3 Must Have Herbs For Winter Health

Winter is approaching! The time of year when colds and flu start to creep up on us. Take action now and build your immune system so you don’t spend anytime fighting off colds.
These three herbs are great for the Winter season and they will protect you from getting a cold.

1. Cardamom

Cardamom is amazing. Cardamom is known for it’s fragrance. You can add it to your stews or teas. If you buy the pods remember to crush the pod open to expose the seeds or you can grind the seeds and add them to your favorite tea, coffee or food.
It is an expectorant which opens up the respiratory airways which is perfect for Winter. Other benefits of cardamom include: detoxifies the body of caffeine, cleanses kidneys and bladder, stimulates the digestive system and reduces gas, improves circulation to the lungs and is great for bronchitis, antispasmodic properties (suppresses muscle spasms), can counteract excess acidity in the stomach, and helps with bad breath.

2. Cinnamon

Cinnamon is one of my favorite spices. I love the flavor and fragrant of cinnamon. There are many amazing benefits of cinnamon. For the Winter time, cinnamon is beneficial for warming up the body by increasing circulation. During the Winter days and nights when temperatures fall, people with arthritis often feel the pain more. A teaspoon of cinnamon in warm water or tea a every morning will help with the relief of arthritis pain. Other benefits of cinnamon include lowers cholesterol, blood sugar regulation, anti-clotting properties, anti-bacterial properties, and brain health (smelling cinnamon boosts cognitive function and memory).

Here is one of my favorite cinnamon juices.

 3. Garlic

Consuming garlic regularly can help you become more resistant to infections like the flu, ear infections, and also helps reduce mucous. It is especially good for persistent coughs and bronchitis. Garlic is a potent vasodilator and improves circulation by preventing blood clumping together.  It may be taken with conventional antibiotics to support their action and ward off side effects. Garlic also contains vitamins A, C, and E, which also support the immune system.
You can add garlic to your favorite juices and foods. Many don’t like the side effect of consuming garlic which is bad breath. If you juice garlic and you don’t want the bad breath effect, all you have to do is wrap parsley around the garlic and feed it into your juicer.

Are you coming down with a cold or already have one? Check out this recipe.

For more recipes and tips “like” Juicing Vegetables and check out Saturday Strategy.
Sources:
http://www.care2.com/greenliving/warming-winter-herbs.html
http://www.gayot.com/lifestyle/health/features/cardamom-health-benefits.html
http://www.healthdiaries.com/eatthis/10-health-benefits-of-cinnamon.html