For the last four years, I’ve had the weirdest bit of joint inflammation in my right index finger. It gets worse when I’m tired, eating poorly and drinking too much alcohol. I never thought about it too much and just chalked it up to a bit of arthritis, unless it was accidentally pushed or I needed to open a jar.
Last year, I went to see a naturopath at my college for some general coaching. I happened to mention my ‘dicky’ finger to her and she recommended taking two Pukka Wholistic Turmeric capsules in the morning for a few months to see if that made any difference.
And you know what, the capsules made a little difference. I started to wonder if there was more I could do, so started looking into ways of eating and drinking the raw turmeric root. Turmeric root has anti-inflammatory, antioxidant and liver detoxification properties through its active compound curcumin, which is why you might have noticed more chatter about this plant in the last year. Research has shown that curcumin from turmeric in its food form is more bioavailable, especially consumed with a pinch of black pepper.
So I decided to start drinking a turmeric tonic in the morning to see if I could relieve some more of the sore feeling in my ‘dicky’ finger. After many trial runs, here’s the recipe I use every week.
This tonic has made a huge difference to my finger – to the point where I notice when I’ve forgotten to have my shot of tonic in the morning. Try it!
NB: please avoid this drink if you are on blood thinners, as turmeric and blood thinning medication can cause excess bleeding.
What you need
1 grapefruit (exclude this if you are any medication as grapefruit contains naringenin, a phytonutrient that can interfere with CYP450, an important family of enzymes that help break down toxins in phase I liver detoxification. This can cause adverse reactions to medication.)
3 lemons
1-2 orange, if you need to exclude the grapefruit
2-3 thumbs of fresh turmeric root
1 thumb of fresh ginger
1 tbsp raw organic honey
200mL filtered water
Large blender cup / Nutribullet cup
How to make it
1. Cut the citrus fruits in half and squeeze the juice into your blender or Nutribullet cup. Take care to remove the seeds, but to keep the pulp.
2. Wash the turmeric and ginger and drop them in with your citrus juice.
3. Add the honey, black pepper and water.
4. Blend for at least 30 seconds and decant into a glass storage jar.
5. Drink a shot’s worth each morning.
6. Keeps in the fridge for 7 days (if it lasts that long!).