I hope you’ve had a great week so far Beauties! Today’s topic I want to share with you is my Immunity Tea, also know as Detox Tea. This is something I’ve been making for myself and family members a lot lately, since the running around and changing weather can really give our immunity a run for its money.
This tea is really spectacular to drink throughout the winter. It works when you are already sick, when there are sick people living in your same house (or tiny apt!) or at work, OR when you feel the beginnings of a pesky cold coming on…
This tea boosts immunity because the combination of the lemon and ginger will promote circulation of the blood and lymph and help remove stagnation. In other words, it will help toxins that constantly circulate to exit the body. And did you know that an organic lemon is packed with over 200 enzymes that will help restore the liver, one of our big detoxifying organs? So don’t forget the lemon! The ginger in this tea has amazing warming qualities, which will help burn out harmful bacteria. And on top of all that, the cayenne pepper works to break up mucus in the body as well.
However, the ORDER you make this tea makes all the difference. For instance, you do not want to pour your lemon juice into boiling water, which would destroy the enzymes…and the whole effectiveness of the tea. So here I’ve broken it down for you, step by step:
Immunity Tea with Cayenne Pepper: Step by Step Instructions
Ingredients
- 1 heaping tablespoon fresh ginger
- 1 cup water
- 1/2 lemon
- Dash cayenne
Instructions
Step 1: Peel and chop ginger into chunks. For 1 cup, aim for about 1 heaping Tbs. You want to slice it up so the properties of the ginger will seep into the tea, but don't make the pieces too small- otherwise you'll get a bunch of "floaters" that will keep coming up to the surface.
Step 2: Heat up water. It can boil, or if you can catch it right before it starts to boil that would be great. Turn off the heat, and let the water cool down for a minute. Pour the hot water over the ginger pieces, which you've placed at the bottom of a large coffee mug. Let the hot water steep over the ginger by itself for about 2 minutes. The ginger needs longer time for its flavor to fully unleash.
Step 3. Cut a lemon in half.
Step 4: After waiting at least 2 minutes, the ginger and hot water should be cooled down enough that you could pick up the mug with your hands and start to sip it. At that time, squeeze half a lemon into the mug. If you have a hard time with lemon, do at least 1/4 of a lemon, and build yourself up. But 1/2 would be ideal!
Step 5: Give at least one good shake of cayenne pepper right into the tea. If you can handle spice, like me, you can try 2 shakes! Don't overdo it though.
Step 6: Sweeten with a packet of Stevia. Another choice is xylitol. Stevia is the best, as it has 0 effect on our blood-sugar levels. Above all, do not use Splenda or any other fake sugars!!!- Step 7: Mix with a tea spoon...and you are ready to go...and ready to start giving your immunity a big boost. :)
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was on Instagram!
Learn even more ways to get rid of a cold fast!
Enjoy and let me know how you do with it!
Love,
Kimberly
87 Comments
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Hi Kimberly,
I am a registered dietitian and I have to say that I very much enjoy your website and posts. I’m very open minded and agree with many of your teachings. Having worked in research, I was trained to be continually learning and open to new research.
I thought you might be interested in this article from the New York Times on osteoporosis and diet (if you haven’t seen it already). It’s right in line with your approach to nutrition and health. It’s interesting how osteoporosis is relatively rare in Asian countries, where they consume far less dairy products. Countries that consume the most meat and animal products actually have higher fracture rates. These scientists propose that eating a more alkaline diet may be best for bone, not to mention other chronic diseases, including diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure etc. The researchers here are western medicine doctors by the way. Hope you enjoy the article.
Here’s the link.
https://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/24/health/24brod.html?scp=1&sq=exploring%20a%20low%20acid%20diet%20for%20bone%20health&st=cse
Lauren
Hi Lauren!
Thanks so much for visiting. I am so happy to meet open-minded RD’s. :) Have you seen my interview with Emily Carlson from a few weeks ago?
I have read this article, but thank you for forwarding it again. So many people have been sending it to me that I think I will do another blog post on it.
Thanks again and please come visit again!
xx Kimberly
Great, healing beverage!
Love your sweater!
Hey Kim! Hope you had a fab Thanksgiving. I make a similar tea, just without the cayenne. Gonna give your version a whirl–it looks great. Oh, and I’m seconding you on NOT shopping on Black Friday. who needs that stress? Well, actually, I did take advantage of your 2 for 1 offer on The Solution, so technically I did shop today. Hee hee! But it was stress-free and from the comfort of my computer ;-)
Hi Kimberly,
I really enjoy your website! I’ve been trying to eat healthier, and your information is great!=)
I have a question tho, I am allergic to citrus fruits. I get coldsores if I eat too much citric acid. I was wondering if there was something else I could substitute for lemons, etc. That would help my body similarily.
