You definitely want to give this lemon and garlic elixir a try. It’s delicious, easy to prepare, and has many health benefits you will discover as you read on, particularly when it comes to supporting your immune system.
Your immune system is your first line of defence when it comes to fighting off a virus or illness.
The function of the immune system is to identify when foreign invaders enter the body such as viruses, parasites and bacteria and alert the brain to activate immune processes.
A few key facts to know about the immune system
- The gut is the epicenter of the immune system, with a well functioning gut essential for a well functioning immune system.
- About 80% of the immune system resides in the gut (gastrointestinal tract) with approximately 500 different species of bacteria living inside you.
- Your gut bacteria actually “inform” your immune system of what’s happening in your body, to help fight off infections, support detoxification and basically, keep the peace.
- Gut bacteria also play an important role in the development of white blood cells that help the body’s immune system fight infection.
- The modern world has caused the diversity of bacteria species to decrease due to nutrient depleted soils, a key contributor to gut related health issues and compromised immune systems.
- Certain lifestyle and environmental factors deteriorate our immune systems effectiveness – e.g. stress, consuming too much sugar, lack of nutrients and exercise, exposure to chemicals, wi-fi, medications, lack of sunlight and toxins in homes such as mold.
Want to know how to strengthen your immune system naturally?
The best way to boost your immune system and protect yourself from getting sick is to cleanse your body’s natural detoxification systems from toxic overload.
Once toxin overload is reduced, we want to strengthen our immune system so it can continue to do its job correctly like fending off things that can be harmful to the body such as viruses, pathogenic bacteria, and parasites. Also, we want to remain non-reactive to benign things like pollen and foods and prevent our immune system from attacking our own body, known as autoimmune disease.
I’m delighted to share this delicious tasting lemon and garlic detox elixir with you as it played an integral part in my own personal gut/parasite/immune system healing journey and remains one of my favourite recipes to this day. I use the elixir regularly to nurture my immune system. It is simple and easy to make and tastes delicious, and the way it’s prepared ensures you wont be left with garlic breath after drinking it!
Health Benefits of Lemon
- Lemon in its own right does not detox your body.
- In order to truly detox your body, you have to remove toxins from cells through your gastrointestinal tract and in order to do that you need fiber.
- Lemons are not high in fiber however, what lemon does help with is to promote hydration, boost kidney health, activation of the digestive system, healthy bowel movements, better enzymes function and wakes the liver up for the day – all of which aid the detoxification process.
Nutritional Benefits of Lemon
- Lemon is a good source of Vitamin C.
- Citrus fruits in general are a great source of Vitamin C and adding lemon to your water gives you an extra boost to aid the immune system.
- Lemons are high in citric acid, which may cause tooth decay. Prevent tooth decay by drinking through a straw or have a glass of regular water right after to wash away the citric acid.
- Apart from vitamin C, lemons also contain vitamins B5, B6, B1 and B2, as well as calcium, copper, iron and potassium (1).
Health Benefits of Garlic
- Garlic contains sulfur compounds that when ingested enter the body from the digestive tract and travel all over the body, where it exerts its potent biological effects.
- Garlic and garlic supplements are known to boost the function of the immune system, and help prevent and reduce the severity of common illnesses like the flu and common cold.
- At high doses, the sulfur compounds in garlic have been shown to protect against organ damage from heavy metal toxicity.
- In one study, garlic was shown to significantly reduce lead toxicity and related symptoms (2).
- Garlic is highly effective to help break down and eliminate bacterial biofilms. Bacterial biofilms are colonies of bacteria which have protected themselves in slime coatings – se.g. Staphylococcus, fungi, parasites, viruses. It’s these, “biofilms” which prevents the immune system from being able to eliminate the pathogens.
Nutritional Benefits of garlic
- Garlic is low in calories and rich in vitamin C, vitamin B6 and manganese.
- From whole cloves and smooth pastes to powders and supplements like garlic extract and garlic oil, it’s very easy to include more garlic into your current diet.
- Note – If you have a bleeding disorder or are taking blood-thinning medications, talk to your doctor before increasing your garlic intake (2).
Benefits of Lemon and Garlic Detox Elixir
Having a healthy immune system requires some level of commitment and consistency and the lemon and garlic detox elixir is a great place to start.
Don’t underestimate the simplicity of this elixir. Lemon and garlic combined have a potent antiviral, antibacterial, antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effect and will also help;
- Alkalise the body
- Wake up the liver for the day
- Encourage the release of digestive fluids.
- Improve heart health as it dissolves and diminishes plaque deposits in the circulatory system.
- Rid parasites, viruses, fungi, bad bacteria.
Lemon and Garlic Detox Elixir Recipe
Ingredients
- 30 cloves garlic, skins peeled
- 5 whole lemons with skins, cut into quarters
- 1 litre filtered water
To Make
- Add lemons and garlic into a blender or food processor and blend until mixture becomes a pulp.
- In a large saucepan add the water and the lemon/garlic mixture and stir gently.
- Bring to the boil then immediately simmer for 1 hour.
- Place a sieve over a large bowl and strain the mixture through a sieve.
- Discard pulp and store liquid in a jar in the fridge.
Suggested Protocol for Lemon and Garlic Detox Elixir
- Take a daily morning dose of 30 ml before a meal for 3 weeks.
- The recipe makes enough for 3 weeks.
- You can add some boiled water to the 30ml dose to enjoy it as a warm glass of morning tonic.
- Take the elixir 2 hours apart from probiotics, fermented foods or good bacteria supplements.
- After the 3 weeks, have a break of 8 days (this is imperative), then make a new batch and repeat again for 3 weeks.
- Drink plenty of water and eat plenty of healthy whole foods to help the body flush the waste and function optimally.
- Repeat this safe and therapeutic protocol twice a year.
The Lemon and Garlic Detox Elixir is just one way you can stay strong against illness. This liquid gold tonic was one of the first protocols I learned when I started my own natural healing journey from chronic illness over 10 years ago, which is a story for another time!
Learning simple but effective detox protocols such as this lemon and garlic elixir are significant stepping stones in building a strong and healthy mind and body.
You can access my Immune Boosting Detox Elixirs eBook which contains 11 elixir recipes to draw on whenever your body needs a detox and your immune system needs a boost.
The elixir recipes in this book are a collection of the most frequently recommended protocols that I offer to clients as part of natural health treatment plans. Each elixir serves a unique nutritional purpose, and all focus on strengthening the immune system, building good gut bacteria and detoxifying the body. Why is this important? To prevent getting sick, increase energy, maintain weight, and slow down the aging process are a few key factors. But really, a healthy immune system means you can THRIVE at doing more of what brings you deep satisfaction and joy…..your true purpose.
I am committed to making sure you take action, make progress, and help you step through each phase of your health journey.
For more ways to strengthen your immune system you can purchase the FREE 7 Days to Strengthen Your Immune System – Daily Planner and Workbook.
Regular self care regimes that include an element of cleansing, rest, nourishing foods and doing more of what brings you joy is how you will supercharge your immune system and become resilient to bugs and viruses.
Let’s not lose sight of what’s most important, and that is…… your health and the value and quality it brings to your life. How you feel determines how you show up each day to be there for others.
To your health and happiness
