We're spilling the tea on the ancient plant,
Turmeric!

Turn up your Spring vibes with this Turmeric tea recipe that will Reboot your immune system AND your exercise regimen. With a blend of some aromatic ginger, pepper, and honey…trust us, this stuff is liquid gold.

Reboot with Curcumin

Curcumin is what gives Turmeric its indelible yellow color while also making up about 5% of the turmeric compound itself. Don’t let the small percentage fool you though! When fiddling with this pungent spice, your fingers, nails, and skin can start to take on a yellow-ish hue as turmeric is also a dye used in a lot of Indian clothing and even for the robes of Buddhist monks!

Science has been looking into the medicinal properties of turmeric and as a results almost 10,000 peer-reviewed articles have been published! According to the American Journal of Hypertension, regular endurance exercise combined with daily curcumin intake may reduce the pressure exerted on your heart to a greater extent than exercise alone! Therefore, you're lowering your risk for heart failure by simply adding turmeric into your daily regimen! Reboot the way you eat and move by adding a dash of turmeric in your post-workout smoothie or your morning tea!

In this study, researchers note that curcumin may be used as an effective and safe treatment for patients with major depressive disorders." This is in part due to the multiple curcumin induced wellness benefits that support one's mood like decreasing oxidative stress and detoxification.

Not only does curcumin strengthen the heart and have mood boosting properties but a study for Rheumatoid Arthritis found curcumin to be a safe and effective treatment in alleviating pain when compared to diclofenac (an NSAID medication). In addition to reducing pain more effectively, participants who took curcumin did not have the gastro-intestinal side effects that often accompany the use of NSAIDs.

Health benefits of curcumin:

• Lowers blood pressure
• Increases efficacy of exercise
• Mood booster*
• Anti-inflammatory
• Antioxidant
• Pain reducer

What is the most nutritious way to prepare tea?

Reboot your tea by adding 1/4 tsp of black pepper to your turmeric-based beverages to increase the bioavailability of the compounds! Here's how it works: the piperine in black pepper inhibits the liver from excreting turmeric in the urine.  In this study, 1/4 teaspoon of black pepper increased the bioavailability of turmeric by 2000%!! You can also increase the bioavailability via healthy fats like those found in avocados, nuts, EVOO, and dark chocolate (check out Tay’s amazing recipe here)!

Within the last decade it has been reported that the addition of milk to tea decreases the protective effects of tea on the cardiovascular system. Tea in general improves the ability of the arteries to relax and expand however,  adding milk dulls this effect. Specifically, the milk protein, called casein, has shown to be interacting with catechins (a type of flavonoid that have been reported to help protect you from potentially damaging chemicals called free radicals). This was further supported after a study in the Netherlands where participants did not add milk to their green or black teas and the study outcomes revealed that the participants showed no decrease in the protective effects of tea against coronary artery disease!

RD Tip: If you love milk in your tea like we do, just simply swap cow's milk with almond (or other nut milk), coconut, or soy milk since these don’t contain the milk protein casein

Turmeric & Ginger Tea

Adapted by: Dietitian Mearaph Barnes, RD, LD

Recipe type: Hot Drink, Beverage
Serves:  4 cups

VEGETARIAN/DF/GF/VEGAN - Delicious, 5 ingredients, and refined sugar free.

INGREDIENTS:

• 4 Cups of water
• 1 piece of raw/fresh ginger (2 in in length)
• 2 tsp of ground turmeric
• 1/4 tsp of ground pepper corn
• Locally farmed pure honey to taste
• Lemon wedge

DIRECTIONS:

Boil 4 cups of water.While you wait, peel your ginger and mince finely. Once the water is boiling, add ground turmeric, and ginger. Bring water to a simmer for 10 minutes. Remove the mixture from the heat and pour into your desired tea carafe through a sieve. Add pepper,lemon juice, and local honey to taste. Reboot and enjoy!

*Optional :

- Chill tea in refrigerator after creating to serve cold.

-Add 3 cinnamon sticks before simmering for extra spice!

If you make this recipe, we would love to see it! Tag us in your photo @rootsreboot with #RootsReboot or #RebootAndTurnip to our INSTAGRAM HERE!

XOXO - Roots Reboot

P.S. NEED TO RECHARGE, REFOCUS OR RESET YOUR HEALTH?

Reboot with your personal Dietitian for real results and nutrition coaching! Work with us 1-1 for your personalized health plan with daily support from yours truly! LEARN MORE HERE!