An underrated herb could help you reduce bloating, avoid the cold and flu and according to an expert, can strengthen your immune system. So if you’re fed up of feeling like rubbish, you better get shopping.
So what do you need to add to your weekly food shop? Experts say that thyme is great especially at this time of year. And if you’re heading back to work, the last thing you want is to start the new year feeling rubbish.
Marta León, an expert in food, nutrition, and hormonal health, told COPE that bacteria and viruses increase during the winter period with vitamin C and D often talked about to help ward off illnesses. However this Mediterranean herb also has potent antibacterial and antimicrobial effects, thanks to compounds like thymol and carvacrol, which many people don’t know about.
The expert notes in our day to day life, we should have a diet that avoids inflammatory foods such as processed products, additives, sugar, or alcohol. “Avoid everything that distracts our liver and system so they can do what they need to do and protect us from viruses,” she says.
As mentioned, vitamin C and D are good to have at this time of year especially to help boost our immune system, however it’s also good to take it all year round. On top of these vitamins, the expert adds that thyme also provide great support for strengthening our immune system.
“It cares for our respiratory system because it is an expectorant; it can be very helpful when we have a cough, mucus or phlegm. Having a bloated stomach might seem unrelated to the immune system but it again distracts the body from performing its functions and might be consuming too many energy resources,” she adds.
Overall, Marta stresses that the herb, which is a very aromatic plant of Egyptian origin, can greatly help us strengthen our immune system to protect us from bacterial action. But there is a way you can drink this to ensure you get the most benefits.
What is the best way to consume thyme?
The best results are said to be achieved by infusing fresh thyme leaves (or dry leaves) in boiling water for 15-20 minutes. You should aim to drink it 2 to 3 times a day. Boasting high levels of vitamin K and iron, it’s one to include in your diet.
How to make the herbal tea – step by step
Another way to consume it is with sweeteners. This herbal tea is a good beverage you can make on a cold and snowy days to strengthen the immune system is thyme, honey and lemon herbal tea.
All you need to do is:
- Boil water
- Add a tablespoon of thyme and lemon juice
- Let it cook for 5 minutes
- Strain and sweeten with honey to taste
You can also add honey or ginger if you prefer rather than lemon juice.
In fact, mariongluckclinic state that in addition to thyme, Echinacea is another brilliant herb. The expert, Vera Martins, says that she loves “recommending them to my patients, as well as family and friends, as they never let me down.”
Hailing them as “powerful medicinal tools for modern times”, she notes that thyme has strong anti-bacterial and anti-microbial properties. It can not only help fight off illnesses, but it can aid in fighting infections particularly those of the respiratory tract system such as bronchitis and tonsillitis.