Happy and Healthy Holidays to you too!
P.S. I totally love your Piggy mug…..so cute!
I made this tea yesterday and it was great! Have been run down with stress and have started getting sick, so I’ll be sipping these until I’m better!
I made this and added some turmeric as well, LOVE IT!
Kaitlyn, when I was in nursing school I did a project on Alzheimer’s Disease. I thought you might find it interesting to know that turmeric has been linked to slow the formation of plaques within the brain that are related to Alzheimer’s!
This is amazing!! I love turmeric and had no idea about the (positive) link to Alzheimer’s:) thanks for sharing
Hi Kimberly!
I have been getting sick and not getting well for weeks now, ending up with shingles, which the doctor said was rare in younger people unless the immune system was low and they are really stressed–I think that this tea is going to be a must drink for me all winter!
I was wondering–I’ve been given antibiotics and antivirals (for the shingles) and I wonder what you think about increasing the amount of probiotics I take each day to balance that out?
Kimberly:
I use cayenne pepper every day almost and I can vouch for its immune-system boosting effects. This post and recipe is awesome. Thank you for posting it.
Cayenne pepper and ginger are two of the greatest health secrets in the world. Cayenne is great for the heart, venous structure and has been clinically proven in separate studies at U.C.L.A. and the University of Nottingham in England to kill cancer cells, causing them to self-terminate in a process known as “apoptosis.”
Great recipe.
GR
I started to a combo of tumeric and cayenne pepper. I never have problems of eating and drinking anything, but tumeric with cayenne seams difficult to me. I there an easier way of drinking this combo?
Ok on your latestblog you state you sometimes use honey. how muh and do you add the honey while the tea is still very hot, or do you have to wait like with the lemon, i generally add Garlic when I have a cold, and cayanne pepper and recently I have found by mixing cayanne with Cinnamon, it makes it easier to handle the cayanne pepper, Do you think adding garlic, Cinnamon And Cayanne is a good idea or a bad one?
Raw winter. Any tips for rashy, dry lips? Many thanks!
Eat fresh pears & apples. They Cota in pectin…good for skin. I used to get cracked lips that bled every winter.
Never get them anymore at all.
Great tip, thanks for sharing Beauty!
how many times per day should you drink this? Is first thing in the morning in place of the lemon water a good time?
Hi Kimberly,
I am currently nursing and I am wondering if it is OK to drink this tea daily? What about the glowing green smoothie?
Thank You!
I would love to try your tea, however lemons are a seasonal fruit in my country. Is it ok to use lemon concentrate or what do you suggest?
Do you have access to fresh limes or kumquats? I’d rather you use a fresh citrus fruit of sorts. xx
Kim,
Can this remedy be used for kids as well?
Thank you!
How often should you drink the tea to see results? I drink lemon tea almost every day but I am looking for something to break up mucas and help with blood circulation. I’m excited to try this? Also how often should you drink this tea? I don’t really like spicy foods so I am concerned about the cayenne pepper for someone like me how much should I put in for it to be effective but not too spicy?
Hi Kimberly,
How often should I drink the tea?
Can you use Ginger tea or does it need to be straight Ginger root?
I prefer the fresh ginger!
I would love try this but I don’t have stevia (not a fan of sweeteners) can I use it without sweeteners?
Hi Beauty! Yes, you can absolutely skip the sweeteners – those are just for taste! Stay healthy ;) xx
Hi Kim,
Can I Drink everyday? or twice a day?
drinking a huge glass and it’s so so good! thank you!
p.s. just bought the Beauty Detox Diet yesterday so excited to read it!
Wonderful Katie! Keep in touch. :)
I am enjoying this tea this very moment. I love the flavor! Wonderful, thank you!
xo Angie
Hi Kimberly
Thank you for all the helpful and insightful tips =)
I had a question.. Is it ok to use organic bottled lemon juice i buy either the Santa Cruz or 365 Whole foods brands for the GGS – tea or is it best to use the fruit?
Thanks
Kim,
I notice that you don’t suggest honey for the ginger tea?
HI Kimberly,
Sorry to comment on such an old post but I just recently started the beauty detox solution and have been trying to catch up on your blog for the past two weeks! Though I always ate relatively well (no sodas, no meat, no junk, OCCASIONAL dairy in fancy-cheese form) and I do regular yoga + zumba, I’m still 7 pounds over the “healthy average” weight for my height. I figured it had to do with digestion issues since I have thalassemia and IBS and left it at that. But my upcoming wedding prompted me to step it up!
Long story sort: I saw this post and got into the habit of making this ginger tea every morning to sip on my way to work. But an email I recently received from your mailing list suggests that I only drink this at night. Is my beauty-food order being compromised by drinking this combo first thing? Please let me know.
Thank you.
WOW.
