Is your daily ginger shot an immunity essential or pricey wellness fad?

Recently, I’ve taken to knocking back a shot in the mornings. It’s pungent enough to make my eyes run, has a fiery taste and I’m convinced it’s doing wonders for my health. The secret ingredient? Ginger.

They’re spicy, mildly unpleasant and a dubious shade of yellow. Head to any supermarket juice aisle and you’ll see the colourful little bottles, emblazoned with slogans making big claims about helping out the immune system and improving our gut health. On social media, wellness influencers chug them on camera to kick off their health-enhancing daily routines. I first started to buy into the hype last winter, when I wanted to stay healthy in anticipation of a family wedding (matching my pink bridesmaid dress with equally pink, feverish cheeks and a runny nose didn’t feel like a great look). Then, as the wintery quadruple threat of Covid, flu, RSV and norovirus loomed in the run-up to Christmas, they seemed especially appealing. Naturally, I’ve carried this habit into January, the season of health-related smugness.

A tiny drink with outsize health benefits? It’s certainly an appealing prospect for those of us looking for a quick fix. “In a world where everyone is short on time but keen to do something for their health, grabbing a ginger shot feels like an easy win,” says VJ Hamilton, a registered autoimmunity nutritionist, who notes that they are “convenient, portable and give you a concentrated dose of ginger without much effort”. They are also, it has to be said, a pricey habit to get hooked on. A single Marks and Spencer “Hot Shot” will set you back £1.70 for 100ml of liquid; Pret’s option costs £2.90.

For this reason, not everyone’s on board. “The popularity of ginger shots has been exacerbated by wellness influencers and marketing campaigns,” says Vassiliki Sinopoulou, registered dietitian and lecturer at the University of Central Lancashire. “It’s part of a general trend that associates a healthy lifestyle with buying expensive products that promise simple solutions to complicated issues.”

So, is my new favourite wellbeing craze an expensive fad or a winter saviour? Ginger has been celebrated for its health benefits for thousands of years. In the Ayurvedic tradition, the alternative health approach that originated in India, it’s referred to as “the universal medicine”. “Historically, it’s been associated with reducing nausea or inflammation,” says registered nutritionist Thalia Pellegrini, and it’s often recommended to help alleviate morning sickness in pregnancy or relieve motion sickness on long journeys. More recently, she adds, “it’s just become much more popular for general health and for immunity – that’s the marketing that the shot companies generally use”.

This pungent root contains active compounds, such as gingerol, which “have been shown to exhibit anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties,” says Hamilton. This is important, she explains, “because chronic inflammation and oxidative stress can impair [our] immune function over time, and foods like ginger may help counteract these effects”. Plus, ginger can help support our gut health, which is important because “a large portion of our immune system resides [there]”, Hamilton adds. “Supporting digestion and reducing inflammation in the gastrointestinal tract can have a positive ripple effect on immune resilience.”

Ginger also “has a positive effect on something called a neutrophil”, a type of white blood cell, says Pellegrini. “When microorganisms like bacteria or viruses enter the body, neutrophils are among the first cells to respond. “There’s some really interesting research specifically for people with autoimmune disease, that shows neutrophils can be modulated by ginger in people who have conditions like arthritis, rheumatoid arthritis or lupus”. But this research would have been carried out “with clinical amounts of ginger”, Pellegrini notes – you’d typically find a lower amount in a shot. “And that’s where it gets a bit muddy.”

Vassiliki Sinopoulou

It’s worth looking at the marketing spiel on your go-to shot with a healthy dose of scepticism. The phrase “immune boosting” is essentially just spin. “Be cautious of anything claiming to ‘boost’ your immune system,” warns registered nutritional therapist Becca Meadows. “This is often inaccurate marketing language being used to make you spend money, as opposed to being evidence-based. We do not want to ‘boost’ our immune system.” As she points out, “no one wants an overactive immune system” – this is linked to allergic reactions and autoimmune conditions. Instead, “we want ways to support its optimal functioning” (and that’s a bit harder to sum up on a snappy label).

Pellegrini tells me that when she cast an eye over the ingredient list of some popular shots, the top ingredient was apple juice (ingredients are listed in descending order of weight, according to food labelling rules). “Some of them include other sweeteners and preservatives as well.” After our phone call, I decide to scan the small print on the shots in my fridge to see whether they follow a similar recipe. Sure enough, ginger is the fourth ingredient, behind various fruit juices. I suddenly start to feel significantly less smug about the tiny bottles I’ve been knocking back with breakfast.

Have I just been downing doll-sized quantities of ginger and expecting they will sort out my human-sized body? “A typical ginger shot provides a concentrated amount, often around 10 to 30 millilitres of ginger juice, which is helpful for general wellness, but might not consistently reach therapeutic levels for targeted conditions like inflammation or nausea,” says Hamilton.

VJ Hamilton

There are other ways to work ginger into your daily routine. “You can still get similar benefits by grating fresh ginger into hot water, smoothies or recipes, it’s just a bit more effort,” says Hamilton. But don’t go overboard, she cautions. “It’s also important to be mindful of the dose, as too much ginger can cause side effects like stomach upset, heartburn or diarrhoea.” If you’re taking any medications, have underlying health concerns or you’re pregnant, she recommends consulting a doctor before suddenly adding high doses to your diet. Plus, she stresses that this ingredient is just one small part of a bigger picture that involves an overall balanced diet, proper sleep and regular exercise.

Essentially, then, these shots aren’t a catch-all for our flu season fears. “There’s nothing wrong with them, but I’m not convinced that they’re going to have a huge benefit for immune health for most people,” Pellegrini says.

She still likes to drink a ginger shot in the mornings because the heat and the kick of the flavour makes her “feel more alert”, but she makes them herself rather than buying them. “I just put a decent amount of root into my blender, I add some water, some lemon juice and a bit of honey. Then I blitz it and I strain the root out, so I’ve just got a liquid. I add that to hot water and I’ll drink that, or I’ll take it as a small shot. I think that’s much more cost-effective.” Plus, this at-home alternative will be free from preservatives and additives.

Going forward, I’ll dust off my blender to follow her lead. I won’t be quitting my ginger habit, but I will be tempering my sky-high expectations about exactly what these little drinks can do. Unfortunately, you can’t cheat your way to health, and if something seems like a miraculous shortcut, it might just be too good to be true.