Are you being forced to sip on a warm kadha in place of evening tea, or gulp down lemon water in place of cold drink, or end your day with haldi wala doodh? Believe us, this is the story of every household these days. The Coronavirus pandemic made us realise the importance of having a good immunity and parents are straining every nerve to ensure building immunity in children and family members. Some may be doing it with discretion while some may be going that extra mile making hasty decisions based on hearsay.

If you don’t know how much you should be having these immunity-boosting drinks, don’t worry. We consulted some nutritionists to crack the code for you. They gave us some tips and some dos and don’ts to get rid of our confusion and mystery around these homemade immunity boosters.

Common Immunity Boosting Drinks

Kadha –

The many benefits of drinking kadha every day have been doing the rounds of late. It is made by boiling a range of whole spices in water for some time, straining it and drinking it like tea. Spices like cinnamon, cardamom, peppercorns, cloves, cumin etc. are used to make this all-spiced tea. It is believed that these Indian spices have an innate ability to boost our immune system. This may be true except these very spices are also very hot in nature. Clinical nutritionist Ishi Khosla warns, “over-consumption of such spices may lead to other health issues like stomach problems, digestion problems, nausea and skin dryness. She advises against drinking kadha every day or giving it a break for a few days after having it continuously for a long time.” Having it every alternate day couple of times a week may sound like a good plan!

(Also Read: This Kadha May Be The Ideal Drink To Have Right Now For Good Immunity)

^{Kadha is made by boiling whole spices in water.} 

Turmeric Milk –

Turmeric (or haldi) is a gem of a food. It is true it greatly helps in building one’s immunity but the same logic of over-consumption applies to turmeric as well. Ishi Khosla says, “if you want to have haldi wala doodh every day, you can, but make sure to add just a pinch of turmeric in your drink.”

^{Turmeric milk is excellent for boosting immunity.} 

Lemon Water –

Lemon is a great source of vitamin C that plays a huge role in boosting the immune system, along with providing many other health benefits. Consultant Nutritionist Rupali Dutta says, “you can have the juice of up to 2 lemons a day for good health and strong immunity.” However, you should know that lemon contains a high amount of citric acid which may affect the alkaline content of our body. Bangalore-based Nutritionist Dr. Anju Sood warns, “You should not have lemon juice if you are suffering from any gastric stress or extreme acid reflux.”

(Also Read: 5 Effective Vitamin C Drinks You Can Add To Your Immunity-Boosting Diet)

^{Lemon water is a good source of vitamin C.} 

Stay healthy and safe with good immunity. But, don’t make any rash diet mistakes that may do more harm than good.