Natural Immune Boosters to Make at Home
A Shot a Day Keeps the Doctor Away!
Well… maybe. It sounds good and we’re all familiar with the old axiom of “An apple a day keeps the doctor away.” When it comes to the potent fire cider recipes and benefits, popular lore is that it can definitely boost your immune system such that it may just keep the doctor away!
We all also understand that while it’s not literal, there is wisdom there, because apples are a delightful nutritious food that’s readily available.
While there aren’t any scientific studies specifically on fire cider benefits that we’ve found, there are known benefits to some of the ingredients common to many fire cider recipes. Most fire cider recipes are a potent blend of some of nature’s most powerful herbs, such as rosemary, garlic, ginger, and turmeric.
Fire cider is made with an apple derivative of reported medicinal benefit: apple cider vinegar. We’re not taking fire cider daily, preferring to eat nutrient rich foods daily, as a way of life.However, we try to keep a bottle of fire cider on hand for whenever we need a real immunity boosting kick in the pants, along with a drawer full of medicinal herbal teas and tinctures.
See how to make homemade apple cider vinegar.
Daily Doses of Fire Cider or As Needed
Some people, like Crystal Hamby,faculty member in the Bastyr University Department of Botanical Medicine says she takes two tablespoons twice daily. If she feels an illness coming on she takes 1 teaspoon every hour.
Remember, this is NOT prescriptive. We’re sharing what we and others are doing.
- 1 Tbsp. twice daily for ongoing immune booster
- 1 tsp. ever hour if feeling ill or exposed to illness
Many use fire cider home remedy regularly or as needed for health and immunity.
ImmuneSupplements You Can Makeat Home
It’s empowering to discover that we can make something for less time and a lot less money than a trip to the pharmacy. Why spend money on expensive immunity boosting supplements when you can turn to your pantry and kitchen cabinets into your own pharmacy… or “farm-acy”!.
Health and healing is everywhere in nature. Now more than ever people are returning to homegrown and homemade health as the knowledge of traditional natural remedies in nature and foods becomes common knowledge. You know… like it’s supposed to be and as it once was before the convenience of modern medicine.
However, the good news is that with a little knowledge and practice, we can all become familiar with how easy it is to turn to the convenience of healing from foods and ingredients most of us have on hand. Holistic health doesn’t have to be mysterious or expensive, especially when you’re growing your own food.
You may also benefit from this article on best herbs for colds and flu.
We know from the “fast food epidemic” that convenience isn’t always best.
Fire Cider Benefits
Before pills for ills, there were roots, herbs and fermented foods. While we haven’t found studies on fire cider specifically, this fire cider benefits list is based on the known merits of the ingredients in fire cider, and the ability to help improve these conditions.
Conditions Found to Benefit from Properties in Fire Cider Ingredients – listed alphabetically by ailment
- Antibacterial
- Antifungal
- Anti-inflammatory
- Antioxidant
- Antiviral
- Atherosclerosis prevention
- Autoimmune disorders
- Blood cholesterol, lowers blood cholesterol
- Blood pressure, lowers high blood pressure
- Cancer, preventative or aid*
- Cholesterol:
- LDL oxidation (low-density cholesterol)
- Raise HDL (high density cholesterol)
- Circulation boosting
- Decongestant
- Digestive health
- Energizes the body
- Fights cancer
- Immune boosting
- Inflammation
- Pain reduction
- Plaque reduction from arteries
- Rheumatoid arthritis
*Most Fire Ciders contain10 antioxidant compounds known to help fight cancer based on the combined ingredients in most fire cider recipes: allyl cysteine, alliin, allicin, allyl disulfide, glucosinolate, polyphenols, vitamin C, flavonoids, tannins and curcumin.
10 Common Fire Cider Ingredient Compounds Known to Fight Cancer
- Allyl cysteine
- Alliin
- Allicin
- Allyl disulfide
- Curcumin
- Flavonoids
- Glucosinolate
- Polyphenols
- Tannins
- Vitamin C
The time to make fire cider is now… before you need it.
A Daily Immunity Tonic
More than a natural cold and flu, fire cider is thought to be an excellent daily tonic for boosting your immune system. And certainly it contains some of the top ingredients for that.
IF you let time slip away and don’t have fire cider on hand when you need it, here’s a potent homemade decongestant recipe you can make and consume in just a few minutes. Then when you’re feeling better, make some fire cider, (which take several weeks to “age”.
Anexcellent daily tonic, make fire cider a staple in your home.
Whenwe researched fire cider, we discovered a lot of info saying this tonic has incredible health benefits beyond just keepingthe flu at bay. If your immune or digestive systems are not functioning like they should… A regular dose of fire cider might just do the trick.
You can buy Fire Cider on Amazonfor backup, but it’s easy and inexpensive to make. It just has to steep for a month before being ready to use. If you’d like to make it yourself, there are fire cider recipes below.
Make fire cider before you need it. It has to steep for a month.
Meanwhile here’s some good information fromDebra Maslowski on DIYnatural.com, on why Fire Cider should be in your medicine cabinet, whether you make your own or buy it.[1]https://www.diynatural.com/fire-cider/
So What is Fire Cider?
Fire cider is an herbal concoction popularized by herbalist Rosemary Gladstar, that’s a combination of immune boosting herbs, roots, and peels steeped in apple cider vinegar and honey.
Discover some of the benefits of honey.
Fire Cider Cold and Flu Recipe
by Rosemary Gladstar
Rosemary Gladstar’s Video on Making Fire Cider
Rosemary Gladstar is one of the herbal sages of our time. She still grows and makes herbal remedies and has left a wealth of an herbal health legacy for generations to come.
