Flu bomb drink – a natural immunity booster drink recipe with garlic ginger lemon that helps boost the immune system against the viruses that cause the common cold or flu while preventing viral complications through enhancing the immune response.
Sip this flu bomb tea throughout the day to prevent catching the flu or as a complementary aid if you already caught it. It’s the best drink with lemon garlic and ginger you can make at home for you and your kids!
A healthy body is the best means to avoid and/or combat the flu virus. But if you already caught the flu, fortunately, you can use safe inexpensive natural ingredients like ginger, lemon, garlic to make an immune booster drink.
This immunity booster drink can help overcome the flu symptoms more easily and produce a normal immune response for recovery.
Related: Best Herbal Tea For Cold And Flu (Recipe)
Respiratory viruses are a major cause of influenza-like illness symptoms in children and adults, and practical antiviral treatment is recommended as soon as possible, particularly for those with compromised immune systems.
If you act at the first sign of feeling unwell, this immune booster drink recipe can help shorten the duration of illness and prevent complications. So don’t wait until the symptoms are fully developed, at that time the virus already has done the damage and your body is already fighting too hard.
Related: Natural Remedies To Relieve Your Baby’s Cold and Flu Symptoms
Flu Bomb Drink Recipe
This basic ginger lemon garlic drink with added herbs and honey is warm and soothing for your throat. It keeps you hydrated while supporting the body fight the pathogens.
Among all ingredients in this flu bomb drink, garlic has the advantage in preventing influenza. It is particularly protective against the common cold and the flu. Garlic contains compounds that help the immune system fight.
Related: Homemade Cough Syrup (Great For Sore Throat Too)
These compounds have been shown to boost the innate immune cells in the body when they encounter viruses that cause the common cold or flu and additionally reduce the cold and flu severity. That’s why garlic makes the best tea for flu and cold season, and don’t worry you can barely taste it, it’s not overpowering as when you eat it.
You probably tried many other drinks to boost your immune system, some are strong, some are weak. But this immune booster tea is somewhere in the middle, it has a mild soothing taste but still powerful if prepared correctly.
Below I’m laying out some of the specifics of each ingredients in this flu bomb tea and how a proper preparation of each ingredient (lemon, honey, ginger, garlic) helps the body fight viral infections.
Related: Make Ginger Water The Right Way: Benefits And Drinking Tips
As a preventive measure I also make this immune boosting tonic recipe, which basically has similar ingredients (lemon, honey, ginger, garlic), but the paste form is more “storable” and is conveniently taken as a supplement. It’s quick and easy to take especially when you don’t have time to make this immune system booster tea.
Flu Bomb Ingredients & Their Benefits
- Water Or Herbal Tea – I’m using lemon balm and mint leaves – both known for their antiviral activity and anti-inflammatory activity. If you’re experiencing a fever, then alternate with linden flowers. Linden flower tea contains bioactive compounds that promote sweating and thus may help reduce the fever naturally.
- Ginger – it showed potential as an anti-inflammatory, antibacterial and some antiviral aid. The pungent phenolic compounds will help mask the garlic flavor and soothe a sore throat, reduce congestion and inhibit viral replication in the lower parts of the respiratory tract.
- Lemon – can help ease the flu symptoms by relieving a sore or scratchy throat and alleviate congestion. Additionally the acid (Vitamin C) promotes the absorption and utilization of antioxidants and improves the taste of this flu bomb tea.
- Garlic – has more than 200 biologically active phytomolecules among which several sulfur-containing components (the most known is allicin) and several flavonoids including quercetin – which have been reported to alleviate a number of viral infections in pre-clinical and clinical investigations.
- In vitro studies, the antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, and antiviral activities perform best in aqueous extracts. More specifically water extract was found to have a synergistic or additive effect, plus safer, better extraction yield and better human body absorption.
- The immunomodulatory effects of garlic are mediated through its ability to modulate cytokine production as well as stimulating antibody secretion and immune cells.
- Fresh garlic is the best (don’t use dried or capsules) – non-sulfur garlic phytochemicals are know to work in synergy with the organosulfur compounds, that’s why isolated garlic extracts sold commercially are not nearly as effective as the fresh crushed garlic.
- Garlic (aqueous extract) is able to prevent the formation of blood clots by reducing platelet aggregation (note: it may enhance the effects of your anticoagulant medication) and regulate the blood pressure.
- Garlic is also able to restore the richness and evenness of gut microbiome.
- Honey – use manuka (the most potent) or any other organic raw honey (this is optional, to sweeten up the drink a bit.)
Find the complete printable recipe with measurements below.
Immune Booster Drink Essential Prepping Tips
- The water-soluble organosulfur compounds, are best preserved (in crushed garlic) in cold or room temperature aqueous solutions.
- Allowing crushed garlic to “stand” for 10 min before exposing to heat (for a just 1 minute) prevents the total loss of it’s beneficial activity.
- Heat reduces garlic’s antioxidant properties and the inhibits the formation of beneficial active compounds. Therefore this flu bomb tea should be prepared at least at room temperature 23C /73F and consumed immediately or stored in the fridge for up to 2 days. The volatile compounds tend to disperse fairly quickly especially when the temperature is higher (the half-life of allicin is only 1 day at 37C and crushed garlic at 23°C is 2.5 days).
- Lemon is also affected by heat, so it’s best to add it to cold water.
- In contrast to garlic or lemon, the hot water will actually pull more of the antioxidants from the ginger, so it’s best to steep the ginger first, let it cool and then add the rest of ingredients.
Boiling garlic ginger and lemon is definitely not a good idea if you want an effective immune booster drink! By boiling you destroy all its active components and you just get a flavorful drink.
