Maintaining good digestive health can help you stay healthy this winter. It may surprise you find out that much of our immune system is located in the gut. The gastrointestinal system plays a central role in immune system homeostasis, and almost 70% of the immune system is found within the GI tract.
Proper digestion is essential for the assimilation of nutrients into the body, and healthy circulation helps to distribute those nutrients to cells while increasing energy and warmth. Ginger is a well-known herb often used for supporting digestion and increasing circulation. Ginger is a warming herb with a fiery nature. By stimulating flow and energy, it enhances the ‘fire’ in the body that supports digestion, heart health, immunity, and reproductive system vigor and balance.
Herbs that have warming, carminative digestive properties can be brewed up into delicious teas to help support healthy digestion and circulation, thereby promoting overall wellness during the wintertime. Look to yummy blends that feature herbs such as cinnamon, ginger, cardamom, turmeric, rosemary, mints, thyme, anise, and black pepper. Rich in aromatic oils, many of these herbs also assist the body in fighting infections and easing inflammation.
Minty Ginger Tea
2 inches of fresh ginger root, roughly chopped
1 tablespoon peppermint or spearmint leaves
1 tablespoon chamomile flowers
1 quart plus ¼ cup water
Herbal Chai
6 cups of water
14 green cardamom pods
12 cloves
16 whole black peppercorns
2 to 3 cinnamon sticks
4 slices of ginger root
½ to 1 teaspoon of fennel seeds
2 tablespoon of rooibos
Up to 2 tablespoons total of other optional herbs, such as astragalus, calendula flowers, rose hips and petals, lycium berries, echinacea or holy basil (Tulsi)
milk or milk alternative to taste after steeping
Honey to taste
Immune Boosting Chai
1 1/2 – 2 cups of water
2 teaspoons dried astragalus root
6 black peppercorns, crushed
4 cardamom pods, crushed
A few cloves, ground or crushed
1 slice fresh ginger, minced
2 cinnamon sticks
1 teaspoon dried orange peel
1/2 – 1 cup almond milk
1 tablespoon loose black tea
Maple syrup/sugar, to taste
Sacred Heart Tulsi, Rose, and Hawthorn Chai
Honor your sacred heart with this tulsi, rose, and hawthorn chai. This warming, relaxing blend of herbs, and traditional chai spices will soothe and protect.
1 cup dried hawthorn leaf and flower
1 cup dried hawthorn berries
1 cup dried tulsi holy basil
1 cup rose petals
¼ cup cinnamon chips
¼ cup dried ginger granules
¼ cup fennel seed
¼ cup lightly crushed cardamom pods
¼ cup lightly crushed star anise pods
1 tablespoon dried coriander
Crush the herbs with a mortar and pestle, steep in hot water for 10 minutes, and enjoy.
