During the autumn season, it is very common to see people running around with tissue papers. Our body reacts adversely to changes in season, the sneezing, stuffy nose, and sore throat are never fun to deal with. Not to mention that having cough and colds can make basic day-to-day activities more challenging. Also, it is very uncomfortable to see, especially our loved ones getting sick!
So, what can you do to help treat them? With all the things that you have at home, from simple spices and herbs that are available in your kitchen, here are the 8 natural home remedies for cough and cold that you can do.
1. Garlic (raw, roasted or fermented)
You might have heard some of the benefits of eating garlic. It’s been used in traditional medicine around the world and has purported health benefits like boosting the body’s immune response and fighting flu and cold-like symptoms. Be it in any form—roasted or raw—it helps the body to stay healthy.
Fermented garlic is also known as “black garlic” is made from fresh garlic that has been fermented. The fermentation process turns the garlic into a dark brown color and dulls the intense taste that raw garlic is known for. Fermented garlic is described as sweet with a chewy and jelly-like texture. It is fairly easy to make. Just add cloves of garlic in a container with water, salt and herbs of your choice and store it in a cool dry place for 3 to 6 weeks.
2. Garlic Mixed with Honey
Garlic is considered the simplest recipe or remedy of all. You can easily find this at home. But not everyone likes eating raw garlic because of its sharp taste and smell. Some make pickled garlic so it is easier to eat the whole clove. But what if you don’t have that pickled garlic? What you can do is grate the garlic and add it to honey. We suggest using honey that is wild or not heated. The more refined or even any kind of refinement that goes into honey is actually robbing it of its nutrients and all its healing properties. This is a nice way for you to actually start eating garlic when you’re not feeling very well. If you have flu or cold symptoms, this is one of the best medicines that you can go for. Kids may not love it for it still has a sharp taste. So what you can do is heat the garlic on a pan to mellow down the flavour a bit.
3. Honey
Treating colds with honey has been a standard recommendation from doctors for children for at least a decade. Honey has long been a home remedy for soothing sore throats and calming coughs. Generally, any quality raw honey is good for treating a cough. Use all-natural, raw honey by the spoonful to suppress your cough. Take a spoonful as often as needed to relieve your throat irritation and related coughing. You can also make a homemade cough syrup by mixing honey with lemon juice, ginger and water. This syrup can be stored in the refrigerator for up to two months.
4. Mint
Another great remedy especially for cough is to have some mint tea. Not only will this mixture help you get better faster, but it will also boost your immunity. To make mint tea, take a few leaves of mint and just add them to a cup of warm water. You can also take a small piece of ginger and add them to the water as well. You can also do one drop of mint extract in warm water and inhale the fumes. Since mint has a very strong odor, it helps open up the airways and allows relaxed breathing. It also acts as an expectorant and helps in the expulsion of phlegm, allowing the patient to recover faster.
5. Water Infused with Spices
Staying hydrated when you have a cough and cold is very important. It is one of the things you will always hear as a common remedy to a runny nose. You should not drink cold water, but instead warm water. But it is something you’ll not enjoy right? So what you can do is to infuse this warm water or hot water with spices that you can easily find in your kitchen. Keep it in a thermos flask and enjoy drinking it throughout the day! Some of the spices you can add to your warm drink are star anise seed, berries, ginger and cinnamon, or some mint tea bags. For kids who are not able to have this spiced warm water, you can just give them a teaspoon of honey and give them warm water to drink.
6. Warm Soups with lots of Black Pepper
Black pepper is one of the best Indian spices to include in your soups and hot beverages during winter, especially if one is suffering from the chest or nasal congestion and the common cold. It is easily available in the kitchen as it is used to add flavour to a number of dishes and is very easy to use to alleviate symptoms of a cold. All that spiciness from the black pepper will open up all the nasal passages. This is something that you can add to your diet for your food. Adding lots of black pepper to your soup or any dish as long as it’s not too complex or fatty will help you feel great again. You can also add this to your diet.
7. Kompot (Berry Drink)
Kompot is a Russian fruit juice made of mixing berries with warm water. Making Kompot (Компот) is super easy. All you have to do is mash the berries and add warm, not boiling water. Cooking berries in boiling water will remove all their nutrients. This homemade juice is healthier and tastier to make and even kids will enjoy drinking this. Some of the health benefits of drinking Kompot are: refreshing to the body, helping in the digestive system, improving the immune system, healing the sore throat and of course it has vitamins to help fight cough and cold.
8. Ginger Halwa
Ginger Halwa is a recipe that is great if you have a runny nose, cold or sore throat. The ingredients of this recipe are very warming to the body so make sure not to take it if you have a high temperature. Ginger Halwa is very easy to make and you can easily find all the ingredients in your kitchen. If you like to know the recipe of our Ginger Candy for Cough and Cold (No sugar Ginger Halwa), follow the link here.