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How To Make The Flu Bomb – Lemon Honey Ginger Garlic Drink
1. In a mug add the dried herbs (lemon balm and mint) and the chopped/ grated ginger. Pour over the boiling water and let the mixture steep until it cools down. You can also use a tea infuser basket for easier disposal.
2. Once the tea has cooled down and is barely warm, you can smash the garlic cloves (let them sit for 5-10 minutes) and add them to the tea.
3. Cut a lemon in half and squeeze the juice or cut the lemon into smaller sizes – crush and bruise with a pestle to release the oils from the skin as well.
4. Add a teaspoon of manuka honey (preferably) or any raw honey you have on hand. Mix and drink it slowly, sip by sip, ensuring your throat get a good coat each time. The warm liquid and the sourness will help loosen up the phlegm in the throat.
For easy slide-able instructions you can also check out the cold and flu bomb drink web story.
Powerful Add-ins (Optional)
Oregano Oil
According to many studies, oregano oil (contains carvacrol and other phenols – bioactive molecules in the essential oil of oregano) has shown to have strong antibacterial, anti-viral and anti-inflammatory activities. Carvacrol is considered safe for consumption. It has been approved by the FDA for its use in food.
According to a 2021 study, carvacrol, was reported to regulate and inhibit the expression of pro-inflammatory responses in mice with influenza virus A infection. Even though it does not inhibit the flu virus directly, it can boost the autoimmunity and protect against secondary infections which often come after viral infections.
On the other hand carvacrol could have the potential to control the viral replication and maturation in SARS-CoV-2 and inhibit the binding of viral spike to the host cell.
The most potent with good quality essential oils of oregano on US market are these two:
- Wild Mediterranean Oil of Oregano (Strength 83% Carvacrol);
- Oreganol P73.
This stuff is strong, so it’s best taken under the tongue (3-4 drops) followed by a few sips of this flu bomb drink.
Monolaurin
Derived from lauric acid, monolaurin is a medium chain fatty acid naturally found in human breast milk and coconut and palm kernel oils. In laboratory studies monolaurin has shown potential antimicrobial, antibacterial, and antiviral properties with the ability to inactivate enveloped RNA viruses. Examples of Enveloped RNA viruses include influenza, measles, Zika, mumps, Coronaviruses (CoVs), and Ebola virus among others. However, additional studies are required to support any application in humans.
It also has been speculated to play a protective role against SARS-CoV-2 infection and that monolaurin dietary supplements could boost individuals’ immune systems.
I usually opt for this Monolaurin Supplement, and I take it whenever I feel “something is coming” it’s extremely helpful for my family, even for kids.
Combining Monolaurin With Oil Of Oregano
- According to a recent publication is was suggested that both oregano and monolaurin were able to destroy lipid-encapsulated viruses in-vitro.
- The combination of oregano oil and monolaurin was also found very effective against antibiotic-resistant Staphylococcal infections.
What I do: Whenever I feel the cold or flu symptoms coming, I take 3-4 drops of oregano oil, and 1/2 teaspoon of monolaurin followed by the flu bomb tea (3 times a day / or every 2 hours when ill). Usually this helps we avoid a sore throat and a runny nose. It just feels that something is going on, maybe a bit of tiredness, but by the third day, this feeling is gone.
More Immune Boosting Ideas
- Cold & Flu Natural Remedies For Toddlers
- Cucumber Lemon Ginger Water Benefits + Recipe
- Immune Boosting Tonic (Ginger Lemon Garlic Honey)
- Natural Remedies To Relieve Your Baby’s Cold and Flu Symptoms
- 14 Habits To Improve Immune System Against Allergies
- Natural Decongestants: My Journey to Clear Sinuses
If you made this flu bomb drink, then please leave a star rating and a comment below the recipe card.
Your feedback is really helpful for me and readers!
Related: Natural Home Remedies For Sinus Infection (Without Antibiotics)
Flu Bomb Drink Recipe (Immune Booster Drink For Cold & Flu)
Ingredients
- 8.5 oz (250 ml) boiling water
- 3/4 tsp dried mint leaves - or fresh
- 3/4 tsp dried lemon balm leaves
- 3 cloves garlic - crushed or minced
- 1/4 lemon - juice or slices
- 2 tsp ginger - minced or grated
- 1.5 tsp raw honey
Simpler version
- 8.5 oz (250 ml) boiling water
- 1/4 lemon - juice or slices
- 2 tsp ginger - minced or grated
- 1.5 tsp raw honey
Instructions
- In a mug add the dried herbs (lemon balm and mint) and the chopped or grated ginger. Pour over the boiling water and let the mixture steep until it cools down. You can also use a tea infuser basket for easier disposal.
- Once the tea has cooled down and is barely warm, you can smash the garlic cloves (let them sit for 5-10 minutes) and add them to the tea. It's important to let the tea cool before adding the garlic, read in the post above why.
- Cut a lemon in half and squeeze the juice or cut the lemon into smaller sizes – crush and bruise with a pestle before adding to the tea, this will help release the oils from the skin as well.
- Add a teaspoon of manuka honey (preferably) or any raw honey you have on hand. Mix and drink it slowly, sip by sip, ensuring your throat gets a good coat each time.
Notes
Powerful Add-ins (Optional)
- Wild Mediterranean Oil of Oregano – 3 or 4 drops under the tongue before drinking the flu bomb tea. See the research behind it in the post above.
- Monolaurin Supplement -1/2 scoop followed by the flu bomb drink. Taken separately or in combination with oregano oil it can help your immune response. See the research behind it in the post above.
Nutrition
The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator.
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Janette
Wednesday 26th of January 2022
I'm surprised the garlic flavor is not overpowering...actually tastes not bad! Thank you!
HealthyTasteOfLife
Wednesday 26th of January 2022
Yes, the lemon and ginger covers the garlic taste in the tea beautifully!