Why You Should Have a Ginger Shot Each Day, and How to Make It!

Drinking ginger shots is increasingly popular these days, and they're quite expensive too with prices ranging around £1-£2 per 70ml shot bottle. It really shouldn't be that expensive to be healthy, so here's a recipe for a very potent health-shot with some variations to suit you.

Ingredients

• +-300gr fresh ginger (A big root)
• 3x lemons
• Water
• 1 dl / half cup of honey
• 1 tsp turmeric (optional)
• 2-3 small green chilli peppers, or one red "standard" (cayenne) chilli pepper (optional)

You'll also need a fine sifter, a large bowl, a funnel, a large jug/container about 2L and either a mixer (I use a handheld one) or a grater if you don't have one and have to do it manually.

This is enough to make two 75cl bottles of health-shot that lasts over a month in the fridge, but you'll have finished it all before that for sure.

Let's talk a little about the health benefits of these ingredients and why you should incorporate them into your daily routine.

But first of all, a disclaimer.

I am not a doctor and all my knowledge surrounding these ingredients has been found on the internet. The objective of this article is not to educate and advice on health problems so if you are interested in more information I suggest you have a look around the big ol' web and gather your own understanding surrounding this.

What I can say though is that I have been using these ingredients a lot and in ample doses and as a result I am heeling healthier than ever, have reached my goal weight and manage to maintain it without even trying, have more energy and have not suffered from any side-effects (other than a slight burning sensation in my mouth from the ginger and chili peppers understandably). As with anything, we're all different so in case you experience anything out of the ordinary I suggest you consult with a doctor just to be on the safe side.

Scroll down for instructions on how to make it if you want to get straight to it!

Health Benefits of Ginger

• Contains Gingerol, with strong medicinal properties
• Treats nausea (especially morning sickness)
• Reduces muscle pain and soreness
• Anti-Inflammatory (can help with osteoarthritis)
• Lowers blood sugars and reduces the risk of heart disease
• Helps in the treatment of chronic indigestion
• Reduces menstrual pain
• Lowers cholesterol levels
• May help prevent cancer
• Improves brain function and protect against Alzheimer's disease
• Fights infections

Health Benefits of Lemon

• Rehydrating and promotes hydration
• Good source of vitamin C
• Improves your skin quality
• Supports weight loss
• Kick-starts digestion
• Keeps your breath fresh
• Lowers risk of kidney stones
• Good for your heart
• Protects against anemia
• Reduced cancer risk

Health Benefits of Turmeric

• Curcumin (found in turmeric) is a natural anti-inflammatory
• Increases the antioxidant capacity of the body
• Boosts brain function and lowers risk of brain diseases
• Lowers the risk of heart disease
• Helps prevent (and perhaps even to treat) cancer
• May be useful in preventing and treating Alzheimer's disease
• Antidepressant

Helth Benefits of Chilli (Capsaicin)

• Boosts your metabolism.
• Reduces hunger
• Lowers blood pressure
• Has antidepressant effects
• Helps relieve pain
• Lowers the risk of cancer and according to research, even helps in the treatment
• Decreases incidents of cluster headaches
• Treats psoriasis

Instructions

1. If you're using a mixer, put lemons, ginger and chili in your large jug and add enough water to almost cover them, then blend it, peel and all.
2. Once it's all completely blended into a mush, add more water so you have about 2L of mass with the ginger/lemon mush included.
3. Leave it for at least 1 hour.
4. After having left it it's time to remove the excess ginger and lemon mass from the drink. Use a fine sifter (like the one in the picture below) and place it over the large bowl.

Pour some of the contents (or everything if your sifter is large) from your jug into the sifter and stir it around so that as much fluid as possible runt through. The ginger/lemon mush will still have plenty of fluid in it so if you are like me, you'll want to squeeze this in some way. I use my hands and simply pick a small part of it, squeeze it, and then throw the squeezed mush in the bin, and continue until I've squeezed and filtered all of the jug contents into the bowl.

You should now have a yellow liquid without bits in your bowl.

5. I like to use set honey so I add some boiling water to the set honey and stir it around until it has completely dissolved. If you are using runny honey, I still recommend to dilute it a little with boiling water to make sure it will blend nicely, then add it to the rest of the brew in your big bowl and stir.

6. Add a teaspoon of turmeric and continue to stir.

7. Place the funnel on the bottle you with to keep your brew in (I use rinsed wine bottles because everything is better in glass), and fill the bottles up. Store the finished ginger shot in the refrigerator and have a shot each morning for improved health, boosted immune system and general wellbeing.

Remember to shake the bottle before each use since there will be some residue gathering in the bottom of the bottle!

This is what mine looks like!

I drink this instead of coffee as it has a similar pick-me-up effect!

Enjoy!