In this video Rosemary explains the health benefits of each ingredient.
Rosemary’s book on Amazon ‘Rosemary Gladstar’s Herbal Recipes for Vibrant Health‘, has over 100 different remedies and recipes.
When we first published this article last year, a GardensAll community member shared her recipe with us. Thanks to the awesome, Kathie Chambers Underwood! ❤
Fire Cider Recipe
See how to make homemade apple cider and scrap apple cider vinegar.
Yield: 1 Quart
You can make your own fire cider tonic, and with this as with most recipes, there are many variations to this recipe.
To make it even better, you can use your own homemade apple cider and scrap apple cider vinegar.
We recycle an old hinged lid maple syrup bottle or like these hinged lid bottles on Amazon.
Prep Time20 minutes
Total Time20 minutes
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup peeled and diced horseradish
- 1/4 cup peeled and diced ginger
- 1/2 cup peeled and diced garlic
- 1/2 cup peeled and diced onion
- 1/4 cup peeled and diced turmeric
- 1 habanero chili, split in half
- 1 orange, washed, quartered and thinly sliced crosswise, skin and all
- 1/2 lemon, washed, quartered and thinly sliced crosswise, skin and all
- 1/2 cup chopped parsley
- 2 tablespoons chopped rosemary
- 2 tablespoons chopped thyme
- 1 teaspoon black peppercorns (or 1/4 tsp cayenne powder - or to taste)
- 2 1/2 cups raw unfiltered apple cider vinegar (at least 5% acidity)
ADD HONEY AND OIL
- 1/4 cup raw honey, (or to taste)
- 1/4 cup olive oil or castor oil*
- Shake and it's ready to enjoy!
Instructions
- DICE - Prep all ingredients accordingly, (you can dice by hand for adding more TLC energy to your remedy, or for expediency, you can put all ingredients into the food processor to dice.
- ADD all ingredients to a 32 oz or larger mason jar. These hinged lid jars are our favorites
- SEAL with lid.
- STEEP 4 weeks
- STRAIN after four weeks.
To strained cider, add:
- 1/4 cup raw honey, (or to taste)
- 1/4 cup olive oil or castor oil*
- Shake and it's ready to enjoy!
We recycle an old hinged lid maple syrup bottle or like these hinged lid bottles on Amazon.
Importance of Oil in Fire Cider
For the greatest assimilation of turmeric, it needs to be consumed with oil, so we either add 1/4 cup of castor or olive oil to our fire cider, or, take it with a teaspoon of oil when we take it. You can read more about turmeric’s solubility in this article on turmeric golden paste.
HOWEVER, use castor oil if you tend toward constipation, or use olive oil if sensitive to laxatives. Both oils have wonderful health properties.
Some recommend taking 1-2 tablespoons at the first sign of a cold, and then repeating every 3 to 4 hours until symptoms subside. Some people also take fire cider as a preventative daily tonic during cold and flu season.
How to Take Fire Cider
- Straight by the tablespoon
- Add to lemonade or orange juice
- Mix with hot water and extra honey to make a tea, or add to an herbal tea for cold and flu
- Use in place of vinegar in salad dressings and condiments
- Drizzle on steamed vegetables or sautéed greens
- Use in marinades for meat, tofu, and tempeh
- Add to soups and chilis
- Try a couple of dashes in a co*cktail, such as a Bloody Mary
“Traditional Fire Ciders are a specific type of oxymel, an ancient medicine that combines herbs with the soothing combination of vinegar and honey.”
~Bastyr University
Made to Your Taste
Fire Cider is like a pot of soup, you can find dozens of recipes that all vary in nature, and you can ad-lib your own as well. There is no “one way” to make it, but there are some basic ingredients that most fire ciders have in common.
The best way to take fire cider is however it is you enjoy it most. However, if you’re adding turmeric to your FC mix, you’ll want to take it with something that contains fat.
Turmeric is rendered assimilable by the body when consumed with a fat such as oil or butter, so for best results if you’re using turmeric, consume it with a little healthy oil. For more on turmeric, including why most turmeric supplements are basically a waste of money, you may enjoygetting to the root of it in this turmeric golden paste article.
Are you steeping your own batch of Fire Cider? We’d love to see your photos and recipes!
If you love chili peppers and even pepper art, you may enjoy this article:Chili Pepper Art and healing .[2]https://www.gardensall.com/chili-pepper-art/
Find more on home remedies for cold and flu.
Wishing you abundant health and harvests!
LeAura Alderson
I’m LeAura Alderson, a garden, herb and plant enthusiast with a passion for discovering the many edible and medicinal benefits of the plants all around us, including the weeds! I’m a writer, editor and media publisher for our family of websites.
While I was certified in fitness and life coaching, I am NOT a health practitioner. However, I’m a lifelong health enthusiast, with a keen interest in healthy, organic foods and making home remedies and the content we share is from our own experience and usage as well as that extracted from scientific research so that you can explore further on your own.
Always seek the advice and guidance of your health practitioners first and foremost.
As a family we’re steadily expanding our gardening, experimentation and knowledge around all things gardening, edible landscaping, fresh organic foods and self sustainability with farming in our future. I also own and manage iCreateDaily.com, a site all about transformation through creation, and the power of positivity, optimism and mindset.
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References
| ↑1 | https://www.diynatural.com/fire-cider/ |
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| ↑2 | https://www.gardensall.com/chili-pepper-art/ |
