Lemon tea with garlic: benefits and recipes

Lemon and garlic tea is a homemade recipe that alleviates the most annoying flu symptoms, such as cough and sore throat. The good news is that it helps improve the disease and many other health problems.

The fruit and vegetable mixture is rich in several phytochemicals, especially allicin in garlic and vitamin C in lemon, which, when mixed, have important therapeutic properties.

Among these are the expectorant, anti-inflammatory, detox effects, strengthening of the immune system and helping you lose weight.

Health Benefits of Lemon Garlic Tea

Treats colds and flu

One of the foremost widespread indications of lemon tea with garlic is in treating the flu, and the truth is that it works as a natural remedy for this viral infection.

Because garlic is a source of sulphur compounds and a type of flavonoid known as quercetin, it can inhibit the replication of viruses that cause influenza types A and B. This means that the infusion works by treating the cause of the disease, ridding the body faster than the invading agent.

While lemon is also an excellent anti-viral agent.

Garlic also helps to reduce the characteristic symptoms of flu, such as cough and runny nose, as it is a potent expectorant.

This is because isothiocyanates, one of the sulphur compounds, are bronchodilators. In other words, they dilate the bronchi, tubes that carry air to the lungs, and thus facilitate the excretion of the phlegm produced to protect the body from the progress of the disease.

Reduces the symptoms of respiratory allergies

Do you suffer from any respiratory allergies? Well, know that a cup of lemon tea with garlic can alleviate the symptoms of this problem because the fruit juice is rich in limonoids. These natural bitter compounds prevent the body from releasing various substances that start the inflammatory process, which causes the allergy.

Yes, allergy is inflammation caused by the body’s defence reaction to some irritating agent.

The problem is that this reaction causes symptoms such as burning, swelling, pain and, in the case of respiratory issues, the production of a lot of mucus ( phlegm ), which serves to cover the lungs and prevent what is irritating spreading and the lemon contains or interrupts the start of the entire process.

On the other hand, garlic inhibits the release of cytokines, substances that, when they realize something is wrong, send messages to a particular area of ​​the body that needs more antibodies (defence cells), triggering inflammation or an allergic reaction.

Detoxifies the body

Do you think you need to clean your body? Then this infusion is the right option for you, as both ingredients have properties considered to be detoxifying.

Garlic stimulates the release of enzymes that favour the elimination of xenobiotics, the name given to foreign compounds, whether through sweating or in urine. This happens thanks to organosulfur, an organic substance based on sulphur.

While lemon stimulates functioning and protects the liver, one of the organs responsible for eliminating toxins, against damage caused by excess harmful substances.

Thanks to this, the body is in charge of cleaning, promoting improved quality of life and reducing the risk of developing liver diseases.

Strengthens the immune system

This infusion also strengthens the body’s immune system against disease. Firstly, because of a protein called lectin is found in garlic, which causes the body to start making more antibodies.

Lemon acts in a very similar way, stimulating cell production.

Thanks to this, more defence cells are circulating in the blood and can act more quickly in cases of invasions or mutations, even before they produce negative symptoms. Therefore, the body is less susceptible to disease.

Slim down

Finally, this infusion can also significantly help those who want to lose a few extra pounds. Yes, that’s right, both garlic and lemon stimulate the burning and excretion of excess body fat.

Because of this, the body starts to burn more calories, contributing to reducing energy reserves, which are the hated localized fats.

Furthermore, lemon has a well-known characteristic: it is rich in vitamin C or ascorbic acid. To get an idea, a 165 ml American glass of lemon juice has 63% of the daily dose of this nutrient for an adult.

Now you might be asking yourself, what does this have to do with weight loss? It has a whole relationship. An article published in the Brazilian Journal of Epidemiology explained that, as an antioxidant, vitamin C prevents body fat from oxidizing (degraded) and “sticking” to the tissues.

Another mechanism that helps in weight loss is that the nutrient stimulates the transport of this fat into the cells, which use it, thus preventing the compound from starting to accumulate.

3 Ways to Prepare the Infusion

1. Lemon tea with a simple garlic

Take two medium-sized cloves of garlic and 1 cup of water and heat until it bubbles. Once that’s done, turn off the heat, squeeze half a lemon, and throw the rind into the pan. Leave covered to extract all medicinal properties for at least 5 minutes.

After this time, the tea is ready to be drunk, just straining. The best thing is that it can be drunk hot, an excellent option for treating flu or cold.

2. Lemon tea with garlic and honey

The honey is an ingredient that blends nicely with the lemon tea with garlic and also has several health benefits.

To prepare, you must heat ¼ cup of honey in a pan. When hot, add two crushed garlic cloves and cook for 5 minutes over low heat.

Then add 1 cup of water and the juice of half a lemon, boil for another 5 minutes and turn off. Then strain and drink while still hot.

3. Lemon, garlic and ginger tea

Boil 1 cup of water with one teaspoon of grated ginger and two cloves for 10 minutes. When done, turn off the heat, add the juice of ½ lemon and leave everything infused for another 5 minutes. After that, strain and drink slowly.

Care

Not everyone can drink lemon and garlic tea despite all these benefits. For example, people undergoing treatment with anticoagulants, suffering from hyperthyroidism or who will experience or have recently undergone a surgical procedure should not use this infusion.

That’s because garlic can “thin the blood” by inhibiting the grouping of platelets and increasing the risk of bleeding and complications arising from it. Women who are pregnant and breastfeeding should also avoid it because the garlic compounds can cause discomfort to the baby.

The excess can also cause gastric irritation or leave sweat smelling like garlic, as components such as allicin, responsible for the pungent smell, are expelled in work. So avoid drinking more than two cups a day.