Fight flu season with ginger-tumeric "shot"

With the flu season in full force, it seems like everyone is sick, was sick or is going to get sick really soon, so it’s a better time than ever to look out for your health in small ways. Luckily, all-natural items like ginger and turmeric provide you with a dose of health and the perfect remedy for the suds (as seen on "SpongeBob SquarePants"). Nobody likes the suds. Sure, you can stuff your stomach with the standard set of drugstore medicines filled with scary-sounding ingredients, but sometimes you want something that is a little more earthy and natural.

Ginger and turmeric are just that. They’re a rich duo with a wide range of benefits: medicinal, of course, but culinary, too: you can season your food to perfection with strong, clean flavors and save yourself from wanting added salt and fat in the process.

Alone, each has a serious set of superpowers. Ginger can help digestion, pump up your circulation, reduce your nausea and help your body fight the flu, while turmeric is an anti-inflammatory, antioxidant powerhouse. But, as always, everything is better in twos. When paired together, the two double up and come to your aid, to the flu and beyond. For example, researchers from the British Journal of Cancer found that a key ingredient in turmeric, curcumin, hinders the growth of cancer cells, while ginger has been found to curb tumor growth.

 If you’re looking to simply curb the flu and want to be free from the constraints of an awful suds season, one of the best ways to consume the duo is a quick, concentrated shot. It’s non-alcoholic, definitely popular among your favorite green-juice-lapping friends, and you can buy it at a local health store or smoothie shop. But the zingy shot is better and perhaps fresher if made, and crafting the 2-oz. goodie is not as difficult as it may sound. To start, you need to head over to a food store to grab the basics, plus a little more.

You’ll need:

• 7-oz. turmeric root
• 3 to 4 lemons with the rind removed
• 6-oz. ginger root, chopped
• 1 apple

Once you have the ingredients, it’s time to bring out your juicer. If you don’t have a juicer, that’s completely fine. A blender works, but you must remember to strain the finished product — you can do it with cheesecloth or an alternative.

This recipe yields about 15 oz. of the goodness, which is enough to last you the whole week. All you need to do is store them in a mason jar in your refrigerator and pour each morning, which will save you all the trouble of pulling out your blender every morning.

The finished product is a shot best taken each day, specifically in the morning on an empty stomach if you’d like to kick off the day with a healthy zing. If you have a sensitive palate, you may want to make sure you chase your gingery shot with a tall glass of a classic refreshment — water.

In the end, you’ll be left healthier than you started and you’ll surely be safe from the suds.