I thought the taste would be horrible, but it’s actually tolerable and quite good. ahhaa. Thanks Kimberly!
I just made this tea today, it’s different:) I added an orange as well as a lemon, and I also added honey as a sweetner. What do you think?
If you do use honey, I suggest using raw, organic and local honey. That, plus the juice of an orange is a lot of concentrated sugar so I wouldn’t do that if you are a Blossoming Beauty. If you had a throat scratch though, the honey might be soothing.
I see a quite a few people asking how often this should be consumed. But there is no response.
Hola!
I just wanted to say thank you for being such an amazing human being and sharing your knowledge with us. I love that you are so active with your community, it’s fantastic to see and defintely inspirational :)
And that tea is a life saver!
I hope you are having a great day wherever you are and whatever you’re doing!
-s
This immunity tea actually upset my stomach a bit, can you give an idea as to why? Too much cayenne? I cannot tolerate too much hot or spicy spices, so I didn’t put more than enough to give it a kick. Is this how it works to cleanse the intestine? Also, I really love how you’ve presented and almost branded what the counter culture members of the health community, ie holistic practitioners have been trying to teach for years, to no avail. I used to try to tell others about some of the things you’ve discussed an I’d always get a lot of push back. I don’t how you got people to buy into this FINALLY, but you won the hearts of the many and I too am in admiration of how you take this knowledge and make it easy to work into every day life.
I had that at first too…detoxong effects I assume. I was sensitive to spices, but built a tolerance now.
It could be the lemon…citrus, try leaving out item each time to figure out the culprit. I get stomach aches from citrus, sometimes fresh ginger, maybe start with drops of lemon a few pieces of ginger, a little cayenne. ..that’s what I may do, as well. I get stomach aches from citric acid, added to a lot of foods,
LOVE IT! I made this tea, but ended using organic ground ginger root (1/4 tsp), instead of the whole ginger root. I love this tea and the sensation it gives me like its running thoughout my body heating things up and burning out the bad stuff, love that ;). I felt energy and now losing inches, hooray! People at work asked what I was doing , so I shared your link on the step by step directions. Thank you for your wonderful site full of simple, but powerful things to keep people healthy. :)
I just have to thank you for this tea recipe. I came across it almost a month ago when I had a cold starting. The first day I found it really difficult to drink even with the smallest amount of lemon. But after the second day I was starting to recover from my cold, which was much quicker than I would normally. Now my husband and I share this tea every morning and we are having a whole large lemon everyday. I love how it makes me feel energised for the day and my body fat % is also decreasing. We have ours with a touch of cayenne and about a 1/4 tsp of honey, which is raw and local before heading to the gym.
Hi Kimberly,
I have been drinking the GGS but I have always had a problem with constipation and the smoothies are not helping. Do have any advice on what I should do?
Have to say a big thank you for this recipe! I was feel crummy for the last 2 days and my husband made me this tea last night. Wow! Seriously what a difference! Just 1 cup and it worked amaziing! So thank you sooo much!!! Now im not nervous to go to work (i work in a hospital) so this will be part of my routine now.
I have the mother of all colds or flu or something right now : ( I made this tea, using about a 1.5 inch piece of pealed gingerroot, mashed up and tied into a small satchel made from an old clean pair of pantyhose leg cut into a 3″ piece and tied at both ends with the ginger in the middle like a tea bag. No floaties that way. Used 1/2 a lemon, about 1/4 tsp of cayenne and 2 tsps of local organic raw unpasturized honey, which I now realize was pointless to sweeten, because I can’t taste taste any of it. But I feel it warming my chest and tummy nicely and if my nose wasn’t running at full boar before, it sure is now! Thanks for the tip about the lemon in last to preserve the enzymes :)
Can I use Red chili powder instead of Cayenne pepper powder?
I love making homemade tea!
I usually chop up ginger really small, with chopped fresh mint, and place them in an large, empty t-sac, knotted at the top, to let it steep in my mug (that helped me solve the floating ginger problem).
No more sugar in it anymore, after reading your book- stevia now.
I’m looking forward to trying this variation! It’s good to switch it up, plus I love some spice/ heat.
I just bought a hunk of turmeric from the store (lol orange ginger?) and I’m planning on chopping it up and making some tea with it. If you have suggestions on what to add to it, I’d love to hear it! I’ve never had fresh turmeric before, maybe cinnamon or lemon would be nice with it?
