutrients like vitamin C and potassium, which are important for heart health. Vitamin C is an antioxidant that supports the immune system, while potassium helps regulate blood pressure. Some research suggests that eating apples may be associated with a reduced risk of stroke, possibly due to their antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects. Some research suggests that eating apples may be associated with a reduced risk of stroke, possibly due to their antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects.
Digestive System: Apples are high in a soluble fibre (still in the juice) called pectin that forms a gel-like substance in the intestine. This gel can bind to cholesterol, removing it from the body, which may aid in reducing blood pressure levels. Apple juice provides living water to support the liver’s hydration capabilities, so it can store the water and then release it back into the bloodstream when the blood becomes dehydrated and isn’t flowing very well.
Nervous System: They are also high in malic acid that binds with any heavy metals in the brain. The word 'malic' comes from the Latin word 'malum', meaning 'apple' which is why I recommend to people who have brain or neurological symptoms to consume more apples.
Carrot
Carrots are well known in juicing circles as the ‘anti-cancer kings’ of the vegetable world. They contain antioxidants including alpha-carotene, lutein, beta-carotene and lycopene to name a few. Beta-carotene is the main nutrients when it comes to its cancer preventing properties. The body converts beta-carotene into vitamin A. It is believed that beta-carotene can break down the protective mucous membrane around cancer cells.
Carrot juice is also an effective natural remedy for an ulcer in the stomach. When carrots are juiced, they’re higher in antiseptic phytochemical compounds that inhibit the growth of unfriendly microorganisms in the intestines.
Additional Carrot recipes are available here
Ginger
Ginger is one of the world’s oldest and most popular medicinal spices. It is known to greatly aid in digestion and assimilation and is widely regarded to help prevent colds, flu, motion sickness, and vertigo.
Ginger is my favourite Anti-. Anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidant, anti-spasmodic, anti-nausea, anti-bacterial.
Ginger will support your overall immune system, so is great to use during the winter months, to help fight off colds. Gingerols in ginger cause a rapid and noticeable widening of the blood vessel walls and in turn helps to enhance circulation and also lower blood pressure.
Ginger also has its own signature variety of vitamin C and helps bring the body out of a reactive state when you’re sick.