Ginger-Lime Detox Drink

Everyone needs a good detox kick to the system once in a while. Detoxing need not always be intense or extreme (like the Ayurvedic Panchakarma cleansing ritual). Natural detox drinks can be a quick way to promote good health on a daily basis and keep your system feeling light and fresh.

This easy ginger-lime detox drink will help clean out your gut and freshen you up in a jiffy! Ginger is considered to be one of the best detoxing foods. It is a favourite in Ayurvedic medicine for its many wondrous health benefits. There is even an Ayurvedic sutra (verse) that says that everyone should eat fresh ginger just before lunch and dinner to enhance digestion. (1) Lime stimulates the secretion of digestive enzymes and is useful for indigestion. It can be an effective antidote to alcohol.(2)

Ingredients

1 inch piece of fresh ginger
Juice of 1 lime (or lemon if lime is not available)
2tsp honey
Handful of mint leaves (optional)

Method

1. In a spice blender, blend in the ginger and mint leaves together. You can even crush the same in a mortar and pestle. Alternatively, if you don’t want any floating bits of ginger in your drink, you can just squeeze out the ginger juice and only use that in your drink.

2. In a glass of cool water, add in the crushed ginger (or ginger juice) and mint.

3. Stir in the lime juice and honey. Add ice if desired.

Optional: you can also add some green tea flavour to this drink. To do this, prepare 1 cup of diluted green tea (e.g. by half-using a green tea bag) in advance and leave to cool. Once it reaches room temperature, add in the ginger, mint, lime juice and honey as above.

Alternative: this recipe can also be made as a hot drink. Generally preferable as a cool drink in summers and a hot drink in winters.

(1) Source: mapi.com (Ginger: an Ayurvedic Medicine Chest)
(2) Source: pathtoayurveda.com (Lemons and Limes – Ayurvedic Perspective)

See also: Recipe: Ginger Jam