Drink
Ginger-turmeric shot
This is the hardest thirty seconds of your day, and then it is over.
Fresh turmeric and fresh ginger, blended with lemon and a pinch of pepper. It is sharp, earthy and slightly too much, and that is exactly why you feel it all the way down.
Fresh turmeric beats ground if you can get it. It looks like a small orange ginger and stains everything it touches. Wear gloves, unless you want yellow fingers until Friday.
Ingredients
- 2 cm fresh ginger
- 2 cm fresh turmeric, or 1 tsp ground
- Juice of ½ lemon
- 1 pinch black pepper
- 100 ml water
Equipment
- Blender or stick blender
- Strainer if you want it smooth
- Small glass
- Gloves for the fresh turmeric
Method
- 1
Blend 2 cm fresh ginger, 2 cm fresh turmeric, the juice of ½ lemon and a pinch of black pepper with 100 ml water.
- 2
Drink as a daily shot.
Dosage
One small glass daily, preferably in the morning.
Take it with or after food, not on an empty stomach. Ginger and lemon can sting an empty one.
Rinse your mouth with water afterwards. Citric acid wears at tooth enamel, and you should not brush for half an hour after.
Shelf life
Drink fresh. Keeps 2 days refrigerated in a sealed jar, but loses strength.
Safety
Both ginger and turmeric are mildly blood-thinning. If you take anticoagulants, or face surgery within two weeks, ask your doctor.
Both increase bile production. If you have gallstones, do not drink it.
Ginger can cause heartburn and irritate the stomach, especially an empty one. With reflux or ulcers, go easy or leave it be.
Citric acid wears at tooth enamel. Drink through a straw, rinse afterwards, and wait half an hour before brushing.
Not in medicinal amounts during pregnancy. No more than 1 gram of ginger daily, and speak with your midwife.
Turmeric stains skin, nails, worktops and the blender. Gloves are not excessive.
Inflammation that does not resolve, swollen joints or persistent pain belong with a doctor.
How the herbs work
Turmeric contains curcumin, which inhibits several of the body''s inflammatory signals. Ginger contains gingerols, which inhibit prostaglandins, the same messengers anti-inflammatory drugs target. The two work by different routes on the same condition.
The black pepper is again decisive. Piperine markedly increases curcumin absorption, and without it most of the turmeric passes through unused.
The lemon contributes vitamin C and makes the mixture drinkable, but it is also there for the taste. Not everything in a recipe has to be medicine.
Fresh turmeric also contains volatile oils that disappear on drying. That is why the fresh root is stronger than the powder.
The content here is general knowledge and folk herbal lore, not medical treatment. In illness, pregnancy, breastfeeding or alongside medication: always talk to your doctor first.