As a child, I remember my grandmother being well and healthy with no medical conditions whatsoever.

I recall her utilising common natural ingredients to help with all ailments – from almonds to nutmeg.

I think, sometimes we can over-look the effectiveness of the array of aromatic herbs and spices that live in an Eastern kitchen as we use them on an everyday basis.

For me, raiding the kitchen cupboards when unwell was quite normal whilst growing up as they were always effective in improving the symptoms of many ailments.

In light of the coronavirus pandemic, it is important to boost the immune system.

There are so many natural ingredients that live in our kitchen that can effectively strengthen the immune system and fight viral infections.

One of the most effective being a fresh ginger and cinnamon tea.

Scientific research echoes the effectiveness of both ginger and cinnamon’s anti-viral properties.

Fresh ginger has a strong, spicy, aromatic flavour and is particularly helpful for respiratory conditions. Being a natural expectorant, ginger helps to break down mucus and thus help to aid recover y from a cough. I have personally found this helpful in improving a chesty cough.

The spiciness of ginger can be quite strong so the addition of some honey to help sweeten this makes this concoction easier to drink.

If the honey is Manuka honey then it’s even better as its anti-bacterial, anti-viral and ant-inflammatory properties cannot be argued with.

Cinnamon has been traditionally been used for its medicinal properties for thousands of years and more commonly for its distinct, fragrant flavour in Eastern cooking. Cinnamon, like ginger, has a plethora or beneficial properties which have been evidenced through scientific research.

The improvement of respiratory conditions and the boosting of the immune system cannot be ignored.

The complex chemical structure of cinnamon results in an array of powerful effects and studies have demonstrated how powerful this is against toxic strains of bacteria.

In addition to improving respiratory conditions, research has validated cinnamon’s ability to lower the body’s temperature by up to 2 degrees when it’s included.

Thus, making it valuable when you have a temperature.

If you’re not much a tea drinker, you can quite easily release the juice of ginger and a small amount to some honey.

This, with the addition of some turmeric and a pinch of black pepper makes a potent anti-viral remedy. Turmeric is traditionally used in Eastern cooking on a daily basis. I remember consuming this in my younger days with milk, ground almonds and cardamom for internal healing and to fight off infections. I adore the taste of cardamoms so sometimes I would just consume this ‘golden milk’ because it tantalised my taste buds.

The active ingredient in turmeric is curcumin and this magical ingredient’s benefits are magnified with the addition of a pinch of black pepper.

These are just some of the many aromatic herbs and spices that reside in an Eastern kitchen.

All of which have powerful healing properties. Ginger, turmeric, honey, cinnamon and cardamom are all very beneficial in improving health and immunity against disease. Not only are they fragrant and flavoursome - they have the ability to fight infections and make you feel better!