Healthy Happy Hour: Boost Your Immune System With These Drinks
Yes, you can have fun minus the alcohol. Beat the heat, increase your immunity against disease, and have fun while you're at it!
If reaching for a glass of wine or a gin & tonic is your cup of tea, by all means have one glass every now and then if it helps you relax and unwind, especially during these stressful times. You have to be mindful though, that excessive consumption of alcohol may cause bigger problems in the future.
According to a feature on The Huffington Post, chronic drinking may damage the immune system in the long run. Because of this, it may put you in greater risk of infection, which is what we are trying to avoid in the midst of a coronavirus pandemic. Certified nutritionist Weizel Gulfan also warns us against alcohol consumption, saying that this damages our gut's healthy bacteria, making it harder for our bodies to ward off disease.
What then should we be drinking during happy hour (or any hour of the day for that matter)?
Ever since the lockdown began, my family and I have been religiously sipping on ginger-turmeric-calamansi-honey drink every morning, believing it would be a big help in boosting our immune system amidst the threat of COVID-19. Vitamins and supplements do help, but these days, adding power-packed, nutritious drinks are also welcome!
While sipping on ginger tea is great for our health, it sure doesn't sound as fun as having margaritas over virtual happy hour with the gang. We then propose a 'healthy happy hour'—one that gives you the fun of having tasty drinks minus the hangover, headaches, and potential risk to your health! Who's with us?
Mocktails, while completely free of alcohol, can sometimes be bad for your health too, as they contain a lot of soda and more added sugar. If you're watching your waistline, it might even be a better idea to skip the mocktail and drink one straight up simple plain gin with tonic water and lemon!
So if mocktails are out of the picture, what exactly are we supposed to drink at healthy happy hour? Simply put, opt for drinks that do your health good, and make it look pretty! We're talking infused water, lemonade, iced (non-powdered) tea, herb-infused drinks, smoothies, green juices, and health shots!
We've put together some of the best immune-boosting ingredients you can add to your healthy happy hour drinks, so you can stock up on your next grocery run or delivery! Have fun with these and see how they can impact your immune system:
Immune-Boosters
Immune-Boosters
Lemon
Lemon, one of the easiest things to add to your water, is packed with health benefits such as vitamin C, blood pressure regulation, cancer prevention, and weight loss! Slice a lemon, add to your water, or create different lemonade recipes to make your summer drinks more exciting!
Turmeric
This trendy root crop burst into the health scene a couple of years back for its superfood properties: helps prevent arthritis, cancer, Alzheimer's disease, boosts immune system, lowers cholesterol, and has tons of antioxidants. Turn it into tea, or juice it for a power-packed morning shot!
Honey
A word of caution: store-bought regular table honey may not be as potent as raw, organic honey so be sure to get the latter. It is rich in antioxidants, improves cholesterol levels, is anti-fungal, boosts immunity, speeds up wound healing, and calms sore throat. Use as the sweetener for your healthy happy hour drinks!
Ginger
This root crop we usually use for a lot of Asian dishes is a great ingredient for most health drinks—be it a shot, iced tea, a smoothie, or a green juice! It is able to help reduce your risk for diabetes, is anti-inflammatory, prevents heart disease, reduces muscle soreness, treats indigestion, and fights infection! Ginger up!
Tea
Tea, while often taken in teabags and consumed hot, can be a great base for smoothies and iced tea. Specific teas like green tea, chamomile, echinacea, elderberry are touted for their immune-boosting properties, making them the top ingredients for great health drinks!
Matcha
We love our matcha latte, but skipping on dairy milk is a good idea if you want to boost your immune system. Swap cow's milk for vegan options like almond or soy, for a healthier drink. Matcha is high in antioxidants, protects the liver, improves brain function, promotes heart health, and may help prevent cancer too!
Chia Seeds
Infusing your drink with fiber-rich chia seeds are a great idea, especially if you're big on texture! These tiny seeds are a great source of heart-healthy Omega-3s, are high in antioxidants, iron, and calcium too.
Pure Juice Shots
How pretty do these shots look? Unlike tequila, these tiny shots do a great deal of health benefits to your body—without the drunk dialing! Using a juicer, have a shot each day of your choice, and have fun mixing and matching the ingredients for variety.
Leafy Greens
Kale, spinach, romaine lettuce, you name it! These leafy greens should be a staple in a healthy person's diet, for its sheer number of benefits to one's body They are packed with nutrients we need to build a healthy immune system, so whether you like eating it as is, adding it to a smoothie, or juicing it, by all means, eat up!
Herbs
Certain herbs like oregano, astragalus, and mint are great for our immunity, and might as well not just be used as a garnish or decor for your drink. Depending on your drink recipe, adding herbs may be a beautiful way to upgrade a simple infused water.
Berries
Berries such as blueberries, blackberries, strawberries, raspberries are a beautiful ingredient to add to smoothies and lemonade infusions for their flavor and amazing health benefits. They're great for heart health, are anti-cancer, are high in vitamin C, are high in fiber, and fights inflammation! Tip: freeze them by batch for your smoothies!
And because half the fun is in how the drink looks, we've gathered some inspiration for your next healthy happy hour in the gallery below. Scroll away!
Healthy Happy Hour Inspiration
Healthy Happy Hour Inspiration
Check out some of our favorite videos on how to come up with your own healthy drinks. Let the DIY happy hour begin!
Ed's note: We recommend substituting the white sugar ingredient in these drinks for healthier sweetener options such as raw honey, coconut sap sugar, coconut sap syrup, muscovado sugar, etc.
1. If you want to avoid soda, but want the same vibe:
2. If you're into smoothies:
3. If you are into refreshing lemonade drinks:
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