With a stark change in the weather, taking care of our immunity has become imperative. While cold and flu are always tagged with season change, the world is waking up to new flus every day. And with every new disease, the importance of boosting immunity is stressed upon. Strong immunity helps fight diseases and keeps them at bay, especially during the days when seasons are changing. With uncertain temperatures and unpredictable weather conditions, a good immune system will help keep the common cold and flu at bay.
There are many foods that can help boost immunity and guess what you can even make interesting meals and beverages out of them.
Honey and cucumber are two such foods that can work wonders for our immune system. Crunchy and cooling cucumber, belonging to the gourd family is an ultimate cooling food and is enriched with multiple essential nutrients. Besides being 95% water, cucumber is packed with nutrients like vitamin K, vitamin C, magnesium, phosphorus, riboflavin, B-6, folate, pantothenic acid, iron, silica, calcium and zinc. As per Macro-biologist and Health Practitioner,Shilpa Arora, "lignans present in cucumbers have anti-inflammatory and immune boosting effects that makes them an ideal addition to or daily diet."
(Also Read: 11 Best Cucumber Recipes | Easy Cucumber Recipes)
On the other hand is honey that has been a part of many concoctions to manage cold and cough since ages. Often dubbed as a natural antibiotic, honey comes with many nutrients like vitamin C, D, E, K and B complex and beta-carotene, and can work wonders for your immunity and heal chest congestion, cold, and respiratory problems.
According 'Healing Foods' a book by DK Publishing House, honey "can be as effective as the cough suppressant diphenhydramine, and may help children sleep better." Certain types of honey have also shown to work well for coughs, which includes buckwheat, eucalyptus, citrus, or labiatae (mint family) varieties. Keeping the combination of cucumber and honey in mind, here's a quick and easy concoction of lemonade made with the goodness of both that can be your go-to drink this flu season.
Here's how you can make 3-ingredient honey-cucumber lemonade at home.
Ingredients:
Honey- 2-3 tbsp
Cucumber- 2 (chopped)
Lemon- 2 (juiced)
Method:
In a blender, puree the cucumbers until just chunky.
In a large pitcher, combine lemon juice, honey to water.
Add fresh mixture to the cucumber puree and blend until very smooth. Serve.
Try this quick, easy and absolutely refreshing drink at home and let us know how you liked it in the comments section below.