4 Beverages with Major Health Benefits
Start and end your day with delicious drinks that give you a nutritional boost. From a spicy morning elixir to a soothing nightcap, these better-for-you beverages keep your immune system humming and your gut health optimized, and they fill in nutrients you may be lacking this holiday season.
Boost Your Immunity
When the hustle of the holidays leaves you feeling overtaxed, your immune function can suffer. This invigorating morning beverage delivers a quarter of your daily goal for immune-boosting vitamin C, along with turmeric and ginger, which help quell inflammation. Ginger also helps promote the growth of gut-healthy bacteria, according to new research.
Get the recipe: Restorative Turmeric Elixir
Relax and Recharge
Wind down with the adult version of a glass of warm milk. Research shows cardamom may help ward off stomach ulcers. It and sesame seeds (the essential ingredient in tahini) also have heart-healthy and anti-inflammatory benefits. Be sure to use refrigerated coconut milk (found with nut milks in the dairy case) and not canned coconut milk.
Get the recipe: Soothing Cardamom Sipper
Fight Stress
Recharge after a taxing day with an invigorating rosé spritzer with a probiotic boost. The holidays can bring on stress, which could in turn compromise digestion. Kombucha is packed with gut-friendly probiotics to help maintain healthy gut flora, in addition to compounds that fight harmful free radicals. Both grapefruit and effervescent rosé contain rich amounts of flavonoids—powerful plant antioxidants shown to help reduce blood pressure, fight inflammation, and improve vascular function—and the bitter and sweet flavors play off each other well.
Get the recipe: Rejuvenating Rosé Spritzer
Kick Start Your Morning
Hit the ground running with a nutrient-rich green smoothie. This hydrating concoction is jam-packed with nutrients, delivering one-third of your daily goal of vitamin A and 100 percent of vitamin K—two important nutrients many of us don't get enough of. Matcha green tea powder helps you power through your holiday to-do list with sustained energy and alertness, thanks to a jolt of caffeine without the jittery side effects.
