Sob. It’s that time again where I have felt like I was coming down with something. And it ain’t cool.
I find I get a bit wobbly with the change of seasons, and the coming of autumn here has been heralded by four days of rain. Four days of a tender throat and a general feeling of malaise which leads me to berate myself for not eating properly and looking after my health. Again. So I create my concoction and it makes me feel better, if even in my own head. Placebo, FTW!
Well placebo or no, there is plenty of anecdotal evidence (and even some research-based evidence) that each of the components of my tonic have medicinal or antibacterial properties. And while it looks like I’m getting ready to make a curry, I promise you this just tastes like lemon and ginger with a little honey. It’s nice. It’s good. It’ll help!
I originally started many years ago with just honey and lemon. Then eventually I added ginger. Then apple cider vinegar when I found out how useful it is. But the day I added cayenne, bells rang and angels sang and I couldn’t believe I had resisted for so long. It wasn’t the taste, I couldn’t taste anything (same as when I added the turmeric), but the mild heat from the spice counteracted the heat from my throat (and didn’t burn me to death like the time I actually did eat a curry with a sore throat – bad move), and it was actually soothing! Not to mention the little endorphin rush from the chilli. I got hooked. I drank like, fourteen a day. And I’m feeling a little better today so I’m entirely going to claim it was this tonic without any actual peer-reviewed double-blind studies with statistically significant results. That’s what people do on the internet with health information, isn’t it?
Ok, so you add the juice of half a lemon to a cup with four slices of fresh ginger, 1/8 teaspoon turmeric and a sprinkle (what you’re comfortable with) of cayenne. Add boiling water and apple-cider vinegar to steep several minutes. Sweeten with raw honey (the medicinal properties probably aren’t as good with honey that isn’t raw).
Hope it makes you feel better too!
