Our immune system is constantly active, identifying which cells belong to your body and which do not. This means the immune system needs a healthy dose of vitamins and minerals to keep its energy going. The following drinks recipes contain essential nutrients for everyday health or for getting rid of the flu and cold.

Start your morning healthy and strengthen your immune system!

Apple, carrot and orange

Carrots, apples and oranges are the best combinations to help your body protect itself and fight infections. A drink like this will give you the following vitamins and nutrients:

• vitamins A, B-6 and C
• potassium
• folic acid

Orange and grapefruit

Vitamin C has antioxidants and other properties that protect your cells from substances that damage the body. Vitamin C deficiency can lead to delayed wound healing, inability to fight infections properly and impaired immune response. Fortunately, however, this citrus explosion contains more than enough daily intake of vitamin C for our bodies. The nutrients and vitamins you get are:

• vitamins A, B-6, and C
• zinc
• folic acid

Homemade tomato juice

The best way to make sure the tomato juice is fresh and without any added ingredients is to make it yourself. Tomatoes are rich in folates, which help reduce the risk of infections. From tomato house juice, you get the following:

• vitamins A and C
• iron
• folate

Kale, tomato and celery

Kale is the basis of many green juices. Instead of cutting the taste of kale with fruit, this recipe uses tomato and celery juice, which adds more than enough vitamin A. The nutrients and vitamins this drink will deliver to your body are:

• vitamins A and C
• magnesium
• potassium
• iron
• fatty acids

Beets, carrots, ginger and turmeric

This enriching juice has four root vegetables that will greatly help your immune system and relieve inflammatory symptoms. Inflammation is often the immune response to infections. These can then cause flu or a cold. In particular, people who have rheumatoid arthritis may benefit from drinking this juice because turmeric and ginger have highly anti-inflammatory effects. The vitamins that will provide your body are:

• vitamins A, C, and E
• iron
• calcium

Strawberry and mango

A strawberry-mango cocktail is a healthy way to satisfy your breakfast or dinner cravings. This recipe mostly uses frozen fruit, which has the same nutritional value as of fresh, but you can also use fresh if you have it handy. Vitamin E, which comes from mangoes, plays an important role in this drink, adding additional antioxidant benefits to boost your immune system, especially in older adults. In addition to vitamin E, this recipe also gives you:

• vitamins A and C
• iron
• folate

Watermelon

Watermelon not only helps your immune system but can also ease muscle pain. Muscle pain is a common symptom of flu, especially in the elderly. The large water content of this fruit makes it easier to prepare. You can also add melon juice to other fruit juices, such as apple or orange, which may not contain as much vitamin A. After eating the melon juice, your body gets the following nutrients and vitamins:

• vitamins A and C
• magnesium
• zinc

Strawberry, kiwi and mint

Strawberries and kiwi are other healthy alternatives for vitamin C drinks. But since making one cup of juice requires roughly four cups of strawberries, you may want to mix that fruit directly into a cocktail rather than make it into a lengthy juice. Such a truly nutritious and healthy cocktail includes, in addition to strawberries and kiwi, Greek yoghurt, which is a great source of magnesium and probiotics. From such a drink you will then get:

• vitamins A, C and B-6
• magnesium
• zinc
• folate

Pumpkin seed milk

Many pumpkin juice recipes contain too many added sugars or require buying apple juice. Here’s one of the freshest and most nutritious recipes available, and it acts as a great base for fruit smoothies.

Pumpkin seeds, soaked for roughly 8 hours, are mixed with filtered water and sea salt. If you prefer a sweeter version, you can add vanilla extract or seedless dates to the previous ingredients.

Not only will this milk benefit your immune system, but it can also help your bone health, menopause symptoms, urinary tract health, hair and skin health, mental health and prostate (for men). In addition to these benefits:

• vitamins A, C and B-6
• magnesium
• zinc

Spinach, lettuce and kale

This vegetable green juice is full of nutrients and a driving force for our immune system. Throw in a handful of parsley for an extra helping of vitamin B-6. This vitamin plays a very important role in the proliferation of immune cells and the production of antibodies. The nutrients and vitamins obtained are:

• vitamins A, C and B-6
• iron
• calcium

Photo by Nature Zen on Unsplash