<3
My sister in-law has tried to get me to do this concoction a routine drink for the kids every HS. But I was just skeptical about it. My Kids are always coming home with the colds, from school and guess what I decided to give it a try. This stuff really works. This is what I use, Fresh Ginger and Fresh garlic boiled, then I use honey and lemon juice to taste. It rids the kids of sore throats, cough and sneezes. I can safely say, the kids drink a cup every night before going to bed, they are 9 and 12 they also swear by it. My husband used to make fun of this tea until one day he got the sore throat. He ate a whole bag of lozenges at work. He came home from work in the evening, I made him a cup, he drank it, I gave him another one before retiring. He woke me up demanding more in the morning, because his sore throat was almost gone. Honey this stuff works, I will tell people of its effectiveness he said. And yes it works. Now I add a little Cayenne pepper for antibacterial properties.
This is an awesome, beneficial website from Kimberly! I never heard of her until now (but I don’t own a TV and not a typical American). I don’t drink this tea, but I do consume the ingredients in many forms and while we all know here what we put in our bodies is so vital so many folks dismiss the concept. I don’t live in a big city, but I still eat mostly whole foods, consume a variety of red meats, dairy, eat lots of ginger, garlic and lots of green veggies, as well as supplement with with whey and branched chain amino acids (BCAA’s) and I have not gotten any colds for over 15 years! I eat absolutely no white bread, no alcohol and no sugars (no honey!) and NO fake sugars—even stevia (limited fruit). I have a pretty intense job in Alaska and also do backpacking; there are days I go for 45 hours with NO SLEEP and still am able to stave away coughs (I’m older than 40, too!).
GREAT ADVICE from Kimberly.
I wish you would blog information on what type of breads you eat, what limited fruits, and what supplements with why, also what branched chain amino acids and where is the best place to buy these things. I would love to go 45 hours without sleep to help with my studies and be healthy.
Hi, was wondering if I could use lime instead of lemon. Would there be a diffrence in the enzimes effectiveness?
Hi Kimberly,
I love the taste of this tea! Is this safe to drink while pregnant?
Thanks!
Hi Kim;
I’m allergic to peppers. Working with a NAET practitioner to help with the allergic reactions.
Do you have another spice that I might be able to use instead?
I’m reading your book. Just made the GGS this morning with my new vitamix. Veery good.
Thanks,
Ginger produces a hot, fragrant kitchen spice.[5] Young ginger rhizomes are juicy and fleshy with a very mild taste. They are often pickled in vinegar or sherry as a snack or just cooked as an ingredient in many dishes. They can also be steeped in boiling water to make ginger tea, to which honey is often added; sliced orange or lemon fruit may also be added. Ginger can also be made into candy, or ginger wine which has been made commercially since 1740..
I have fresh ginger but I also have a large quantity of dried ginger powder. Will the dried ginger work also? If so how much would you use?
Oh, by the way, I get Italian Volcano lemon juice at Costco. It is a real savings over buying lemons. Just FYI!
Thanks.
Michael
Speaking of going thru this blog post plenty will believe this since it is accurate so its nifty spotting a blogger that is telling info on this for us to think about
Is it ok to drink this every morning instead of just hot lemon water? I love the added kick!
nice recipe. now i trying this with green tea
Thanks for checking it out. Sending lots of love! ;)
Hi Kimberly,
Thanks for the great recipe! I was wondering: would it also be ok to slice a few pieces of organic lemon and leave them to soak in the hot water? Or does the peel have any detrimental effects?
Thanks for the info! Xx
Hi Fee….if you are purchasing organic lemons and washing them well, you should be able to use the peel. Otherwise, there are lots of pesticides that are on the surface if unwashed, and worse if not organic. Sending lots of love! ;)
Hi there,
what are your thoughts on raw honey during pregnancy ?
thank you !
Hi Christine…We all digest and assimilate foods so differently so what works for one person may not for the other. Therefore, I always encourage my Beauties to reach out to your Health Care Practitioner to ensure you are receiving what your body personally needs. Congrats and sending you lots of love! ;)
Can this be made ahead of time and warmed up after or a right away tea? I was thinking of bringing it to work with me, and having a cup or two throughout the day
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Hi Kim, thanks for this great recipe. Ive been consuming cayenne pepper since last month, just putting it in my food. I heard about the tea but didnt have the recipe until now. My question is how often do you drink?, when? Morning or evening? Before or after food? Thanks.
Hi Esta and thanks for checking out this recipe post. You can drink this tea in the afternoons for a nice kick and to keep your immunity strong. Drink it daily when you’re feeling a cold coming on and need some pep in your step. Lots of love! ;)
Wow, this is awesome. I’m not into spicy but this drink helps me get the stuff into my body that I need thorugh a drink. I also mixed some turmeric into this drink and I love it
Please please if you have anymore drinks or ideas like this please feel free to email me.
Thank You
Hi Charles! I’m glad you enjoyed the drink and even added turmeric in it, which is another great anti-inflammatory spice! Stay healthy! xx
Hi Kimberly,
Not only did it taste amazing, but it was easy and fun to make.
Thanks for this great recipe and thanks you so much!